re-burrowed 1 month after molt

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emily
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re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emily »

Got crabs in June. July 12-Aug 9 Sheldon molted. Came up with the usual "toe-nails", tried on a new shell, went back to the old shell, and was generally VERY active for a month. Dug and tunneled and cruised everywhere. Now he has been under sand in one place for about 9 days. We can see him by looking at the glass tank from the bottom. He is in a large burrow and was pretty active in there at first. Now he is not moving as much - still waves antenae. He is not drawn into shell.
Here is the problem. Other crab is in iso tank and just finished her own 4 week molt. I would like to move her back into the main (10 gal) tank, but am afraid to if something is wrong with Sheldon. Why would he go from crazy active social crab to laying low in burrow with no sign of coming up?
Conditions: Temp 75. humidity 72-82. Play sand. All Living Things Freshwater Conditioner and soaking salt. Crab food and lettuce (the lettuce was new to the diet - he loved it, but that was shortly before he dove under).
Never had crabs before. Trying to do our best. They worry me.
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emmac350
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emmac350 »

Sometimes crabs just burrow. How big is the crab? Smaller crabs molt much more often than bigger ones. If he's smaller, his molt could be thrown off by the light from when you look at him. Light releases a hormone to postpone a crab's molt, so please refrain from checking on him for now. A better way to check if he's coming up is to look in the food bowl. If he's coming up, he'll eat and/or drink, so look for moved food, substrate in the water, etc.

The crab could also be reacting to something in his environment - you mentioned the All Living Things conditioner. It's not one of the water treatment mixes that we recommend, nor is the soaking salt. You can either buy distilled water by the gallon at the store (it costs less than $1 per gallon) and not worry about a dechlorinator, or you can buy an aquarium dechlorinator. Do you have salt and fresh water in the tank? Soaking salt isn't what we're looking for here; a saltwater aquarium salt mix like Instant Ocean will provide the minerals that they need.

Final question is about food. What do you feed the crab? Protein? Calcium? A variety of foods, including brightly colored and/or naturally dark foods (tomatoes, bell peppers, freeze dried sea life, dark leafy greens, etc.)? If not, please go to the care section and look up foods they can eat. They prefer variety (can and will refuse to eat foods they've eaten recently before) as an evolutionary quirk to ensure that they get plenty of the nutrients they need.

In the end, he might just be a digger. All of my very private crabs have become more sociable as they've gotten bigger. Give it time, and let them destress. He could just want some peace and quiet for a few days or a week.
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

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emily
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emily »

Thank you. I sure hope he's not molting. We just barely got him back from the last molt. The only food except the packaged crab food that he likes is romaine lettuce. We tried all kinds of fruit, even chicken. Can try again when he comes up. We do have 2 waters (salt and fresh - both dechlor.) and we spray with the dechlor. water. The ALT brand was rec. on another site. It removes chlor. and metals. He is a digger - like crazy- but has always been pretty social and checks people out, and likes interaction (unlike the other crab who pulls into shell at the sight of us). I went ahead today and bought another 10 gal. tank so the other crab (newly done molting 3 days ago) can go in there from iso while we wait on the crab of concern.
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emmac350
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emmac350 »

Get rid of the pellet food if it contains ethoxyquin. That's an insecticide that will kill crabs after too much exposure.

My crabs' favorite fresh foods lately (I have a bunch of dried food from the Addiction store that they also get daily) include:

Raw sweet potato
Raw rutabaga
Kale
Parsley (fresh)
Cilantro (fresh)
Shrimp shells
Eggshells
Scrambled egg (can scramble spirulina or other algae powder into it, and bits of eggshell...an egg's worth can be frozen in small bits and last years)
Turkey bone (cracked open to let them get the marrow
Ground beef (pulled out before it's seasoned)
Bell pepper
Tomato
Blueberries
Avocado (I just put the washed skin in and scraped any that stuck on the seed into it)

