I saw a very sad tweet made by crab street journal "Sad, sad day in the hermit crab community. Crab Kate, after 35+ years with Carol Ormes, passed away unexpectedly. is.gd/rmTLDo
Seesmic twhirl • 10/24/11 9:08 PM"
*~-proud hermie mommy of 15-~*
They are Hermie the 2nd(medium pp), T.J.(medium pp), Big Daddy(large pp), Tank(Jumbo pp), Pearl(large pp), DigDug(medium pp), Freaky Fred(small pp),courage(Medium pp), Strawberry Shortcake(small pp), Tiny Timantha(tiny pp), T-rex(giant Indo), Bruce(medium strawberry), Autumn(medium blueberry), and Hor-Hay(medium blueberry).
The sex is up in the air sort of. Once upon a time Carol (like many of us) named her hermies by the hairy leg method. Then the gonopore (sp) knowledge came out and she thought they were both girls, then a girl and a boy, and then boys, etc.
Now this is not to say this is what happened with Jon or Kate, but some hermies (rugs so far) are known to be able to change sexes after molting.
Marie (aka ladybug15057)
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I didn't think rugs could change their gender after moulting, but two rugs mentioned in a study had gonopores on their third and fifth set of legs, but were still functionally male.
Thank you Marie. A truly sad day. Carol and Jon and Kate inspired me so much when I got my own crabs. Thank you for sharing the information, and the links.
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
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I believe CrabWorks, Jon, and Kate have inspired soooo many in the crabbing community. Many are devastated by the passing of Crab Kate. I still remember what Carol had written to me back in about the end of 2001 or was it early 2002?
"What are you going to do if all the crabs you and your daughters are buying live as long as Jon and Kate?" At the time I assumed Carol was one of a kind, (which she is), and I would not have to even worry about such a thing...that was 11+ years ago!
When I first got a computer here at home and had our first emergency, it was Carol who answered my cry for help.
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.
Wow, I saw this and really feel so bad for Carol. Thanks for the link and also for all the great topics that have helped me keep my little crabbies going for over a year now. RIP