Crablog

Well, tonight I checked on the little one that was buried with the wet looking spot around it. We've suspected that it was Squirt but weren't sure. It was. Squirt has been buried there since about 2 weeks after we got them and when I noticed the wet spot I thought it was just water from the shell. Well, since I have had the insulation around the tank I really haven't looked into that corner much because I have to take it down to do it. Anyway, I spoke to Vicki last night about it and she asked if it had moved any and it really didn't look like it so she said that this is one case where I should actually dig down to a buried crab. I did and when I picked up the shell, the body fell out in pieces. There was also no smell at all so that tells me that it's been there dead for some time. Probably when we originally saw the wet spot. It's sad, poor Squirt. When I talked to Vicki tonight we figured it was probably PPS that did it, just too much stress from being plucked from some sunny beach and then shipped to the pet store. Poor Squirt, RIP little one.

After the Squirt episode I decided to change around the tank a bit, the pictures are below. I think it looks a little neater and has a little more manuevering room for them. The second level that I built fell apart so I canned that. Next time it will definately be worth investing in a little aquarium sealant for that instead of the hot glue gun. We put up a little corner thing with suction cups and put in some moist moss in there to help with the humidity and I understand the crabs love to hang out in it. Vicki tells me that her micro Es LOVE being in the moss. I hope my Ruggies like it too.

Crablog & Menu

Chicken, organic noodles, yellow squash, celery, Total, CrabCake, walnuts & 10-grain.

Petunia still under the IO dish. Color is getting even prettier than before molt.

Oscar is moving about, s/he's been buried down and over from Petunia. Perhaps Oscar is planning on coming topside soon also...

Saw Blue tonight, VERY nice coloring now. Hairy legs and black tips.

Saw another Ruggie but not sure who. Coloring looks brown/gray. Hairy legs and black tips. Got pics.

Saw David tonight also (darker shell but speckly) and that one's color seems to have changed as well. Hairy legs and black tips. Got pics.

Tomorrow I'm going to have to dig a little and see if we may have a dead crab buried. We haven't seen Squirt since about a week or two after we brought them home. In the back corner there is a spot that I thought was Squirt but it was sort of wet looking, this was weeks ago. Well, the spot is still there and it doesn't look as though anything around it has moved. If that spot was from water in the shell, I don't think it would look that way. Vicki told me tonight that if I dig down to the shell, I'll know right away if it's dead because it will stink (the smell would have been trapped in the sand and not escape). I'll check it out tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to be very bummed if that crab died :(

Got some stuff from the dollar store tonight to perhaps move things around a bit and neaten up the 'tat some. At this point there are empty shells all over the place and they keep getting sand and FB in them so I got this sort of plastic tray thing I want to bury a little and put all clean shells in there so they don't get so dirty. Crabbies have been dragging shells all over the place lately; every morning I get up they've all been moved. I've got to stay up some night to see all this activity first hand. It's got to be funny to see them dragging the shells all over the place.

Also going to pull off some recipes from Epicurean Crab and Crab Street Journal and then get some organic and natural ingredients from Whole Foods and make yummy stuff for them. I also want to use a recipe Kathy posted on Hermit Crab Addiction for a daily staple type food to be supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies.

Crablog & Menu

• HAPPY NEW YEAR!
• It's been a while since I've posted anything, life's been busy with Christmas, the kids' dad visiting and the New Year.
• Menu: 2 different types of locally produced organic honey with ground Total flakes in them, green bell pepper, scrambled egg with egg shells, one angel hair noodle, shredded carrot and shredded coconut.
• I saw that egg shell had been drug out of the dish and the noodle has been torn apart and there are noodle remnants all over the place.
• Several crabs have been out running around at night but I still don't know who is who; there have just been too many shell changes going on.
• Petunia is STILL under the IO dish but I believe it will be coming up to the surface soon. It did indeed molt as one of the days I was changing out the water in that dish I saw the uneaten portion of exo, it was the claw. 2 nights ago I checked again and there were only tiny pieces of exo that I could see. Petunia seems to have darkened up some and regained a good bit of color. While Petunia was tucked up in the shell I gently moved it just a bit to see the coloring and it appears that the new exo has hardened as well (no, I didn't touch anything but the shell, I don't want to damage the exo).
• I really want to get a bigger tank, at very least a 33 gal, but preferably a 55 gal. I just want to give them some more room. It just looks so crowded with all the empty shells and such in there. I've been thinking of other ways to set it up to perhaps free up some floor space but ultimately I want to get a bigger tank. As soon as I recooperate from Christmas a bit then perhaps I can start thinking more seriously about tank upgrade.