Recovery after neglect.

[MustBeThursday]

I have been neglecting my crabs for the past few months. New baby has made things all go out the window. I have done the absolute bare minimum, to the point that now I am thinking honestly, I worry about their health.
The sub is over 7 inches deep. Never dried out but not as moist and they have been used to.
The water dishes werent rinsed/replaced as often as normal. Food was scraps and not really any varitey.

What are some tips for helping them back from my neglect? Please no critism, just constructive advice.

I had one drown in a large water container while we were away for a weekend and recently another drowned it in an I have now changed the container.
Feeling pretty down and crappy from it all.

[CallaLily]

If there were easy ways out of that water dish they should have had no problem getting out. Sometimes, when a crab is very ill or injured badly, they go to the water for some relief and/or to die. Especially the salt water. I've seen it often on here and a time or two with my own crabs. Has temp and humidity been within safe ranges? Try to get back into a routine of checking conditions, spot cleaning, and refreshing food and water. Maybe bag up a bunch of meals to make feeding easier. Keep jugs of prepared fresh and salt water ready for quick water changes. If all your crabs are up, give the substrate a good mix and add water if needed. If some are down, give the surface a good misting.
Try not to beat yourself up too much. Life happens and a new baby can takes up so much of your time and energy. Hugs

[MustBeThursday]

Thankyou for the reply.
There wasn't really a way for them to get out. It just was the bubbler in, they must have climbed up the top, gone along the top of the glass and then down where the bubbler came in. None of my crabs have ever seemed like they enjoyed water (i see others like to swim, mine dont)
I have never kept their temp consistant. I feel it doesnt represent the normal Australian climate. They have always liked it. I know its not the done thing, but I figure as long as its not too cold or too long, its more accurate of the wild.
Due to the huge container of water (added after baby was born) their humidity has always been fine.

None have been up in the last week that I know of. When rearranging I found Zaphod, my largest and he was a bit active. There are possibly 10 underneath. Since food hasnt been ideal... I hope they havnt gone wild and found their own source of meat...
I didnt considor them going wild... I wish I could dig through to check everyone else is alive and well.

[TheLilMommaB]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say don't beat yourself up...when I had my fourth and last child I completely forgot about my dog for 2 days he was out in the sunroom and luckily the older kids are old enough. They made sure he had food and water buy they couldn't take him out cuz he's big and we don't have a fence I felt like scum cuz he was having to smell the poo and pee for 2 days lucky for me after a week of spoiling the tar out of him he forgave me completely...we all have our rough patches and do the best we can...it's a good thing our pets forgive and understand quicker than most people do...best of luck and enjoy that baby

Stay at home mommy to 4 kids (Ana 11, Joseph 9, Alizabeth 6, and Christian 2) 8 cats, 5 hermits, 4 little molly fish, 3 ferrets, 2 parrakets, 2 Oscars, 1 red eared slider, 1 cockatiel, 1 goldfish and 1 bone headed pittbull.

[moonshermies]

awwww, yes please dnt beat urself up @all..I have 3 kids here ages 16,7&10 mnths (all 3 r getting over colds now!!I try&have prepared food in the freezer for my crabs, just in case!!Im lucky enuff @this point to use a lil leftover baby cereal mixed a jar fd 4 guys..Dinners around here have been quick & easy lately..Just take it day by day you will find @least 5 min to check & wrk with your tat!!

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[CallaLily]

There wasn't really a way for them to get out. It just was the bubbler in, they must have climbed up the top, gone along the top of the glass and then down where the bubbler came in. None of my crabs have ever seemed like they enjoyed water (i see others like to swim, mine dont)

Do add something for them to get in and out easily for if/when they do decide to submerge.

I have never kept their temp consistent. I feel it doesn't represent the normal Australian climate. They have always liked it. I know its not the done thing, but I figure as long as its not too cold or too long, its more accurate of the wild.

I think as long as you're mimicking their native habitat, without too many extremes, it should be ok. I have no experience with Aussie crabs though so hopefully someone else can chime in with what's acceptable.

