Need help!!

iluvhermies · Post by **iluvhermies** » 26 May 2006, 14:14

Hi My name is Josie and I am addicted to hermit crabs. I really need to stop going to the pet store. I can not leave without buying a new hermie. I got me a new one today. He is now SpongeBob.

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 26 May 2006, 21:47

lol, cute! when i saw the topic I NEED HELP, lol, i was thinking of something different, like a hermie emergency!!

hehe, i guess this is a crabber emergency, lol.

CONGRATIES on the newbie!!

Jaci · Post by **Jaci** » 27 May 2006, 01:35

i agree with hermiesrokmysoks. i was like oh no! something's wrong! but i can see what you mean when you say you're addicted! i had to go into the petstore to get wendy some new shells and i refused to look in at the other hermies simply bc i knew i'd walk out with another one. lol.

iluvhermies · Post by **iluvhermies** » 27 May 2006, 07:58

Oh SOWWWY. Didn't mean to make you think something was wrong. I did good for awhile controling myself but then I saw the 1 I rescued so he could moult. I have bought 2 more since then. The petstore only has to crabs left right now. I almost went down and got them today. If I go back and there is only 1 left it will be coming home with me. I need to get me a few more tanks so I can have lots of them

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 27 May 2006, 22:22

you are very addicted to crabbies! lol, i am too. If i could, i would have like, go out and buy 3 more. My mom would freak if I did!!! BUT we'll be going to the pet store sometime this weekend and so, if there's a crab needed to be rescued, he shall be. XD But i need some gravel and crabbing soil.

Here's part of a post from HCA:
I was researching about the bacteria in our tats when I lost my straw a month after a molt, and was convinced it was due to an infection she got while molting. Some of her exo had some nasties on it when I examined it later. Crabs are just so vulnerable when their exo is hardening, I've done reading on that too, the molting process takes a lot out of them and leaves them more susceptible to infection than I think we realize.

I also noticed while doing my last deep clean that the sand at the bottom of the tank was still very damp, which surprised me because the top was starting to get dry. In my research I uncovered that this is because the water slowly seeps down to the bottom, and gets stagnant and this is where the worst bacteria forms, which I used to think the worst bacteria was at the top layer, where waste and food was.

I was reading about vivarium habitats, and basically the idea is to create levels of substrate which increase the good bacteria and keep the bad away from the crabs while molting. I'm going to do this at my next deep clean, although it has some disadvantages.

You'd layer the bottom of the tat with an inch or so of gravel, as we all know crabs can't dig into gravel, so it keeps the worse of that stagnant water and the bad bacteria away from them while molting. Then I'll do a layer of EE to help breakdown bacteria, and the top layer will be the sand I'll clean and replace with the most frequency.

The disadvantage is that adding the gravel adds major time and pain in the deep cleaning process! But for me I feel like the peace of mind I'll get from a vivarium crabitat will be worth it, plus it will allow me to do deep cleanings a little less often as well. I feel like the bigger the tat the more someone may want to consider doing a vivarium tat so they'll have to deep clean those massive tat less often with less worry.

Here's the link: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... hp?t=35721

iluvhermies · Post by **iluvhermies** » 28 May 2006, 06:30

Thanks alot I am gonna read up on that it sounds interesting.

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 28 May 2006, 08:21

you're welcome. I thought it was pretty neat-o!

Jaci · Post by **Jaci** » 29 May 2006, 00:28

how strange. what's EE? how often is the gravel replaced? i may do that when Bebe comes back up again. but she's only been down for a week, so I have a while yet. so should the sand be constantly moist? i always thought that making the sand wet was bad bc of the humidity and heat along with moisture was the ground for bacteria growth....

iluvhermies · Post by **iluvhermies** » 29 May 2006, 12:18

Oh my I do not know but I keep half of my tnk sand moist. That is where all of mine that are buried are at. Hard to make them a place to moult if they cannot mould the sand. If anyone finds out please let me know.

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 29 May 2006, 22:24

EE is "eco earth". It's like crab soil (coconut fiber) soil. I don't remember is is EE or Forest Bedding that is unsafe....well anyways, just always read the label before you buy iot and make sure it's 100% coconut fiber.

And iluvhermies, keeping your sand wet is a good thing, just over time the bottom can form bad bacteria, that's why this idea of gravel, soil and then sand was made.

Need help!!

Need help!!

Re: Need help!!