New Sand and the Treetop Crabs

[raginggnome]

I've been waiting so long to clean out the crabitat, I had to wait for crabs to stop moulting and to get new sand. The sand I finally got was CaribSea Fuji Pink in Select grain size I believe... possibly sugar grain. It cost 30 of my hard-earned dollars so I only got one bag. The amount of sand I recieved (20lb) necessitated the move back to the old 10 Gallon tank. They've been in there for a day and they're all huddled up on top of the tree i have in there, well, it's a piece of wood and they are all right up by their ceiling. I just got home from work and it's 6:20 pm, last I saw them it was about 8 in the morning. At that time, and also last night, there have been one or two crabs up there pretty consistently, but I'm concerned that there might be some problem... Temp and Humidity are, if not average, then at least reasonable. Any clues what's up?

Followup question: During the changover, Scuttle was... not found. His shell and claws were found but nothing else... What happens? I had seen the little guy a couple weeks before hand, could his body have decomposed in just that short amount of time?

Thanks for your time!

[raginggnome]

Also, I baked the sand prior to putting it in there, but it still is a little moist. Will the crabs avoid wet sand?

[emmac350]

Nope! My sand is damp. Changing a tank so completely (substrate, tank size, etc.) will stress your crabs out, however. I'd recommend you give them a week or so with limited handling so they can destress from these changes.

What substrate were you using before that decomposed your crab?

[CrabbyJo]

I think the other crabs could have eaten him? is that likely you think, Emma?
Also, I just redid my tank, and the crabs seem to be spending a lot of time up high. I changed from Fiji Pink (1mm grain) to sugar grain (it really is as fine as sugar!) and maybe they aren't crazy about how it feels?
I don't think you need to worry, and I'm giving mine a week with the new tank before I take them out to exercise again I suppose, didn't think of the stress of it. They aren't used to regular exercise anyway, or I'd stick with a routine. I'm inconsistent about getting them out.

[raginggnome]

I am too, I need to think of a way to get them the excircise they need, they've been ignored for a while, shame on me

I don't think Scuttle was eaten, he was mostly burried the whole time. the substrate was Bed-A-Beast, which I read was bad for the crabs, although I had several successful moults with it in there. It did however generated a very nasty fruit fly problem, which was a real concern.

i'll give it a week or two and see how they're doing. I'm still very concerned though, they seem like they want out.

Thanks for your help though, you've eased my mind quite a bit!

[emmac350]

Not at all! I'm glad we could help.

If you're looking to find a way to exercise your crabs, look at WalMart or some other store like that for a shallow, big Rubbermaid container. I got mine (it's designed to fit under beds) for like $10 USD. Then buy a package of "craft plastic sheets" and some hemp and a plastic 'tapestry needle' from the craft section. You can make climbing items (I made a table-shape thing and a "smokestack" out of mine) and cover the floor with the rest of it. It's very cheap (considering the alternatives) and don't be surprised if your crabs just try to run up the sides. Occasionally I'll have one of the three climb on top of something, but I don't care - if they use them, great, but if they don't, they're still getting exercise! They look like they're on a treadmill or something.

Good luck with your treetop crabs!