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Post by gymnasticsmonk10 on Jun 29, 2006 21:59:06 GMT -5
I have 2 hermit crabs named Speedy and Andrew (oringinal name: Snuffy). Andrew is small and every time someone walks into a room he hides in his shell but Speed y will come out no matter what. What can I do to make Andrew not be afriad of people?
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Post by Morocco Rock Fox on Jun 29, 2006 22:02:16 GMT -5
I used to have 2 Hermit crabs when I was younger. There names were Brittany and Nicole. Then I moved and gave them to my teacher.
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Post by Morocco Rock Fox on Jun 30, 2006 19:55:25 GMT -5
Behavior and Agression
One of the most interesting things about land hermit crabs is their behavior. Simply put, each hermit crab has its own disposition. In my crabitat, for example, I have the crabs Grouchy and Thankless Beast (or TB) who almost never come out of their shells, except to pinch me! But on the other end of the scale I have the crabs Friendly and Oprah who come flying out, antennae a-pattering about in greeting when I pick them up.
What makes them so different? There are a few reasons your hermit crabs behave differently. We'll use my crabs Grumpy, Big Mouth and Attila as examples.
Grumpy makes me eat my words! When I first purchased Grumpy, she was the last hermit crab left alive in a pet store tank full of dead crab bodies. Since she refused to come out of her shell for me in the pet store, I bought her, sight-unseen, out of sympathy. On the way home from the pet store, this small crab with very long antennae came out of her shell quickly, pinched me VERY hard on the palm and immediately went back into her shell. I did not see her come out of her shell again for the next month! Each bath day, I would pick her up and handle her on my palm for a little while and she would cautiously peek out and then slam shut in her shell. This went on for about three months until she finally realized I was not going to poke her or drop her (like the people in the pet store). Grumpy ended up being one of my most outgoing hermit crabs.
Big Mouth is loved into silence! Big Mouth is a very special, soft-ball-sized jumbo hermit crab. I purchased Big Mouth from a Sunsations store in Ocean City, Maryland during the 2001 Crab Convention. Poor Big Mouth was one of about six jumbo crabs crammed into a small wire cage. The pet store employees refused to allow me to handle him until I showed them my Hermit Crab Association business card. Then I picked him up out of the cage. As soon as he realized he was being picked up, he started chirping loudly! Big Mouth is a very large hermit crab and purple-claw crabs of his size do not normally chirp unless they feel they are in danger of being harmed, such as during a shell fight. But there he was, chirping along like I was going to rip him out of his shell and have him for dinner! Not only was he chirping, but he was curled tightly into his shell and sticking his big defense claw out. I continued to hold him and gradually he quieted down. For the next two days or so, each time I would pick up Big Mouth he would chirp, a little shorter each time. Now he is one of the quietest, happiest, most friendly hermit crabs I own. He loves getting a bath each Sunday and is always one of the first jumbos to try to climb out of the plastic Tupperware "crab bath." He takes regular strolls around the living room in his clear plastic "hamster ball," and has not made even a squeak of a chirp since I brought him home from the Convention. While I may miss his deep bass voice, I realize that he is much more at peace than he was when I first found him.
Attila, the "work in progress." Attila is easily one of my biggest challenges as a crab owner. I bought Attila from a pet store that was keeping their crabs in a bird cage. He was pinched tightly onto the bars of the cage and, as with Grumpy, Attila was a 'mercy purchase.' To be honest, Attila is mean. He will not come out when I am around and sits in the bottom of the crab bath tightly curled into his shell. When I pick him up, he sticks his wide-open big claw out at me. The only time I've seen him out was after his molt, when he came out to eat his exoskeleton. But since then, he is back to his 'old self,' the totally unrepentant C-R-A-B!! Because I own over 90 hermit crabs, Attila's behavior doesn't bother me, but if I only had two and one of them was a crab like him, it would be difficult. In that case I would not 'get rid' of the mean crab or take him back to the pet store, but would purchase another, more friendly crab to play with. I do not believe in taking 'mean' crabs back to the pet store (and almost certain death), since it is usually partly the pet store's fault the crab is so stressed and angry to begin with.
