hey guys i have hermot crabs that r realy realy realy sick!!!!!!!!! please help them!!!!there not moving
there half way out of there shell !!!im scared!!!!!!any help?
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. First of all, where did you get your hermet crabs? If from a pet shop they should have information to help you. Otherwise, there is a hermit-crab.com site and here is some information I found for you:
Closely examine your crabitat. Check for the following known crab stressors: (1) low humidity; (2) tank too hot or too cold; (3) recent temperature fluctuations; (4) chlorine in the drinking water; (5) heat lamps, heat rocks or being kept in the sun too long with no place to hide; (6) chemicals in the environment, such as metal water dishes, cleaning solvents around the crabitat, (7) shell fights; (8) bathing or misting the crabs too much (more than two times a week); and (9) molting problems. You can't do much about the molting problems, but almost all the other stressors can be alleviated in some way. Please try to keep your crab's home as stress-free as possible.
Is Bathing Crabs Related to Stress? NO. Regular weekly bathing them does not stress them out, but bathing them too much does. Too much is bathing your crabs every day, or every other day. When you over-bathe them you strip their exoskeletons of needed oils and other necessary elements and the crab weakens quickly and starts to stress. So keep the baths to once a week, UNLESS you live in a desert climate.
HELP! My Crab is NAKED!!
Though it's your first instinct, don't panic. Run your hands under water to remove any perfume and/or hand lotion. Try the GLASS CUP METHOD. This is something that I made up that works wonderfully. Take the nudie crab and dip him in water to wash the substrate off him. Then rinse out his old shell. Put him and his shell into a glass cup together, and put into the isolation tank and leave him alone. It keeps him from running around frantically (as naked crabbies do) and conserves his energy. Besides he is in close quarters with his shell and can't walk away from it. I've been using this method for two years now, successfully.
A second method is to calmly pick up the naked crab and dip him (and his shell of choice) into dechlorinated, Stress Coat treated water and, using your finger, try to gently curl his abdomen into the shell. If he doesn't like the idea, use your fingertip to rap him a little on the head and 'scare' him into withdrawing. If he pops out of the shell, set him into the bath water and take a good look at the shell. Put your fingertip down inside it to make sure there are no protrusions or anything which would irritate or poke his abdomen. Then, try again to get him into the shell. If you still don't have success, try a new shell the same size as his previous shell. If that doesn't work, get him into a shell that is larger. Do not under any circumstances force him into a shell that it too small or uncomfortable for him. He is already under tremendous stress, and forcing him into an unsuitable shell may put him into shock and eventually death.
But WHY? It is my experience that crabs streak (go naked) because of the following things:
Shell Fights "Shell fights occasionally occur among wild and pet hermit crabs and can often be detected because of chirping sounds. From a position slightly above the defending crab's shell, an attacking crab seizes the defending crab with its walking legs and rapidly rotates it back and forth. While doing this, the attacker's claws are usually inside the opening of the defending crab's shell. This shaking often drives the defending crab from the shell that the attacker wants. Practically leaping out of its shell, the loser waits and enters the victor's shell. Typically, neither crab is harmed and both might get a better-fitting shell."
Taken from Hermit Crabs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, by Sue Fox
Environment Too Hot I've seen crabs have sequential shell fights down the 'intra-tank-pecking-order' until the weakest crab was left naked. This was because the air in the tank got so hot that the crabs required a thinner shell to aide in cooling their abdomens. Keep a close watch on the temperature and make sure it does not get too hot.
The Unexplained Sometimes a crab will go naked for no immediately obvious reason. In that case, you must examine your entire method of crab-keeping. The crab would not be naked if something weren't amiss. Go back and look for any possible stressors, in particular the temperature and humidity. Also be sure you are bathing the crabs no more than once a week (twice a week in desert climes).
My Crab Tank Is Infested With Mites or Gnats! YUCK! One day you pick up your favorite crab, and as he comes out of his shell to greet you, what do you see but BUGS crawling on his back! You can't believe your eyes, blink, and look again – yep, they are still there! Your crab has mites.
If you have a problem with small flying black insects, please scroll down to the section on gnats.
How Did I Get Mites -- The Tank is Spotless? Even the cleanest crabitats can be 'visited' by mites. They are attracted to your crab tank because it is warm and moist, and they stay there because there is food and water readily available. Once they settle in, they lay eggs and basically colonize your crabitat. There is only one way to get rid of them – tank sterilization.
How do I Get Rid of Them? The most reliable method is to throw out all the old 'infected' substrate. While the tank is still empty, rinse it out with water. If your tank is large (20 gallons or more), you can use the 'wet paper towel' method. Moisten a paper towel with tap water. Then, pressing HARD to squish any mites, rub the towel over the entire tank. Pay special attention to the corners of the tank – which is where they hide. An alternative is to (with the tank dry or after it dries) use a vacuum cleaner hose to suck the dirt out of the corners. Allow the tank to dry thoroughly.
What if I Can't Afford New Substrate? If you can't afford to buy all-new substrate for your crabitat, there is another sterilization method. Preheat your oven to 300�‹ Fahrenheit. Take the 'infected' substrate out of the tank and spread it on a cookie sheet to a depth of about Å�N inch. Bake it in the oven for Å�N hour and allow it to cool. Repeat as many times as necessary until ALL your substrate is sterile. Then clean the tank (as explained above).
