New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown crab

Questions about unexpected problems.
Post Reply
pkoo
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 27
Joined: 25 Sep 2012, 22:39
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 0
Total gallons: 0
Total tanks: 0
Location: North Western Sydney

New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown crab

Post by pkoo »

Basic info...

What is the volume of your main tank?
11gal (45L)

How many hermit crabs do you currently have? How big are they?
3 small crabs

How long have you had the hermit crab(s) that you are concerned about?
about 1 month

What substrate or combination of substrates are you using? How deep is it?
Coconut fibre and play sand/silver sand. The depth varies from 1.5cm over the UTH to 4 cm elsewhere

What do you feed your hermit crabs?
Mix of fresh foods - mostly uncooked fruits, veg, flowers, raw meat on occasion or lightly cooked (no added oil), cereal, popcorn (treat) some prepared organic hermit crab foods as recommended on this site.

Do you use distilled, bottled, tap or other types of water?
I use dechlorinated tap water mostly for drinking and demineralised water for misting if humidity falls too low.

If you are using a dechlorinator, what brand is it? Does it state to remove all heavy metals, chlorine and chloramines?
I use Aqua One. Yes it states that it removes heavy metals, chlorine and chloramines.

What brand of sea salt are you using to supply your hermit crabs with salt water?
Ultimate Aquacare marine salt.

What heat source are you using and where is it positioned?
It is a 12W under tank heater, positioned under one end of the tank. It covers ~ 1/3 of the tank floor area.

Have you calibrated your thermometer(s) and hygrometer so that you can interpret accurate readings?
Yes

What is the air temperature range and humidity inside the tank?
Air temperature on the cool end is 15.5 deg Celsius (~60 Fahrenheit) Humidity is usually between 70-80
Temp at warm end of tank is ~ 25deg Celsius (77 Fahrenheit)
What is the highest temperature that the substrate near the heat source reaches?
28degrees Celsius (thermostat controlled)

Do you have any photos of your tank or hermit crab(s) of concern? If yes, please attach them to your post./
See Attached. I have plans to build an upper layer with hemp netting, but firstly I'd like to make sure that I'm doing the right thing just keeping the crabs alive!

My story...
I bought 2 hermit crabs for my son who had some in his classroom and was told that they were easy pets to keep. After buying them along with all their equipment and some searching on the internet I have discovered that this isn't true. The care sheet provided by the pet shop was hopeless (only 1 page) They sold hermit crab care packs with sponges and tiny pieces of drift wood, hardy useful for climbing. Then there was the commercial food that had no listing of ingredients and the shell grit that I later threw out after reading how bad it is. The heat pad that I was sold was also unregulated so I had to use a timer to adjust the heating cycle in order not to overheat the tank. (I've since replaced this one with a UTH with thermostat control). So the first 2 hermit crabs did not have the best start to life at my place. After reading internet forums including this one, I revisited the pet shop and discovered that their tank conditions were also substandard. After 2 weeks at home 1 crab buried itself. The other stayed active until about 6 days ago when it buried itself however I never saw it eating more than once. Today (4weeks after the first crab buried itself) I decided to check out whether it was alive. I'd read about not disturbing buried crabs for at least 4 weeks. Unfortunately it had died. This was really upsetting for my son. As this was his first crab and he'd only seen it active for 2 weeks before it went under.

I have since set up a second tank which will be the main tank. The first one was too small despite the advice of the pet shop assistant but I will use it as an isolation tank and it still has the second of my son's crabs which recently buried itself inside. In setting up the second tank I was hoping to give the new crabs the best chance possible by following all the suggested adjustments for humidity and temperature to minimise PPS. The 2 new crabs have had 2 weeks of adjusting - eating, drinking and bathing. On Sunday I decided to increase the depth of their substrate and provide more hiding and climbing areas. For better humidity control I also added New Zealand Sphagnum moss tucked into a fish aquarium ornament (treasure chest). Everything was great for 2 nights - the crabs were busily climbing over everything, bathing, eating etc. then tonight no sign of either crab. I know this may seem premature given that crabs can bury themselves for days or weeks, but since the early death of our first crab and the possible death watch of our second one, I just want to check that I haven't done anything that is CAUSING their early demise. If I have, I'd like to fix things ASAP to prevent any other casualties. this fish ornament is painted but I've read on a couple sites that it may be okay.