[YYWW]

So sorry for your loss.
I am also a new(ish) mother and I just wanted to say: it's TOUGH! The needs of a newborn are very exhausting, from nursing and sleeping to doctor's appointments, on top of the sleep deprivation and stress in caring for a new child. Somehow you need to juggle an entire new life and maintain what lifestyle you can manage. Don't be too hard on yourself. We're not perfect, we're parents!
The first thing you can do for your crabs AND your baby is acknowledging that you need help. Ask others to help you in caring for BOTH, because you still need time and energy for yourself at the end of the day! Hopefully you have family/friends around you who can offer to help somehow. Ask for and take all the help you can!
Keep a stash of food that you or others can give to your crabs, like a dry mix they can just scoop on those hard days. Scraps on top of a dry mix including protein and calcium should satiate your crabs long enough. You can treat them to bonuses on the good days. Having a bag of premade mix in your freezer will make it easier for your helpers to help you. And you'll have that peace of mind that no matter what, your crabs have access to a good diet even if you don't have time to treat them that day. My dry mix was baked in a low oven and chopped in the food processor and includes: chicken, nuts, oats, seeds, eggshell, bell peppers, cuttlebone, cheerios, and whatever i forgot.
You can provide a nice, moisture retaining moss pit or two, if you haven't already. Crabs love snuggling in it and it might provide them some added comfort. Rewetting the moss also gives a periodic opportunity to add some drips of moisture to the sub. Just don't overdo it. Depending on your setup, even if the sub is a bit dry, it might still be nice and moist underground.
From my own experience, my crabs benefitted from my neglect, because I left them alone more so they could be less shy through the day. Having fixed your drowning hazard, I don't believe your crabs need much recovery. Perhaps later on down the line you can find therapy for yourself in making new pools with fail-safe ramps for your tat. But no rush! You gotta take care of yourself in order to take care of your crabs.


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[wodesorel]

It happens, even if there isn't a new kid involved. I got myself back in the game yesterday because I had really gotten lax over the summer and now that it's cold out I realized that something had to be done or they were going to be too cold all winter. So, I moved the tank, stripped it down to substrate, and rebuilt the entire thing. Took six hours and I can barely move today, but I'm really really happy about the way it turned out, and I'm excited about them again. They're not an interactive pet, so it can be easy to grow accustomed to having them and then their care starts to slide. You have to find ways to make yourself thrilled again about having them. For me, it's always been a tank remodel. It looks fresh and new, and the crabs seem to enjoy the cleaning and become more active. I didn't even spend anything, I just used what we had sitting around!

The only thing I would recommend to watch closely is the temps. They're found up near Darwin, so they're used to yearly temps of 29 to 33. Most Aussie Crab owners I've spoken to have said their hermits do better with lots of heat. They may actually have the highest heat needs of any of the species available. Otherwise, you already listed the things you know were lacking - make those better as you can and you'll see a huge improvement!

[MustBeThursday]

Thanks everyone. Bubs is now 10 months...

Just looked over at the tat and Zaphod is very active and looking at a shell, he has never wanted to change shells. Another is looking at all the shells and looking good.
Its nice to see the two of them looking so good. I guess it just mirrored a scarse time in nature.

As I said, bubs is 10 months. We are doing really well, I had PND with my first child so been keeping an eye on it. When this bub was little, he got whooping cough (actually, our whole family did) and so that was when the big water container was added. I realised that the crabs were going to be forgotten with all that stress.

Babyfood! At this rate, I can just scoop up bubs leftovers off the floor each night! He gets steamed veges and plainer meats. Perfect for crabbies!

Its really nice to see those two so active so soon after I redid things. They cant be too traumatised

[YYWW]

Glad your family and Bubs got over that whooping cough! Definitely stressful and scarey times!
Also, good on the remaining crabs seeming in good spirits!


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[KellyCrabbieLove]

I have a bunch of baby food left over from my youngest so I took an ice ube tray. Each cube is split with one kind of ba y food on one side and another on the other. Then all of the whole tray is a mix of 3 different foods. When feeding fresh food I drop one into the bowl. They like it! The different textures as it slow mts give them variety as does each cube having 2 different types of food in it. It was quick and I just did a tray at a time and then dumped them into a zip lock bag. I can easily plop one in whenever necessary. I have 2 different kinds now and am working on a third today.