But Don't the Mites 'Hide Out' in The Crabs' Toys? Absolutely. While the tank is drying, it is very important that you disinfect all the crabs' extra shells, dishes and climbing toys (like coral) by boiling them for about 5 minutes. Pieces of wood can be sterilized by putting them into either a microwave oven for about 2 minutes or a regular oven at 300�‹ Fahrenheit. Keep a close eye on any wood you sterilize to make sure it doesn't catch on fire. It is a good idea to disinfect all crab toys before they are introduced to the crabitat.
How do I Remove Mites Living on the Crabs Themselves? Baths, baths and more baths! The best way to remove mites living on the crabs is to give each crab a full-immersion bath. Tip the crab upside down in the bathwater and get all the air bubbles out. Give them one bath, let them air dry, then give them another, etc. About four baths is usually adequate. Pour the water off the crabs – because sometimes the mites float on the surface of the bathwater, and then when you bring the crab up out of the water, they hop on again. Watch the surface of the bath water for crawling things.
What do I do With the Crabs While Their Tank is Being Sterilized? After their tank has been cleaned out, you can place a soft towel in the bottom of the tank for the crabs to hide under (they like to hide away from light also). Be sure all undertank heaters are turned OFF at this point, since there will be no substrate to insulate them from the heat source. Alternatively, you can let them roam around a room or place them in a large box or other container to get some exercise.
How do I Prevent the Mites from Returning? The best method of mite prevention is to eliminate anything that could possibly attract them. Mites are often attracted to the crabs' food. Dried shrimp and plankton-type crab food is strong-smelling and therefore a big mite attractant. Fresh food offerings that remain in the tank too long and have spoiled will also draw mites. During your weekly 'housekeeping,' remove all spoiled food from the tank. Be sure to check thoroughly -- the crabs like to bury morsels of food out of sight. Scoop up any crab droppings and check the water dishes also. Hermit crabs often use their drinking water to clean out their shells, so there may be feces fouling their drinking water. Replace the water and smell any sponges you use to help boost humidity. A clean sponge is not noticeably offensive, but a dirty sponge smells like something rotten. Additionally, the area in the vicinity of the crab tank should be kept clean and well-dusted to discourage mites. It is not advisable to grow live plants near a crab tank, since plants attract their own pests and it would be easy for the mites to travel from the plant to your crabitat. If you use a hinged glass lid, be sure to clean the back of the lid frequently with a damp towel to prevent dust buildup. The back half of a lid or hood can be taped to the rim of the tank to keep out any dust or unwanted intruders. Glass lids fit quite snugly into the tanks themselves – taping them down forms an excellent mite barrier.
How do I Give My Crab Fresh Food Without Attracting Mites? It's easy. There are two methods: 1) Offer fresh food in a separate container outside of the crabitat. Many people give their crabs treats this way just before the crabs' weekly bath. It is much easier to clean peanut-butter from a crab when he's in the bath water. 2) Offer fresh food only at night. Place the cut-up food in a food dish and lower it into the tank before you go to sleep. In the morning, remove the fresh food and any stray pieces of it the crabs have dragged away. Either of these methods are excellent for offering your crabs the fresh food they crave.
Unfriendly Neighborhood Fungus Gnats They look like tiny black mosquitoes but don't bite, but they DO buzz around everything. They land on the crabs, the walls of the crabitat and they are good at getting away from you -- congratulations, you've got fungus gnats!
There are a lot of different species of fungus gnat. The genus is Mycetophila. Their lifestyle is similar to a butterfly's but not nearly as pretty! If you want to learn more about the particulars of fungus gnats, Google does a pretty good search if you put fungus gnat in quotes.
Here is a story that I posted on landhermitcrabs.com back in October 2003 about my fungus gnat problem and the solution I finally ended up using.
One day I noticed a lot of flying black bugs in the crabitats. A search on the Net told me that those little black buggers are called fungus gnats and they are attracted to damp, woodsy stuff (like house plant soil and forest bedding). Somebody else in my hermit crab Yahoo group was having a mite problem at the same time and a friend posted a link to place where you can buy "Fungus gnat predators." Basically, mites that eat fungus gnat eggs, larvae and adults.
My hermit crab has been missing since tuesday. He escape out of his cage. I can't sleep because this is my son first pet, and I was wondering what can I do to get him back. Is there anything that I should know, or what kind of food to put down that the smell might draw him to it. HELP!!!!!
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I can understand why you would be worried about your son's hermit crab going missing. Here are some steps you can take to try and find your missing hermit crab:
1. Search the immediate area: Start by searching the area around the cage thoroughly. Check nearby furniture, corners, and any small crevices where the crab could have crawled into. Look for any signs of movement or shell fragments.
2. Create a safe and appealing environment: Set up a small enclosure or trap near the cage with some sand, a water dish, and a variety of foods. Place some of the crab's favorite foods, such as fruits or vegetables, along with some crab food, to attract it. Ensure that there are hiding spots within the enclosure using small caves, coconut hides, or small overturned bowls.
3. Use a moist sponge: Place a damp sponge near the enclosure to provide a source of moisture and prevent the crab from dehydrating.
4. Check at night: Hermit crabs are more active during the night, so be sure to check for any signs of movement or sounds that might indicate the crab's presence.
5. Monitor the area: Keep a close eye on the enclosure and the surrounding area. Leave it undisturbed as much as possible and check it frequently to see if the crab has returned.
6. Inform neighbors: If the hermit crab crawled out of your home or garden, it is a good idea to inform your neighbors in case they come across it.
7. Seek professional help: If you are unable to find the crab on your own, consider contacting a local veterinarian, hermit crab expert, or animal rescue organization for further guidance and assistance.
Remember, hermit crabs are nocturnal creatures and tend to explore their surroundings. Keep searching diligently and provide a secure environment to increase the chances of finding your missing crab.