Well, I found one little lone hermit crab in a shop in a room with a bunch of reptiles, on a rock with a wire lid and some very scant sand in the bottom.
"Ohwell, another little PP" I thought, but guess what I got to see when I took a look.
http://a.imageshack.us/img19/1755/img0110yb.jpg !
Any ideas what kind the little guy is? There's no purple on him at all anywhere, my girlfriend commented and said he looked "Red with a little yellow in spots and brown", I'm colorblind, so it's hard for me to tell.
Slight surprise
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Timir
- Zygote
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 14:32
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 1
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
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Timir
- Zygote
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 14:32
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 1
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
Slight surprise
Well, I went out today, life hasn't exactly been super lately and on the hunt to see a ferret for my girlfriend I happened upon a little hermit crab in a shop, he was the last one and the owner didn't seem to know too much, so I went ahead and got him.
I was horrified to find out that the owner seems to put the crabs IN SMALL PAPER BAGS! No protection on the sides, nothing, not heavy duty bags, just plain dollar store paper lunch bags.
Seriously? I know better, I know that hermies will tend to go through a sturdy cardboard box, and some plastic containers so I knew a paper bag didn't have a snowball's chance in a hot place.
One replacement tank later I'm thinking "I might as well do something right for this little guy, rather than screw everything up" and got some Zoo Med Sphagnum Moss.
Ok, all set up at home(good lord, setting up Sphagnum moss stinks) I put in a water dish, a food dish, and a salt water dish. The little guy seems to be just about as happy as can be, the moss is humid, there's an aquarium lamp hood on with light to help keep temperature up.
By the way, here's a picture http://a.imageshack.us/img19/1755/img0110yb.jpg
I was horrified to find out that the owner seems to put the crabs IN SMALL PAPER BAGS! No protection on the sides, nothing, not heavy duty bags, just plain dollar store paper lunch bags.
Seriously? I know better, I know that hermies will tend to go through a sturdy cardboard box, and some plastic containers so I knew a paper bag didn't have a snowball's chance in a hot place.
One replacement tank later I'm thinking "I might as well do something right for this little guy, rather than screw everything up" and got some Zoo Med Sphagnum Moss.
Ok, all set up at home(good lord, setting up Sphagnum moss stinks) I put in a water dish, a food dish, and a salt water dish. The little guy seems to be just about as happy as can be, the moss is humid, there's an aquarium lamp hood on with light to help keep temperature up.
By the way, here's a picture http://a.imageshack.us/img19/1755/img0110yb.jpg
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emmac350
- Coenobita
- Posts: 1949
- Joined: 22 Sep 2008, 08:08
- Gender: Female
- Hermit crabs: 6
- Total gallons: 40
- Total tanks: 2
- Contact:
Re: Slight surprise
Congrats on your new crab! He looks to be an adorable little E, which are a lot harder to find in the US than PPs are! Congrats, they are fun and active little guys!
Edited to add: I merged the two separate topics about your new crab.
Edited to add: I merged the two separate topics about your new crab.
Follow the daily lives of my crabs at thedailyhermit.tumblr.com
Mommy to:
Rack, 23 Sep 08; Benny, 23 Sep 08; Slightly, 3 Jan 09; Nibs, 3 Jan 09; Curly, 3 Jan 09; Spaz, 5 Jul 09
If you are contacted privately and enticed to join another forum, please inform a moderator. This is an unethical practice.
Mommy to:
Rack, 23 Sep 08; Benny, 23 Sep 08; Slightly, 3 Jan 09; Nibs, 3 Jan 09; Curly, 3 Jan 09; Spaz, 5 Jul 09
If you are contacted privately and enticed to join another forum, please inform a moderator. This is an unethical practice.
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Timir
- Zygote
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 14:32
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 1
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
Surpise rescue
Ok, I woke up this morning and was going " 
Ack! I double posted!" until I read your post! 
And indeed he is active as anything. I felt the bag jumping and wiggling around before we were even out of the store, and to add to that both me and my girlfriend already had him travel quite a distance in our hands!
Thank you for confirming I wasn't just being dense, I know I've seen PP's molt and come back up very orange/reddish/muddy-ish but their claw always was fairly purple, and I know their shop definitely wasn't a habitat that was molt-friendly!
Ack! I double posted!" until I read your post! And indeed he is active as anything. I felt the bag jumping and wiggling around before we were even out of the store, and to add to that both me and my girlfriend already had him travel quite a distance in our hands!
