New (ish) crab owner w/ a few questions

[meg_and_the_zoo]

I detest the yellow plastic ladders but it was what I could wrangle up in a pinch from a basket I got from Target a few years ago & don't use anymore.


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[meg_and_the_zoo]

One of the new dudes checking out the chola superhighway he and I startled each other when I took the lid off to move some of the tiny shells into their own shell shop area


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[Nia]

wow you did a lot . Looks great! If you don't like the yellow ladders and you have/can get some plastic canvas around that makes great ramps. Mine love it! It is easy for them to go up n down for both the small and bigger ones. Can be cut as wide or thin as you like it depending on the size of the sheet. You can pick which ever color you like or clear. A cheap and easy selection . We also share the shell shop lol I have the same caddy for theirs in our tat . Greens don't last long with my Tasmanian devil Bat girl around lol she tears everything apart, example I made a screen top til I could get one made....Yea um...she shredded it -.-. I had to put the old tanks top over the frame I made. Ugh this girl 0.0 she is a terror lol.

Man I hope HCA doesn't close, I will freak out ><. That is the only place the carries their vitamins -.-. So hope that they don't.

[fantasybookworm]

It looks fantastic! I love the cholla highway. I just ordered some small bits of cholla for a set up I have in mind, but I want to get some bigger pieces eventually for cilmbing fun.

I found the post, Nia, it sounds like they are closing. I'm sorry! viewtopic.php?f=39&t=104150 Better order extra vitamins while you can. Maybe you can find some of them or something close elsewhere?

[meg_and_the_zoo]

Snapped some pics of the crew today and sort of decided on names...



Balla' since I swear this pic makes him look like a little thug with his ball cap on sideways



Twitch since he snaps in EVERY time I open the tank lid. No problem once I'm in there but sheesh



Thing 1 & Thing 2 are the two little bitty ones



Thing 1



Thing 2 will not show himself



Fat Boy Slim...he's by far the largest of the bunch.

Will have to wait for the others to reappear


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[Nia]

NOOOOOOO!!! *CRIES* omg thank you for telling me tho. I will have to bulk up on their vitamins 0.0. Seriously about to cry tho cause they are the only place that sells them. I recommend them to everyone to cause they work so well for mine.

I love your crabs lol so pretty. Esp the blue one omgosh is that one pretty!

[meg_and_the_zoo]

So yay!! Lol today saw a shell change and the first visitors to the moss and leaf pits

Guess that's what I get for naming a crab based on the look of his shell...he's the one that changes


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[meg_and_the_zoo]

So I thought Thing 2 had dug down for a molt but nope! Changed into a new shell that now allows for 2 miles, vs the original 1, between the edge of the shell and claws when pulled in lol

And apparently I'm just THAT scary to him because he was eating and I got up off of the couch, which is 1.5 rooms away and he snapped in so hard he fell backward off the food dish


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[taylorgirl123]

i just got 2 crabs 4 days ago. im scared to hold them what should i do

[meg_and_the_zoo]

Seems most people recommend leaving them to themselves for a while to let them settle into their new place...and maybe to let you not be freaked out


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[meg_and_the_zoo]

So it appears that Balla has decided the big kid shell shop is his he's been guarding it all day and Thing 2 was just summarily denied access




Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[Nia]

Lol yea mine do that to. Hearts has BIG DREAMER syndrome . Idk why but she aways picks shells 10x to big for her. She can go into the shells with her shell on and these are the ones she guards . She has some serious size issues lol. Herc (who just got done another successful molt ^.^) usually gives her that loving claw nudge into the smaller shell shops direction and she just zooms right back to the Big crab section lol. They can be so funny.

Taylorgirl:
Yea just let them de-stress for awhile. Bringing them home into a new place is very stressful for them. This way you can watch them and you all can get used to each other making less stressful for you all . If you are nervous to hold them at first just wait until they settle in and you get used to them running around. It takes time to get used to them for some and same for them. They still have to get used to you .

[meg_and_the_zoo]

So Thing 2 was just determined as heck to get into the big kid shop last night lol

Seems he took an interesting approach...he's the first one I've ever seen eating the chola and Balla watched for a while and apparently decided that was a cool trick. While Balla was busy discovering the joys of a chola snack Thing 2 went under the chola highway and snuck into the shell shop


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

[Nia]

Thought you might get a kick out of this video! We sure did lol. It is funny to see them shell shop this way. Nice to see, for the most part, that they share so well. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-bri ... YSYiUapLVQ

[meg_and_the_zoo]

That's so cool! Nature is amazing.


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs