All of a sudden lethargic

[Guest]

Hey, im pretty new here, just got my crab about 3 weeks ago. He is usually pretty active, pushing things over and eating like a pig .. well, yesterday and today, he has been hiding in his seashell hut and not moving much.. he is still alive as far as i can tell, but he is very lethargic?? Could he be molting, or should i do something for him? I have him in a 10 gallon glass aquarium tank, with play sand filled to about 4 inches. The tank is kept warm and is humid. I can't see anything immediatley wrong, can someone help me??

[Guest]

i almost forgot to fill this thing out..

1. Substrate used? play sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? not to sure, but has a very moist feel to the air.

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? about 70 degrees

4. Temperature of crabitat? 70-75 degrees

5. Location of gauges? dont have any

6. What is your heat source? room heater

7. Types of water available? bottled water

8. Dechlorinator used? no

9. What do you feed? fish flake food, algae wafers (for some reason, he likes them best), and fresh food, such as carrots, lettuce and apples.

10. How long have you had the crab in question? about 3 weeks

11. Do you know the species? pp

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? once a week with declor. water

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? 10 gal. glass aquarium with a mesh lid that i taped plastic over most

14. What size is your tank? 10 gal

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 1 medium crab for now (plans on getting another)

16. How deep is the substrate? about 4 inches

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? no

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat?no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? i check it daily, but clean it about every week or so

20. Any unusual odors? no

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? i have a sponge in there with water and i keep it clean

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? usually within an hour or so, cuz it starts to stink after then

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? his seashell hut and some new shells for him to try out.

[Guest]

You seem to be doing a good job with your hermie. You should get a temperature and humidity gauge as soon as possible though so you can be absolutely sure of what your tank conditions are. It might be too humid for your crab but its hard to tell without the gauge. He probably would also do a little better if the temperature was a little higher (73-80 degrees).
Your crab could be about to molt ot he could also just be destressing from the petstore conditions a little late.

What kind of bottled water are you using? Spring or distilled water is fine, but some other kinds still have chlorine in them even after the filtration they use.

He probably likes the algae wafers best because they have seaweed in them which is a favorite food of theirs in the wild.

You dont have to bath your crab if you give him a water dish deep enough for him to fill his shell with water. Many people believe bathing may actually be stressful to the crab, but it is a debated topic. I personally don't bath my crabs.

Good job on your tank setup otherwise, it's very good.

[JangoCatt]

I'm new here, so probably not the best to give advice, but something you said struck a chord with me - the new seashell hut.

Our two original crabs were fairly active the first day or two we had them, but when we bought our 10g tank and set it up with a coconut hut, they started spending most of the day in there. I think they just like the shelter during daylight hours. Maybe yours is just doing the same.

[Guest]

thanks!! im trying to be a good parent!

my next paycheck im gonna stop by walmart to get gauges for it...

btw.. where is a decent place to get hermit crabs? i live in an itsy bitsy town with no pet store.. i got petey from a county fair (so sad.. they had about 50 assorted sized crabs in a birdcage with some cheetos in a bowl, and no heat with it being close to 35 degrees ).

i live close to athens, georgia. do most pet stores carry them, or are they hard to find??

i would like to get him a friend, because i dont want him to be lonely

[Guest]

It could be what Noobie said, and he likes the security of the hut during the dalight hours. Most of my crabs like to hide (even if it is in a hanging plant) during the day while they rest. At night, the game is on & they are EVERYWHERE! If you have only had him for three weeks, chances are that he is still destressing. He also could be preparing to molt. And, he could also be very lonely without another crab to keep him compnay.

You definately want to find him a friend or two. Are there PetsMarts, Pet Supermarkets, or Petcos in Athens? Those three stores regularly carry hermits. I am not wild about the conditions that PetsMarts & Pet Supermarkets keep their crabs in, but that might be your only option for now. It is too late in the season to have crabs shipped to you. You would have to wait until spring.

If Athens is your closest city, you might want to Google search pet stores & see what all is available there. Then, I would start calling around to make sure that the stores have them.

[Guest]

Most petstores nowadays will carry them. You could always call ahead and ask if the store is far away.

[Guest]

thanx alot...i will defenatly try to find him a friend..

after reading alot of posts and messages, and reading ya'lls replies, i think he is just lonely, cuz he doesn't seem to be molting. i was gettin worried about him!!

i think there is a disc. pet store, and a petsmart.. so ill try there. thanx! [smilie=clap.gif]

[JangoCatt]

I live in the Atlanta area and I know there are definitely PetSmarts and Petco's around. You can go to Petco's website and put in your zip code to find the closest store. I haven't been up there lately, but my guess is that the pet store at the Mall of Georgia probably has hermies. That isn't too far from Athens.