Crablog 11-25-05

• I was a dork and sat up really late watching the crabs. I never get a chance to see them out and about all that much so I was determined that I was going to find out what they did while we were slumbering away.
• Oscar seems to really love the 2nd level. He goes up the big hut, over the leaves, up the netting, checks stuff out up there and then just HAS to go down the way he shouldn't. He likes to go down the corner and he actually has to push the entire 2nd level over to the point that it nearly tips over in order to fit his shell through. I honestly thought it was going to fall and send shells flying everywhere. It took him liek 20 minutes to get himself down. After that, he walked over and got a drink then he came back and decided to go up the way he just came down. I think that was a lot harder for him to do because he had a lot harder time getting his shell through there. It made a "popping" sound when he got it through. He just keeps walking around and doing it over and over.
• Lastly, Kermit and Oscar are by far the most active big crabs that I've seen. The new little guys (David, Ghost, Blue, Norbert and Poindexter) have also adjusted pretty well and are all out every night. I worry a little about Hermie, Tiger Lilly, Tink and Squirt (the last 3 are pretty much buried and I only get an occasional glimpse of Tiger Lilly) because they are just not out much. At first Hermie was out quite a bit but now he either just hides under the log or one of the huts. I haven't seen Squirt or Tink in nearly a week. Molting or destressing? Who knows...
  

Crablog 11-24-05 (Thanksgiving Day)

• Crabbies got a special treat today. We gave them so Turkey meat, but even better than that, I smashed up a couple of turkey bones and let them have the marrow. A couple of them came out for that and had a good time.
• I've found that 2 of our crabbies are actually using my 2nd level invention. I was sitting here on the bed next to the 'tat and I heard this really loud clunk of shell on glass. I jumped up and looked in and in the back of the 'tat (on his back) was Kermit. I think he walked right off the edge. Silly crabbie.
• Oscar is also climing up and down the netting.
  

Crablog 11-22-05:

I got creative tonight about the heating problem. I read something online about creating a "crab-loo" (crab igloo) with the tank. People in colder regions need to do it to keep their crabbies warm. I had some foam board insulation so I measured out what I needed to cover 3 sides of the tank. Hopefully it will help to keep in some of the warmth created by the UTH and the bulbs.

I also decided to try my hand at making a 2nd level. I used a plastic dish tray, cut it in half, hot-glued some legs on it made from PVC pipe, hooked on some fish-net (NOT from my stocking, lol) onto the legs and buried it into the sand up against the end of the tank. I put some FB on top and then put in a bunch of empty shells for them to change into up there. Sky had a great idea of putting the plant in the back and their little coco-hut under the 2nd level to give them a really cozy little place to hide. It's really cute. They have like a little town-house or something now.

Crablog 11-20-05:

• Had the NightGlo bulb on all night and now have the SunGlo bulb going and the temperature is right around 78F.
• Some of the crabs got pretty active last night and were running around. Oscar was up hanging from the screen quite a while.
• We put seaweed in with their food and Petunia really seemed to like that a lot!
• This morning we got Hermie, Blue and David out (David and Blue being our newest littlest guys) and they were all over the place. The little ones seem very active. Got some more pictures of David & Blue crawling over Misha & Rain. Will post them soon.

Crablog 11-19-05:

• The 1-5 gal UTH is doing nothing; I’m taking it off and taking it back.
• I went today and picked up one of those clip on lamps and put it on with a 60 watt SunGlo bulb and the temp went up to 75 and stuck there. I took it back because it scares the hell out of me; it wasn't stable and the outside of it gets extremely hot. I worried about one of the cats getting curious and knocking it over and it starting a fire.
• I went BACK to the store again today to return all of that stuff and I bought a top screen and a 20 inch long strip bi-light system, sort of like what you'd use w/ reptiles. It has 2 incandescent sockets and I put a 40 watt SunGlo bulb and a 40 watt NightGlo bulb. I took the handle off of the glass lid and folded it in half, moved it to the front of the tank and then put the screen on top of it and the lighting strip on top near the back of the tank. The temp is still hovering around 71F. I even bought a second thermometer (one of those adhesive strips that changes colors) on the other (cool side) to make sure the first thermometer isn't screwy. That one is reading a little higher but not much. Now I’m worried about the humidity lowering though because half the top is nowopen and more of it is escaping.