If the crab went for romaine lettuce, it may be wanting Zeaxanthin, a coloring compound in lots of plants that also brightens up crab coloring (important post molt). Try offering some of these other foods (fresh seems to be more popular with mine) with high levels of Zeax:

Orange bell pepper
Broccoli
Cilantro
Collards
Corn, yellow
Corn meal
Dandelion greens
Egg yolk
Grape leaves
Parsley (raw)
Peas
Spirulina

Of the foods I listed that weren't on the high life, most of them are on either the Moderate Zeaxanthin list or the low/trace one. Offer bright/dark foods, plenty of protein and calcium, and a variety and see what they like. You'll be surprised. If the food isn't touched, it might just be that they didn't come up. Try it later. I have a series of pictures on my tumblr (in my signature) of a food fight over scrambled Spirulina/egghsell egg.
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

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emily
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emily »

Great thanks. After reading your post, I visited the food forums. Sheldon is still underground. I am worried he is sick. I will try not to mess with him for now. We did not bother him during his molt month. But since he just molted recently, what if he's sick, how will I know if he needs treatment for something?
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emmac350
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emmac350 »

Unfortunately, there's not much a crabby mommy can do for a sick crab besides ensuring fresh, clean food and water. If there's a hole in the exo, the Addiction Store has a medicinal pack (basically crab-safe herbs that are naturally antibiotic, antiviral, promote healing, seal over openings, etc.) You boil them to make a bath, cool, and bathe the crab in it daily. It won't do much for a crab who's sick.

Why do you think the crab is sick? My little/lonely crabs often bury like Sheldon for no reason. If he doesn't come back up in a week or so, I'd start wondering/maybe worrying, but not this soon. Some crabs will bury themselves more than others normally. I used to only see Rack once every few months. Now that he's bigger, he's been on the surface since my last deep clean (over a month...it's a HUGE record for him). There wasn't anything wrong with him, per se, he just molted several times I'm sure (he was in a 1/4" shell when I got him and is now in a 1" shell), and the rest he just hung out down there and maybe came out when I was asleep.
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.
emily
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emily »

Thanks we feel a lot better knowing you have some that hide too. Guess he'll be pretty hungry when he comes up. I'll be checking those food forums and printing your list to be ready. Gave some lettuce and bell pepper to Sandy (the other crab) tonight. She's nocturnal so we will see by morning how she liked it.
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emmac350
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emmac350 »

All crabs, but especially post-molt crabs need a source of calcium and protein every night. Things like eggshells are an easy way to add calcium (or a cuttlebone, found in the bird section of the pet stores) without having to add an extra source every night. Protein is meat. Any meat that you eat (it has to be unflavored so they don't get sick from an herb that can kill them), or you can go to the pet store in the fish/turtle food section for stuff. Look at the ingredients - a bottle of, say, shrimp should only have dried shrimp as the ingredient. Shrimp, plankton, krill, tubifex worms, bloodworms, dried snails, dried crickets, water flies, etc. are all great sources of both protein AND calcium. The jars cost a few dollars each and if you get a few types, you can rotate them out.

A lack of animal protein and calcium will cause aggression in the tank that can lead to cannibalism, and can kill a crab if not fixed over a long period of time. They're not vegetarians by any means and will get sick and die without meat.
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.
emily
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Gender: Female
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Total gallons: 21
Total tanks: 3

Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emily »

Update on Shelldon. After over 3 weeks underground the 2nd time, he emerged having molted again. So I guess small crabs can molt again after a month. Really sharp little nails again. He is back to his social little self again. Looks bigger. Eating lots.
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emmac350
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Re: re-burrowed 1 month after molt

Post by emmac350 »

Even bigger ones can molt again within 2-3 months of a previous one. Not all, but they certainly can. Benny just dug down again for the first time since this summer...here's hoping all goes well! She'd just reappeared before I picked the crabs up in August...two months. Her shell opening is 1" (so crazy! When I got her, it was 1/4"!), for reference.
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.
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