I'M sooo sad!

crabbylvr336 · Post by **crabbylvr336** » 25 Apr 2009, 11:23

My first hermie death! I don't know what happend! I bought him from the petstore and after a few weeks, he died! i thought he was healthy! I have no idea what happend. but now my other hermit crab is going to be lonely for a little while.

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 25 Apr 2009, 16:14

So sorry to hear about your loss

Often it's the ones we've only had a short time that really seem to break our hearts the most.

Often we have no control over how well our crabs do. They can die from PPS several weeks after we get them, no matter how good our conditions may be. We really don't know what they've been through before they come to us, and often it can be much more than their little bodies can handle. Harvesting, shipping, then sometimes really bad pet store conditions. It can be rough on the little guys.

Here are some good articles to read before you get new hermies:
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=22

These should help you to keep your next hermies alive longer, and hopefully they will live through the post purchase stress.

crabbylvr336 · Post by **crabbylvr336** » 27 Apr 2009, 11:31

Thanks so much, that website helped alot. Since my hermie died, i was aloud to get another one, so thats good news. He's actually here right now. I'm not sure if he's getting along well with my other crab (Hank). I tried leaving them in the tank for a while to see what would happen ( of course I inspected and bathed the new one before i put him in the cage). First they would stare at eahother, and then hank would sort of clib all over the new guy, ( which my dad named Delicous as a joke). I'm not sure, but i think hank is trying to set his territory. Right now, i put a cage divider in the middle of them, so that they can't hurt eachother while i'm not looking. Does anyone have any idea why they are doing this? Should i let them do it, will they hurt themselves if i let them do it?

p.s. sorry im pretty much only asking Qs, instead of answering them!
p.s.s write back if need anymore information about them to figure out the problem.
p.s.s.s wow, that was a long reply!

crabbylvr336

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 27 Apr 2009, 12:16

crabbylvr, did you give the new crab a quick dip in your fresh water pond before introducing him? It's always a very good idea to bathe your new crabs when you get them, and also a good idea to give them a dip in the fresh water pond before putting them in with the other crabs, as this helps them "smell" more like the other crabs.

I'd watch for signs of "shell rocking" when they are together - as in your bigger crab grabbing and "rocking" the smaller crab as if he is trying to dislodge him from his shell. That can be fatal or at least dangerous for the smaller crab as they sometimes will die before giving up their shell.
Otherwise, if he is just smacking the smaller crab around a little, just keep an eye on them to make sure it doesn't turn into some real bullying.
More experienced crabbers will probably have some more advice for you.

pookie_spike09 · Post by **pookie_spike09** » 27 Apr 2009, 12:28

im soooo..... sorry 4 the loss!!!! remember that u have a whole crabbie family here ant hermit crab paradise!!!
*tear**hug**hug**tear*

crabbylvr336 · Post by **crabbylvr336** » 27 Apr 2009, 20:27

Thanks so much again, but it's too late!!!! The new guy died over night! Ughhh what am i doing wrong??!! Hank my oldest hermie is absolutely fine, Oh, and no i didn't try puting him in his fresh water pond, i'll try that next time. Do you think it's wrong of me to keep on trying?

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 28 Apr 2009, 09:21

I see no reason you shouldn't keep trying, but before you do, it would be a good idea to sit back and think this through to figure out why your new hermies died so quickly.
First, what are the conditions at the pet store compared to your tank?
It would be a very good idea to set up an isolation tank if you can, and try to mimic the pet store's conditions. If you read the article on PPS, you saw that it mentioned that just taking them from a dry, cold environment and abruptly putting them into an ideal warm, moist environment (73-78*F temperature, 75-78% humidity) can stress them enough to cause them to die. I myself had this happen. It's better to mimic the pet store conditions in an isolation tank and then change the conditions slowly over a few weeks until they are up to ideal.

Think about your own tank conditions - even though your one hermie seems to be doing well, perhaps the conditions are not up to where they could be? He may just be a very hardy crab, and is managing to get by.
If you know that your tank conditions are ideal (temp, humidity, substrate of the proper kind and depth, good foods, both dechlor fresh and dechlor ocean salt water, some good hiding spots) then it's best to look at the difference in conditions compared to the pet store.

crabbylvr336 · Post by **crabbylvr336** » 28 Apr 2009, 10:48

thanks again, i just got my new hermie today, and i'm trying my best to do what the pet store is doing, i got the same substrate, food, and i even got an overhead light just to make him/her (don't know which one yet, i thought that i'd leave him alone, he's had enough in one day) a light, because that's what the pet store had. I really hope he is able to survive tonight, wish me luck!

If he isn't okay in the morning, maybe i should stick to just one hermie, he doesn't seem to like anyone else in his cage!Thanks for your help everyone!

crabbylvr336

ladybug15057 · Post by **ladybug15057** » 28 Apr 2009, 11:28

I am sorry for your loss, but did you read the entire article CrabbyJo provided the link to? There is an updated version that does explain it a little better:

PPS

This iso period is a very important part of getting new hermies to help them adjust. Without doing this, and depending on the pet store conditions there is a very slim chance that the newbie will survive. With all he has been through, as well as yet another new environment when you take him home to be confronted with a territorial issue is only adding to the high stress level he is already under. As for same conditions as the pet store... what kind of substrate did they have? Not always is the substrate they use hermie safe. As for the pet store food, please do not offer this majority of them have ethoxyquin (insecticide) and or copper sulphate (insecticide) in them and our hermies are from the arthropod phylum. It is better to offer them fresh foods for now or some freeze dried/dehydrated foods:

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=44

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=25

http://www.hermitcrabcuisine.com/

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-browse_categ ... =off&type=

What brand of ocean water do you offer?

Edited to add: And it is VERY important that the hermie has a night and day cycle to his life too. (as your original hermie too) Did you also get a moon glow bulb? Please do not leave a regualr day light on 24/7 regardless of what that part of the pet store set up was.

crabbylvr336 · Post by **crabbylvr336** » 28 Apr 2009, 21:15

I just got the same food becuase i thought it would comfort him and take a little bit of his stress off. I also checked to make sure the bedding they used was for hermies, and it was. I'm really happy to say that he has survived his first night here in his new tank. I think my other hermit crab died from pps. Everyone's help has been really helpful, i think i'v got thepps thing down.

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