Crablog 11-18-05:

• Oscar changed his shell last night, he's looking very handsome today.
• A couple of them really seem to like the plant I put in last night. Oscar decided to climb the plant after he put his new shell on (he's had a busy night) and he's been up there all day. Hermie is still sitting on the log underneath the plant partially hiding.
• Went to Michaels today, at the suggestion of several people in the various groups I've joined, to get some shells and plants. For a bonus we even found some fish net that they can climb (I've got ideas for cool things to do with the tank). We got a crapload of shells of all kinds of sizes and shapes.
• I woke up this morning and the temp in the tank is still low, still down to 70F. After Michaels we went to the Petco right beside it (Rockville on 355). I got another UTH (for a 1-5 gal tank) and mounted that on the back wall of the same side that the other UTH is on. After it being up on there for 10 hours, the temp STILL says 71F. I need a lamp.
• We also got another 6 crabs. I think one of them is a Coenobita Brevimanus (Indo). We may have picked up some Coenobita Compressus (Ecuadorians or Es). I'm still having a really hard time IDing them, it's very difficult when they come in such a wide range of colors.
• One of the new little guys is quite the acrobat. This evening he had climbed the plant/tree and was hanging upside down sleeping and holding on with just one leg. Very silly little guy. He stayed like that at least an hour after I found him like that. All these guys we got today are pretty active, rather, they have not gone and dug in like the first ones we got. They've either been in the tree or under the log.
• Several of the new ones look as if they are pre-molt or post-molt. Well, their color is very light tan. Some of their exoskeletons look almost transparent and since I'm new at this and not yet seen a crab molt, I don't know if it's pre or post look. One of the new guys has a very distinct blue look about him.
  

Crablog 11-17-05:

• Made a change to the substrate today after talking to Sabrina because I can't get the tank temperature up over 71 F. She suggested very carefully removing the FB and then making the depth of the sand on the right side to be 1" deep, then putting the FB back on top. The sand apparently causes the heat to stay trapped under it and doesn't allow it to rise into the tank. I was worried to do this because Tink & Squirt have buried themselves over there probably because it's warm down there. After very carefully moving out the FB little by little, I found them both in the back corner. After I finished I put them back in the corner on top the FB and in 5 minutes they were dug back in.
• I put some faux foliage in (plastic aquarium plants which are not all that sturdy) and right after Hermie was on top the log investigating it (got a good pic). When I put the plant in I had to move the log and when I finished up and put the log back, Kermit, Oscar & Tiger Lilly all scurried back under real quick. It was very funny to watch. All 3 went into the back and huddled up together against the glass.
• Put some sardines in their food but really didn't see anyone checking them out.

Crablog 11-16-05:

• Having a hard time keeping the tank above 70, it's hovering right there.

Crablog 11-15-05:

• Kermit changed clothes, lol. He switched out his shell for another we put into the cage. He looks very spiffy.
• Kermit, Hermie and Oscar are the most visible of the 6. Hermie the most of all.
• The 3 smallest are hidden.

Crablog 11-14-05:

• All crabs hidden and dug in - most likely destressing.
• Steph ID'd them all and marked the shells.
• Tiger Lilly disappeared in tank and can't be found.
• Bigger crabs are more active then the smaller ones.
• After marking, Kermit is most active & is eating, everyone else is hiding.
• Watched Kermit eat - he holds the fruit with big pincher (BP), rips pieces off with smaller left pincher and 2 little feeler legs from under his head come down and gently take the food off the pincher and move it up to his mouth (not visible). Flashlight pissed him off and he drug food off to the corner to eat unobserved.
• Kermit's colors are much darker, deeper red/purple than all the others.
• Found Tiger Lilly dug into the FB. She became active when pulled out.Squirt scuttles sideways.

Crablog 11-13-05:

• Bought all kinds of stuff at PetSmart including: 20 gal (long) glass tank, glass lid, Forest Bedding (FB), huts, UTH, climber wall, playsand, and 5 more crabs. Came home and set it all up. Bathed little crabbies and put them in. This tank is much nicer. We believe that all crabs are PPs (Coenobita Clypeatus which is the most common and apparently the only kind PetSmart sells). The names of all the crabs (from biggest to smallest) are: Kermit, Hermie, Oscar, Tiger Lilly, Tinkerbell (Tink) and Squirt.
• We have the tank set up where the left side is the wet and cool side, and left side is dry warm side. Sand is down on both sides, aquarium gravel in the middle and then FB is on top the sand on the right side (UTH is under it).

Crablog 11-12-05: and so it begins...

Bought first crab and named him Kermit. Got him home and played with him and fell right in love. Set up a little tank and realized it was WAY too little. Went online to research them and found some of the stuff we got was no good for him and we need more stuff. Going to go back tomorrow and buy the stuff we need.