Can anyone describe the diffference between a Rug and an E?

[Carrie]

I barely even know the long form of Rug... but I might have one, or two. They were bought together at the local shop. I sent Wai some pics of a larger one named Lucky, and he says Lucky has a "thick antennae base" and therefore might not be an E after all. It's been years since I had some Es... Lucky and Happy II both live in regular hermit crab shells, the kind that PPs use, and I've never seen an E do that before--so far as I knew, their abdomens were shaped slightly different so that they preferred the usual E kinds of shells. Even when offered E-type shells they remain in the homes in which I bought them (Happy II has switched between two similar shells but not E-type ones). So far as I thought they were Es--the elongated eyes, differently shaped legs, etc.

Can anybody out there advise me as to the differences between these "Rugs" and Es? I find precious little info online. The only pic I saw of a Rug is of one turned over, claw facing up, withdrawn into its shelll, and that matches a pic I took of Lucky almost exactly, but COULD perhaps look like an E in the same position? I read that an E's 2 legs should be showing and Lucky and the Rug photo show only one leg (one difference between the PP and the E being that "armor" leg--the E has the 2 legs showing over the claw, and the PP has the one larger leg). So far this is my second clue.

Lucky's eyes seem perhaps slightly rounder at the top than an E's (I remember they had very distinctive eyes) but not at all rounded out like a PP's. Little Happy II is too small to tell for sure! I do have some high-quality photos (you can see pores in Happy II's skin, and he's tiny!) that I can send on to anyone who's willing to help me... Any Rug owners out there??

There are a few pics of Lucky on my website, which is listed below, which would be the same pics I'd e-mail anyway. There's one on the front page, and I believe one on the Species page.

Thanks!

[Carrie]

Looking at my photos I do see that second leg behind the first leg and the claw. This was not present in the definite "rug" photo I found online. Both Happy II and Lucky have that "thick antennae base." And the E-type eyes, too, elongated. My digital camera shows details I can't even see looking at these little guys...

[Wai]

It's best if you ask someone who actually does have Eccies or Rugs... since I only have Aussies . I did some research online and so far I know that Rugs have thicker antenna bases than Eccies.

[Carrie]

Thanks, Wai! Whatever my little ones are, they are very sweet and active and I love them very much... the little guy recently molted and grew back a leg half, a leg, and filled out various little dents that you can only see on the digital photo. Now he is a pale whitish color. I'm trying to up the carotene by giving them some dried marigold petals in their food now. I *think* they might be Es for real, tho...

[ayianna]

The first MAJOR difference will be that Rugs have three colors on their BP. A medium color on top, a wedge of lighter color in the middle, and a dark color on the bottom. Their BP will also have 'stitches' like you would see on a baseball or football. This is a dead give-away.

Other differences are that the limbs of a Rug are very thick when compared to a PP or even an E. E's are generally all one color and lack an excess of 'hair'. They are quite generally grey or bluish in my experience, and have a much slower growth rate. They will prefer shells that have a D shaped opening as opposed to open O's like a turbo shell.

I hope this helps you better than 'thick antennae base'. :-P

[Carrie]

Well, mine are white (Happy II) and yellow (Lucky). They have no visible hair. I think they are probably Es. Ohio has NEVER seen another species in all the shops I've visited.

BTW, what is a BP?? Big Pincher? If that's the case there is no 'stitching' and the colors look E-ish.

Well, it was fun for a while to wonder, anyway, and thanks for the reply!

[Wai]

BP stands for big pincher.

[Beachdude2211]

go to http://www.hermit-crabs.com they have some good info there

[iluvhermies]

I found this (not sure where):

E's - Armore legs often have a pinstripe of dark down their legs. Eyestalks are uniform in color. Shield has 2 black marks on it (Forward mark is long.)Stitch marks are faint.

Rugs - Eye stanks may be white or colored. Nearly all have a black spot on the front of their eyestalks. Stitch marks are pronounced. Black mark on their shield is often wide and runs from one side to the other. The claw often has a white stripe down it (dividing the color.) They come in many colors.

Hope this might help you.

[hermiesrokmysox]

E's eye's tend to be more "bubble-y" and round. on the other hand Ruggies's are more pointed.