Oh I shouldn't have done it...but I did!

[Gizaroo]

I shouldn't have...but I rescued a new crab today. I went in to get fish tank supplies and stopped to look at the hermies...noticed one was quite active, and noticed one dead, and out of the shell, as well as the water dish was all dried up. I asked to see the active one, and when the guy came out, I let him know that the dish was empty. He got regular water to give them, then I said that there were some dead ones. He also just told me to help myself to the crabs.."they weren't going anywhere" and he then asked me what would cause them all to come out of their shells and die. I told him I assumed it was probably because they were without water for who knows how long, as well as there was much more they needed for their proper care. He said he didn't know much about them. I was going to explain to him more about their care, but didn't get a chance other than to say they need both fresh and ocean salt water in their tank to even have a chance.

edited to add: I forgot to add- there were about 6 other hermies that had all left their shells and died. They were all shriveled and had been there awhile, probably without anyone noticing. Their water dish was bone dry.

While I was looking through the tank, I noticed 2 other hermies that were alive..Wish I could have rescued them as well...I'm going to print off the newest version of the care sheets and bring a small stack in to the store tomorrow and see if that guy is still there. I'm going to see if he will at least just let me set them on top of the tank, even if they do nothing about the conditions of the tank, so anyone purchasing them can at least get them.

I have him in an ISO tank (one of the critter carriers with a piece of glass on top) and he is currently sitting in the salt water dish drinking away....Poor thing. He looks good and healthy other than the fact of the conditions he was living in. He comes out of his shell pretty quickly when handled, and was quite curious about his surroundings when I put him in the ISO tank.

Once I know he is healthy and adjusted, I'm not sure what tank to put him in...Space-wise I think it'd be smarter to put him in with Banjo and Blu. What do you guys think?

Here's 2 pictures I took of him really quick.

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... G_0205.jpg

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... G_0208.jpg

Edited to add:

Oh Wow!! I got to see a crab (almost fully) move into a new shell! My new crab was really examining a shell in the ISO so I sat down to watch him...He would spin the shell around and then hold it with several of his legs, then shove his front big and small claws way down into it. He would straighten out, spin the shell around, and repeat the process. I watched him do this about 4 times, then went downstairs to get something to eat. I came back upstairs about 3 minutes later, and sure enough, he changed shells! If I had sat just a tad bit longer I would have gotten to see the whole thing! (He changed into a green turbo)
Here's a pic of him in his new shell His old one is right in front of him. http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... 0214-1.jpg

[CrabbyJo]

Congratulations on the shell change!

You did good, and while we can't rescue them all, it's nice to know we can help some.
It's really good to hear that the guy seemed at least a little interested, and hopefully he will be there when you take the care sheets down. If it's another worker, they may not be as receptive, just be ready for that. Good luck, and I sure hope it helps, I've heard plenty of success stories of people who got pet stores to listen to them!

[Gizaroo]

Thanks! It was really neat to watch him checking it out. I'm hoping the guy will be there tomorrow, but if not, I'm still going to ask if they mind me putting the care sheets next to the crabs. I doubt they will do much, but maybe I can at least get them to change the substrate from aquarium gravel and calci-sand to regular sand, and also to provide them both fresh and salt water.

[Gizaroo]

I don't think this new little guy is going to make it. He is hanging out of his shell, unmoving aside from an occasional quiver. He has dropped another leg, this time a walking leg. Poor little guy I think it is too little, too late for him, but we'll see. *fingers crossed*

What do you all think?

[Gizaroo]

No movement from where he has been sitting. Did the sniff check and still don't smell anything...but I'm doubtful the poor thing is going to make it.

[Gizaroo]

The lil fella is starting to stink...I think he's dead, but I'll give him another day or so.

[CrabbyJo]

I think you can probably trust he's passed, from the sound of it. Sometimes it's just been too much for them, and he was probably on his way out when you picked him up . One thing you might consider is the conditions at the pet store - it sounds like perhaps it was extremely dry there, and consider also they were out of water for who knows how long. If there was little to no humidity, chances are his gills were damaged beyond any recovery. I've heard it said they cannot recover from gills that have dried out.
When pet store conditions are bad, we have to make sure and start them off in conditions similar to the ones we found them in, in order to prevent shocking them with an extreme change and possibly causing their death that way. I myself "drowned" a hermie by taking it from a very dry pet store, and putting him into a nicely 75% humid tank. He could not take it and passed by the next day. I had no idea, and many people are just like me.

Before you pick up another crab, if you haven't already read this article, I highly recommend it:
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... toryid=165

I'm so sorry for your loss, it seems the ones we try to rescue that don't make it seem to touch our hearts the most, and we feel the loss more keenly.

[Gizaroo]

I think you can probably trust he's passed, from the sound of it. Sometimes it's just been too much for them, and he was probably on his way out when you picked him up . One thing you might consider is the conditions at the pet store - it sounds like perhaps it was extremely dry there, and consider also they were out of water for who knows how long. If there was little to no humidity, chances are his gills were damaged beyond any recovery. I've heard it said they cannot recover from gills that have dried out.
When pet store conditions are bad, we have to make sure and start them off in conditions similar to the ones we found them in, in order to prevent shocking them with an extreme change and possibly causing their death that way. I myself "drowned" a hermie by taking it from a very dry pet store, and putting him into a nicely 75% humid tank. He could not take it and passed by the next day. I had no idea, and many people are just like me.

Before you pick up another crab, if you haven't already read this article, I highly recommend it:
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... toryid=165

I'm so sorry for your loss, it seems the ones we try to rescue that don't make it seem to touch our hearts the most, and we feel the loss more keenly.

I figured that's what happened, especially since their water bowl was bone dry as well. I gradually raised his humidity through the first and second day (but definitely not slow enough), then fearing he was too cold, placed him in the 10 gal in the ISO tank. That skyrocketed the humidity I'm sure and didn't help. He was already doing very poorly when I put him in the 10 gal...had already dropped his large pincer. Sadly he was probably going to die either way, but it would have been inevitable at the petstore. At least he was able to get a really nice shell to be comfy in before he passed.

The next one I get will definitely be much more gradual of a transition. The poor guy was just a spur of the moment buy (he was only 3 dollars...was on sale) and I figured I'd give him a chance. I had a sinking feeling when I bought him he wasn't going to make it.

I have seen that article before, CrabbyJo. I am bookmarking it this time. That's what I was shooting for with the transition, but it was just too little too late for the poor fella.

[Gizaroo]

The poor fella is definitely dead. No sign of movement at all, so i picked him up and he fell out of his shell. Very smelly.

[CrabbyJo]

I think you're right. Usually if you lose them that soon after bringing them home, it wasn't your fault. It sounds like you did the best you could.
When you do start them out after bringing them home from a bad environment, the temp should be at minimum 72*F, and there should be a warmer end they can move to if they choose as well, and you can increase the temp a little more quickly than the humidity without causing harm. Consider how temperatures can fluctuate between night and day in the wild.

It also occurred to me when looking at the pics, if the crabs are without water too long, and cannot refill their shell water, it may be that their abdomen has dried out some as well. I wonder if anyone knows of any research on this, or experience with the drying of the abdomen for whatever reason?

I have to head off, time to leave work, but the thought just came and now I'm really wondering...