Normal crab-to-crab behavior. Hermit crabs normally act with each other in standard ways, by crawling over each other, by having "feeler fights" or "pushing contests." Both feeler fights and pushing contests are normal crab behavior and are not cause for alarm. When crabs are having "feeler fights," they are actually smelling each other. Pushing contests, also, are a way they get acquainted. They will run up against each other and wildly wave their antennae and sort of "flick" their legs and claws out at each other. Hermit crabs seemingly do not understand the concept of "going around" an object -- they will try to dig under or climb over it. That is why they have these "feeler fights" and "pushing contests," because they cannot comprehend walking around an approaching crab.
The behaviors listed above are harmless, unless you see one crab grab the other's shell by the opening and start pushing it back and forth and chirping. That usually signals a shell fight.
"Shell fights occasionally occur among wild and pet hermit crabs and can often be detected because of chirping sounds. From a position slightly above the defending crab's shell, an attacking crab seizes the defending crab with its walking legs and rapidly rotates it back and forth. While doing this, the attacker's claws are usually inside the opening of the defending crab's shell. This shaking often drives the defending crab from the shell that the attacker wants. Practically leaping out of its shell, the loser waits and enters the victor's shell. Typically, neither crab is harmed and both might get a better-fitting shell." Taken from Hermit Crabs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, by Sue Fox
Crab-on-Crab Violence. Grumpy, Big Mouth, and Attila were/are not friendly to human beings, but a perfectly civil to the other hermit crabs in their crabitats. There are some crabs that are not. Land hermit crabs have been known to kill each other in various ways; mainly by either ripping each other apart or out of their shells, or by digging up molters and literally "eating them alive." Hermit crabs are first scavengers and therefore will readily eat their own kind. As you can imagine, these situations are very disturbing to the crab owner. The usual scenario is you find a bunch of legs strewn around your crabitat, or you find one crab living in the "victim's" shell and the victim either walking about shell-less or already dead. If the victim has already died, you can count your blessings; in about 75% of cases the victim will eventually die of stress and a quick death is merciful. If you do happen to find a naked or injured crab that is still alive and responsive, immediately isolate the victim from the other crabs. If the crab is naked, rinse any sand or gravel off its abdomen and follow the instructions on the FAQ page for putting a naked crab back into its shell. If it is injured and still in its shell, isolate it in a warm, moist area and keep it dark and quiet. If the crab is healthy enough, it will pull through on its own. Remember that in the wild hermit crabs do not have 'owners,' yet they deal with these types of things all the time. Therefore, when a crab is injured or naked, you should disturb it as little as possible.
My hermit crab is mean or does not come out of his shell for me. What can I do to make the crab ‘nicer?’ Hermit crabs, like people, have different personalities. Some crabs never seem to go all the way "in" their shells; some crabs you never see "out" of their shells. I’ve never had a complaint about someone whose crab comes out too much, so I’ll address the problem of a crab that won’t come out.
Probably the best way to get the crab to come out is to hold it. Don’t spray it with water, just let it sit in the palm of your hand. Eventually, some of the warmth from the your hand will seep through the shell of the crab and the crab will start to ‘fidget’ and eventually come out. Some crabs won’t come out until they’ve been held a very long, long time. Crabs ‘fresh’ from the pet store are even less likely to come out, because more than likely they’ve been poked, prodded and generally harassed by everyone who looks in their cage. Once you get the crab to come out, talk to it in a low voice. Keeping your hand flat (and your skin taut), allow the crab to walk around on your outstretched palm. Do not allow it to get into a position where it feels it may fall, or it will pinch you. Also, do not make any sudden movements or the crab will become frightened. Keep in mind that to a land hermit crab, any shadow passing overhead is a potential seagull looking for a meal of crab eyeballs! Once you realize the crabs very real natural fear, it helps you appreciate what you’re asking the crab to do – come out of its protective house in the daytime, when most predators are about.
