Legs

Questions about unexpected problems.
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harleyucollins
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Legs

Post by harleyucollins »

The past couple of days, I've been finding some legs and a claw on top of my sand... so I checked every one of the hermit crabs there were up, except for two, I believe are molting. All the ones that were up and about did not have any missing limbs. So, what is happening?
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
CrabbyJo
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Re: Legs

Post by CrabbyJo »

Since you have molters, it may be that someone has stolen some exoskeleton parts from your molters. This seems to make the most sense to me.

Hopefully your molters are ok. Pick up the leg bits and try to see if they look hollow?
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
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harleyucollins
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Re: Legs

Post by harleyucollins »

I had picked them up to see, because my mom had said that it might have something to do with the molters, but the legs are hard... so that's why it's confusing me.

*Edit*
This may sound stupid, but isn't the shedded exo-skeleton supposed to be soft? or is it still supposed to be hard? I can't tell you right now if they were hollow or not, because I threw them out...... :\ *sigh*
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
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harleyucollins
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Re: Legs

Post by harleyucollins »

I would like to say that one of the crabs, Dozer, was molting, and has came up tonight with hairy legs and black tips. :D I've have had two successful molts now. :D
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
CrabbyJo
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Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
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Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: Legs

Post by CrabbyJo »

Congratulations on a successful molt!
Since you threw out the old exo pieces, I highly recommend you make sure he has some good protein and calcium sources, such as freeze dried shrimp, or shrimp with the tail on, and some crushed cuttle bone. he didn't get to eat all his exo because someone dragged it to the surface (silly crabs) so he will need the extra nutrients. Also sprinkle some spirulina on his food regularly, he needs the nutrients that seaweed provides. :)

The new exoskeleton of the crab is what is soft. The shed exoskeleton is hard.

Next time you find legs on the surface, check to see if they are hollow. If they are, then instead of throwing them out, crush them up and put them in the food dish. The crabs will eat them and get vital nutrients that they need. :)
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
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harleyucollins
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Re: Legs

Post by harleyucollins »

Thanks. :] I thought I had thrown them out, but I guess I had laid them in a bowl that I had setting beside their tank, so I put them back into the tank and hopefully he will eat them before the others do.
Where can I find the things you were suggesting? Just any pet store or something?
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
CrabbyJo
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Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: Legs

Post by CrabbyJo »

You can find the freeze dried shrimp in the fish food section of the pet store. You want to read the ingredients carefully, it should ONLY say freeze dried shrimp, no preservatives.
Ethoxyquin and Copper sulfate are toxic for hermit crabs, so try to steer away from commercial hermit crab foods as well. Most of them contain these preservatives. You can also get some mealworms and seaweed sheets at the pet store as well. It is generally listed as algae.

You can find the Spirulina at your local grocery store or a health food store much more cheaply than anywhere else. If your grocery store has a natural foods section, look for the bulk spices (it's usually there because it's sold in very small quantities) and you'll likely find spirulina powder as well as kelp (another seaweed) granules. Ask for help if you're having trouble finding them.

There are also some online sources for good, organic, preservative-free hermit crab foods. Try http://keeponcrabbin.com/ for some high quality crab foods. They are dry and will last for long periods. I always refrigerate mine, regardless of them being dried or not. It keeps them longer. :)

There is also The hermit crab addiction store - unfortunately they are often out of a lot of the mixes, but there are some with some seaweeds available right now: http://www.hermitcrabaddictionstore.com ... 645/FLAKES
Do browse the site and look at the other mixes.

Here's a good article to help you start feeding your crabs naturally: http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... =epicurean

BTW Harley, if you take those legs and crush them up (I used the handle of a butterknife, they aren't hard to crush) you can sprinkle them on your crab's food. It's not likely your molter will eat them before the others do, so share the nutrition I figure. :) It's likely he ate most of the old exo himself anyway before someone got to the legs.

Hope that helps and doesn't overwhelm you too much! ;)
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
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harleyucollins
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Posts: 81
Joined: 26 Apr 2010, 12:50
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Hermit crabs: 10
Total gallons: 31
Total tanks: 3
Location: Pennsboro, WV
Contact:

Re: Legs

Post by harleyucollins »

Great! Thanks for the information! :]
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
User avatar
harleyucollins
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Posts: 81
Joined: 26 Apr 2010, 12:50
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 10
Total gallons: 31
Total tanks: 3
Location: Pennsboro, WV
Contact:

Slow moving

Post by harleyucollins »

Dozer, one of my E's, has been in the same spot for three hours, just kinda out of his shell. So I picked him up and dunked him in some of the salt water and put him back down. He slowly moved. I then put my finger in front of him, because I know that they will quickly go back into his shell... it took him about 30 seconds before he went into his shell. So his reaction time is bad..? I left him alone and just watched. He'd slowly come out of his shell and just stay there kind of limp. He molted a few weeks ago, so I'm pretty sure that isn't the case...

Can anyone tell me what's wrong?
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
CrabbyJo
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: Slow moving

Post by CrabbyJo »

Harley,
I've gone through some of your past posts, and haven't found quite enough to give me enough information on what might be the problem.
I've found a couple of possible problems, but without more information we can't really pinpoint what might be affecting your crab.

First, we'll need a lot of info from you, so please answer the following questions the best that you can (copy and paste into a new reply if that makes it easier, then answer each question).

What exactly is the type and brand of substrate that you have?

Do you keep it dry or sandcastle wet?

What brand of dechlorinator do you use?

What brand of ocean salt mix do you use?

What decorations/items do you have in the tank?

What is the temperature range in the tank?
Warm end?
Cool end?

What is the temperature of the substrate?

What type of heater do you have on the tank?

Do you feed your hermit crabs commercial foods? If so, what brand?

Do you feed your hermit crabs fresh foods? If so, what do you feed them? (As much detail as possible)

Do you change their food out daily?

Do you bathe your hermit crabs?

If so, what temperature is the bath water?

Do you add a special treatment other than regular dechlorinator to their bathwater? If so, what brand?

Have you done a deep clean, and if so, what did you use to clean the tank?

Has the tank been exposed to any chemicals or scented items lately, such as fingernail polish remover fumes, scented candles, cleaners, perfumes, etc.



For now, don't pick up Dozer, it is probably best if he's left undisturbed.

The two things I've seen mentioned are the odd little black fuzzy balls you've found in the tank on occasion - are you finding any more? Please let us know in a little more detail how many you have found, where in the tank you have found them, and do you find more than one at a time?
Have you done a deep clean since you found the last one?

Also I am going to note here that there was spanish moss in the tank for probably what, a week or so? We can't rule anything out. That brief exposure to Spanish moss may not be at issue, but we can never be sure. Please do answer the questions as best you can, and we can take it from there.
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
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