Thank you for confirming I wasn't just being dense, I know I've seen PP's molt and come back up very orange/reddish/muddy-ish but their claw always was fairly purple, and I know their shop definitely wasn't a habitat that was molt-friendly!
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Wai
- Administrator
- Posts: 2895
- Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 2
- Total gallons: 45
- Total tanks: 1
- Location: Victoria, Australia
- Contact:
Re: Slight surprise
PPs and Es have very distinct eye shapes, so they shouldn't be hard to tell apart at all.
Wai
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harleyucollins
- Zygote
- Posts: 81
- Joined: 26 Apr 2010, 12:50
- Gender: Female
- Hermit crabs: 10
- Total gallons: 31
- Total tanks: 3
- Location: Pennsboro, WV
- Contact:
Re: Slight surprise
I found Dozer alone in a tank like you had described but he didn't have a lid and he wasn't surrounded my reptiles... actually surrounded rats and mice, in different tanks, of course. He was all alone so I got him. :] It's a nice feeling to save a hermit crab that is like that.
Proud owner of 10 hermit crabs.
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
6 PP's - Dino, Squirt, and Squishy (Other three unnamed)
4 E -Reo-ohki, Pip, Magnus, and Tien
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Timir
- Zygote
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 14:32
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 1
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
Re: Slight surprise
Well the thing that gets me is that he looks very similar to a PP to me in shape, but yet his colorings are all wrong for a PP..Would it be possible that he is an E and instead of molting and shaping his exo in a slot-shaped shell that doing it so long in a round-shaped shell that his exo would tend to look more like a PP's?
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Gizaroo
- Zoea V
- Posts: 434
- Joined: 27 Jun 2010, 11:37
- Gender: Female
- Hermit crabs: 8
- Total gallons: 19
- Total tanks: 4
- Location: Virginia
Re: Slight surprise
He looks like my E does, banjo.
Here's a pic of him http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... /Banjo.jpg
Here's a pic of him
http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae24 ... /Banjo.jpg
"My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian."- Robert E. Lee
"If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag."-author unknown
Owned by 2 Belgian malinois, 1 mixed breed, 3 parrots, 3 bettas and 6 hermies: Blu, Skip, Theo, Scuttles, Spudnut, and 3 new E's. Rip Blaze,Luka, and Banjo.
"If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag."-author unknown
Owned by 2 Belgian malinois, 1 mixed breed, 3 parrots, 3 bettas and 6 hermies: Blu, Skip, Theo, Scuttles, Spudnut, and 3 new E's. Rip Blaze,Luka, and Banjo.
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ladybug15057
- Coenobita
- Posts: 3098
- Joined: 03 Mar 2008, 04:12
- Gender: Female
- Hermit crabs: 82
- Total gallons: 305
- Total tanks: 7
- Location: Southwestern Pa., U.S.
Re: Slight surprise
Due to the shape of his eyes, ()_() as opposed to the PP's O_O I would lean to an E as well. But to tell for sure, is there a way to get a clear picture of his large pincher, his left rear walking leg, and the side of his eye stalks when he has had awhile to destress from all he has been though?
No need to stress him any further for now to determine if he is an E because he should be provided the same criteria as all other species.
But he does appear to be an adorable hermie!
No need to stress him any further for now to determine if he is an E because he should be provided the same criteria as all other species.
But he does appear to be an adorable hermie!
Marie (aka ladybug15057)
If you are contacted privately (via pm or e-mail) and enticed to join another forum, please contact a Crab Crew member. This is an unethical practice.
If you are contacted privately (via pm or e-mail) and enticed to join another forum, please contact a Crab Crew member. This is an unethical practice.
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Timir
- Zygote
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 14:32
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 1
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
Re: Slight surprise
Right now he's buried down in the sphagnum moss and appears to be doing fine(Probably still very upset from being alone in the pet store with no substrate to bury in) And after looking at some pictures of E's I am also pretty sure he is an E now as well. He has a fresh water bowl(which he has ravaged and dragged bits of moss into) He doesn't seem to care much for the IO mix(1 teaspoon to 16 ounces of water)
Any ideas where to get another E or two in the eastern shore Maryland area?
I've contacted the one shop I know treats their hermit crabs very well but they only sell PP's from Florida in specific and they treat them well enough that they have a very low mortality rate from the store(I don't think I ever lost a single one from them from store stress)
Any ideas where to get another E or two in the eastern shore Maryland area?
I've contacted the one shop I know treats their hermit crabs very well but they only sell PP's from Florida in specific and they treat them well enough that they have a very low mortality rate from the store(I don't think I ever lost a single one from them from store stress)