What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

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hermiemommy101408
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What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by hermiemommy101408 »

My poor hermie Jumba has shell rot i have him isolated i think he is due for a molt he keeps digging and hes up all night... i looked at his exoskeleton and its flaky like and its also on his body his big pinchers not even purple its black ... is there any special foods to feed him? like high calcium or protein? any meds? and where can i purchase them from? i'm really worried about him i hope he makes it :(
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by ladybug15057 »

It would certainly help us help you if you could get a picture of the areas that you think are shell rot. Shell rot normally eats away at the exoskeleton. Flaky does not justify shell rot, but more of a dry exo condition. Please do provide us with clear pictures. No reason to treat for shell rot if that is not what it is.
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by hermiemommy101408 »

ladybug15057 wrote:It would certainly help us help you if you could get a picture of the areas that you think are shell rot. Shell rot normally eats away at the exoskeleton. Flaky does not justify shell rot, but more of a dry exo condition. Please do provide us with clear pictures. No reason to treat for shell rot if that is not what it is.
I'll try to get a pic like i said hes always dug under the sand till night time and he wakes me up at least 2 or 3 times during the night hearing his shell tap against the glass but if i catch him out and about ill try to get a clear picture
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hermiemommy101408
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by hermiemommy101408 »

hermiemommy101408 wrote:
ladybug15057 wrote:It would certainly help us help you if you could get a picture of the areas that you think are shell rot. Shell rot normally eats away at the exoskeleton. Flaky does not justify shell rot, but more of a dry exo condition. Please do provide us with clear pictures. No reason to treat for shell rot if that is not what it is.
I'll try to get a pic like i said hes always dug under the sand till night time and he wakes me up at least 2 or 3 times during the night hearing his shell tap against the glass but if i catch him out and about ill try to get a clear picture


finally got him the picture is not as clear as i would like it to be but its the best i could while i was taking pictures i noticed that a peice of his small claw is missing so im pretty sure now he has shell rot also i noticed that theres alot of "slices" in his exo. its on his body as well as his legs and pinchers!

Image
Image
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by ladybug15057 »

I'm sorry, but the pictures are not very clear and the first one is not a close up.
But from what I can see it does not look like shell rot, but where parts of his exo is turning lighter almost as though he is in premolt.
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by CrabbyJo »

Marie, she mentioned that a piece of his small claw is missing - that couldn't be premolt could it?

Hermiemommy, can you get soemone else to hold the crab for you while you get pics? Or have them snap the pics? Does your camera have a closeup setting on it? (usually indicated by a small flower icon).
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by ladybug15057 »

I have tried 3 times now to merge this topic with the origanal posting about this hermie who was bought at the end of January.

viewtopic.php?t=2504

Unknown if the missing part of the feeder claw is due to premolt or not. They mentioned the hermie is flaky, which is a premolt sign for some when the old exo begins to dry as it is loosening from the new exo for molting. Sometimes the flakiness can get quite bad too.

Image

Image

But being new as well when the exo dries the 'ends/tips' of their legs can become quite brittle too and will sanp off.
But I agree, a clearer closer picture would be better, but as you will see in the link to their first post it was said no open area's or anything that resembled the exo was thin or being eat away.

But these pictures as well as the one in the first posting about this hermie does not even look close to the pictures in this article:

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... =infection
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by CrabbyJo »

Thank you for clarifying that Ladybug - comparing the pictures, to me it looks as if the crab does have some deep, lovely coloring, not the black splotches.
I'm completely uneducated, so I'd have to go with your more educated guess of pre-molt, given the descriptions and photos of actual shell rot.

What do you think Hermiemommy? Breathe a sigh of relief and just make sure you give your crab the nutrition it needs for molting?
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by hermiemommy101408 »

yes its a relief i'm going to buy some molting food from the hermit crab addiction store when i get the money.. maybe he will get better speaking of which he hasnt came up at all tonight so far so maybe hes molting now? -.-
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Re: What to feed my hermie who has shell rot?

Post by emmac350 »

It's possible. Just keep maintaining the tank conditions the way you have been and keep food and water in there in case he just comes up when you go to sleep.
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