I am an animal lover and have had many pets over the years which have lived long "happy" lives. I'd like to do my best for these crabs too, although I'm starting to think that land crabs should just be left in the wild.

Thanks in advance for your advice.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by pkoo on 25 Sep 2012, 23:53, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by Wai »

It's hard to say what caused the death, but deaths are not uncommon in the first year. The hermit crab that passed away may have been through a lot and death was inevitable, regardless of who took him/her home. I haven't seen the brand of sea salt you use before (haven't been out shopping at pet stores lately), but it looks alright. The temperature at the cool end is a bit low though. Would it be possible for you to slip the UTH (if it isn't permanently stuck to the bottom of the tank) across towards the cool end a bit more?
Wai
Image
pkoo
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 27
Joined: 25 Sep 2012, 22:39
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 0
Total gallons: 0
Total tanks: 0
Location: North Western Sydney

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by pkoo »

Thanks Wai for your advice. I've checked the tanks again especially with the warmer weather and the temperature at the cool end is more like 18 - 20 degrees Celsius. Is that still too cool? I can move the UTH, but it's a big job and requires rearranging the tank because the UTH instructions say that no more than 2cm of substrate can be on top of where the mat is, otherwise it can trap in the heat. Meanwhile the 2 crabs in the main tank have reappeared and are eating, climbing, bathing and digging again. Yay!! The other buried crab in the smaller iso tank hasn't been sighted, but I think there were tracks in the sand 2 days ago. Last night there didn't appear to be any further action. How long can these crabs go without food and drink?? I have kept changing the water and food to keep it fresh just in case it comes up for another nibble.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by Wai »

You can possibly try what I did for my UTH set up. The plastic container has holes/gaps on every side so that the heat can pass through. There is a thin layer of sand between the bottom of the glass and the container so that the container doesn't get overheated. This allows sufficient heat to get through to the air without overheating any hermit crabs over it since they cannot bury themselves over the UTH. It also allows you to put more substrate beside the container since it no longer needs to slant down gradually to 2 cm. Hermit crabs appear to be able to go without food and drink for longer than humans, but I don't know how long exactly (it would vary between each hermit crab too).
Wai
Image
pkoo
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 27
Joined: 25 Sep 2012, 22:39
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 0
Total gallons: 0
Total tanks: 0
Location: North Western Sydney

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by pkoo »

Thanks Wai. What do you have in the container? Do your crabs climb in and out of there too? :-)
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by Wai »

The photo was of my old tank, but I have a similar set up in my larger current tank. I have a hidey tree in there (with a hole through the top so the heat won't be trapped inside it). UTHs aren't very powerful heat sources, but they should keep a small tank such as yours warm.
Wai
Image
pkoo
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 27
Joined: 25 Sep 2012, 22:39
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 0
Total gallons: 0
Total tanks: 0
Location: North Western Sydney

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by pkoo »

I've recently put a UTH on the side wall of my cool side bringing the air temperature up to ~ 22-23 degrees C. The crabs are a lot more active even in the sudden cold snap that we had here. In the last few days when the weather has turned hot, I've turned the extra heater off again with the temperature staying about the same.
Another question... not related. Sounds silly but what does hermit crab poo look like? I've read that i'm supposed to remove uneaten food and droppings from the substrate, but to be honest I'm not sure what the latter looks like. I've guessed it may look like dark pellets, but then I've got coconut fibre and sand as a substrate so dark pellets are not so easy to spot.

Addition: Okay , I've just looked up poo in the search box and have found some suggestions as well as photos. All good thanks.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by Wai »

They look more like strings, about 1 mm thick. They may be tan to black in colour. You might want to move the UTH so that it is under the tank, since heat rises. If it's on the side, it might only heat up the edge of the tank.
Wai
Image
pkoo
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 27
Joined: 25 Sep 2012, 22:39
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 0
Total gallons: 0
Total tanks: 0
Location: North Western Sydney

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by pkoo »

Thanks Wai. I've already got one UTH on the warm side under the tank. The substrate is deeper on the cooler side so I'm not sure the effect/penetration of the extra heater if placed underneath. So far the heat produced by both heaters seems to be keeping the temperature in the appropriate ranges and the hermies seem happier/more active.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: New Aussie crabber with 1 dead, 1 buried and 2 unknown c

Post by Wai »

Oh okay, as long as the temperature is within range, ignore what I said. :)
Wai
Image
Post Reply