Some crabs come out of their shells waving their big claw around, or they try to ‘dig’ into your hand with the big claw. Just keep the skin taut and eventually the crab will think, "What is this warm thing I’m sitting on that I can’t pinch?" and curiosity will prevail and the crab will come out. Another method people use for getting a crab to come ‘out’ is to blow on it. That is not always a good idea – I’ve heard stories of people who’ve blown on a crab, and before they knew it, the crab had popped out of its shell and pinched onto their lower lip. If all else fails, you can lightly mist the crab with dechlorinated water. Do not mist the crab until it’s dripping. That will only annoy the crab and leave you with a sloppy mess. Most crabs, if they need any misting at all, will respond to two or three quick spritzes.
Just Something That might be interesting to know...
Gender of Crabs
Most crab-care books state that it is impossible to tell the sex between male and female land hermit crabs. Actually I have found that is not that difficult, provided your hermit crab is willing to come rather far out of its shell for you.
The female land hermit crab has tiny genital openings called gonopores. The gonopores are located on the first segment of the back pair of walking legs. They are close in to the body, near the joint of the cephalothorax and abdomen.
The gonopores are the openings into which the male crab places his spermatophore during mating. The male crab, gently tapping and rocking the female crab, encourages her to come out of her shell. The crabs mate in a position where the female's gonopores line up with male's fifth pair of legs. The male gently places his spermatophore into the female's gonopores.
Since females of both species of land hermit crab sold in the United States (purple claw and Ecuadorian) have gonopores in the same place and of the same size, it is probably safe to say that all the females of the species kept in captivity (including Australian species) have their gonopores similarly situated.
Many crabs are reluctant to come far enough out of their shells to allow you to see whether or not they have gonopores -- DO NOT FORCE THEM!! To have a better chance of seeing them, try looking for them after or during your pets' weekly bath. I have found most of my crabs are willing to come out far enough, but not all of them. Do not under any circumstances attempt to pull a crab from its shell to see the gonopores. The crab will sooner allow itself to be torn apart than be forcibly removed from its protective shell house.
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sofia
Baby Animal
My babies hugging! What a good couple!
Posts: 41
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Post by sofia on Jul 14, 2006 17:51:13 GMT -5
You sure know alot about a bunch of different pets, I think that is so awsome!
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Post by Morocco Rock Fox on Aug 6, 2006 14:58:11 GMT -5
Thank you!
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Post by happylife05 on Aug 11, 2006 10:00:37 GMT -5
It's really interesting to read about an animal that you had as a child and realize how much you don't know. I had hermit crabs for a long time growing up. We quit buying them because we'd keep them for about 3 months then they'd die. Thanks for the info it's really neat.
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Post by Morocco Rock Fox on Aug 11, 2006 17:27:13 GMT -5
Any time. That's what I'm here for!
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Post by bebopfox on Sept 15, 2006 19:36:28 GMT -5
That exact info is actually from www.hermit-crabs.com You can learn more about hermit crabs by joining the HCA.
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Post by serina48723 on Sept 15, 2006 20:24:59 GMT -5
I have heard about them, but til now never seen one. Those things get pretty big. I don't remember when clicking that link how long they live. I did however did here that they chirp, and to watch the water that they go in because of chlorine.
I learned something today.
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Post by landhermitcrab on Sept 16, 2006 18:50:55 GMT -5
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Post by serina48723 on Sept 16, 2006 21:37:29 GMT -5
Do those crabs, sorry don't know much about them, come in different colors or do they all originate from the same place here in the states and all kinda look the same? Just asking.
I love to learn something new to you know. Seriously.
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Post by landhermitcrab on Sept 16, 2006 22:05:14 GMT -5
Do those crabs, sorry don't know much about them, come in different colors or do they all originate from the same place here in the states and all kinda look the same? Just asking. There are different species of hermit crabs. All species usually have different coloring than other ones. There is a side-by-side images at www.hermitcrabassociation.com with species and species colors.
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Post by serina48723 on Sept 16, 2006 22:14:29 GMT -5
Now that is cool. I never knew that they came in all those colors. Ty for that information.
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Post by landhermitcrab on Sept 17, 2006 10:51:01 GMT -5
If someone can't get www.hermit-crabs.com/aggression.html . to work, try refreshing. It sometimes came up unfound for me, too. EDIT: There was a period at the end of the URL. It might work now.
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Post by serina48723 on Sept 17, 2006 11:19:38 GMT -5
ah ha, it works. Thank you.
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