VERY odd behaviour... dead or alive?

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Wai
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VERY odd behaviour... dead or alive?

Post by Wai »

My crab Venus has been acting very oddly for the last few months. I just got back from my holiday trip to Hong Kong, and when I arrived home, I went to check on my hermies after taking them back home from my neighbours. It seems that Venus hasn't moved a muscle since I last saw her before my departure, but she doesn't smell dead at all. In fact, I've noticed that her claws have changed colour, from white to tan. My neighbours said they never saw Venus run around nor eat. I don't think she's pre-molt because all my other crabs who molted were only pre-molt for only one or two weeks, then molted. But Venus has been like this for two months. She doesn't fall out of her shell, instead, she's slightly tucked in tightly. Is she dead?

On the otherside of the ISO, I found Mercury dead under the sand :'(. In the main tank, Pluto also passed away during a molt. I'm not sure if he was attacked, there were shed legs and claws on the surface. I found his little body also under the sand, in a mess :'(. I only know that Jupiter and Neptune are okay, they're still very active.
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Riven Liether
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Post by Riven Liether »

I think I replied to this post in the HCA forum.
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Post by Wai »

Yes, poor Venus was dead all along...
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redonesue
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My sick hermie

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Recently my mother bought my daughter a hermit crab from a pet store. We needed a companion for the one we already had. But the sales people sole her a tank and told her she had to have this special heated light. I have read those are actually not good for them. I spray the tank daily. In any case, my other crab is loving life in his new home but the other is having problems. At firsh he was very active. But yesterday I found him just sitting next to the food, all of his claws hanging out, but won't move. I picked him up and he came out and looked at me, but it seems like he is having trouble moving, like he has not strength to move. Last night he came out of his shell, but just stook there and didn't move the entire night. The other crab is moving all over the place. I don't know what to do. Have I done anything wrong. Is it the lamp? I only turn it on when I get home from work for about 3-4 hours. He is a pretty big crab, so I'm not sure if he is molting. He doesn't do any kind of digging. Just hangs out in one place. Any suggestions. I really like him. He has a personality. I feel bad for him. Should I separate him from the other. They became friends and used to sleep side by side before "Shelly" became sick.

I hope to hear soon from someone. I think the guy from the pet store didn't know what he was talking about and just sold my mother an expensive heating lamp.
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Post by Riven Liether »

Redonesue, does your tank have temperature and humidity gauges? If the conditions of your crabitat are not being regulared properly, that may possibly account for your little guy's sluggishness. I just want to double-check, since this is always important.

Secondly, it might also be the case that he's got PPS (post-purchase stress from being shipped). In which case, it would be best to leave him to his own devices, keep contact to a minimum (none, if possible), and make sure there's always plenty of food and water.
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Post by Wai »

There are also a number of topics in the Emergency Room forum that might help too.
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Post by redonesue »

How do I control the temperature? The sales person had my mom buy lamps for the aquarium. I can tell that it gets too hot in there. What should I do? Should I buy something else? I'm keeping plenty of food and fresh water. Do you think I should separate this crab from the other one?

I also have sand in the aquarium. I spray it everynight, again because I feel like it's so hot. How often should I spray.

Obviously, I'm very new at this. Any help is greatly appreciated. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Thank you!
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Post by Wai »

Try separating them. The best heat source known to crabbers are under tank heaters. Bright lights can cause hermies to be inactive since they're nocturnal animals.
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dead hermie?

Post by redonesue »

I separated the the hermie's as suggested. I just checked on the sick hermie and he seems like his claws are soft and you can move them? Is he dead. I can't really tell, but I feel like he is still alive in there.

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Post by Wai »

Does the crab fall out of his shell? If he does he might be dead.
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