Power Hungry Hermit Crabs

(March 15-21) Brain attempts resurrection, just in time for Easter!

2010-03-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Cicely observation 2:

As we have discovered, “Pinky” (the white hermit) has far more energy than “Brain” (dark striped hermit). In fact, Brain’s energy was so low this week I was concerned Brain had died. I couldn’t bear to tell my group he died at my house. But I wasn’t seeing any movement from him for days. I dipped him in the pond of water twice; then I placed him on different object surfaces such as my hand and wood table to spark his curiosity. To my dismay, he just stayed just curled up.
I also assumed he was dead because his skin changed from its original pinkish hue into a deep purple shade. Pinky’s skin hadn’t turned purple, only Brain’s. The only reason I didn’t throw Brain away is because I thought when hermit crabs die they fall out of their shell and any hermit crab around (i.e. Pinky) would eat his unprotected body. Yuck! I did not want Brain to suffer such an outcome so I prayed very close attention to him. Since I personally didn’t sleep much this week (went to bed at 2 am twice, woke up at 4 am once) I was able to observe crabs’ nocturnal lifestyle. Then a miracle happened. I was studying when I suddenly heard burrowing noises…Brain was alive! Praise the Lord. I was so happy!

(March 5-15) They love their log

2010-03-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Posted by Christa Chamberlin

Well, the little hermits didn't do much while at my apartment. They actually never do. Sometimes late at night I hear them walking around and making little noises but that's about it. Every now and then I get worried that they're dead so I pick them up and touch their little feet and arms to see if they will move, and sure enough they move. They really like hiding under their log. I haven't noticed them eating any of the food but found out that they actually eat the sand. Very interesting little critters.

(February 22-March 1) Another New Crabitat!

2010-03-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Most of the week Brain stayed burrowed under the sand.I think he was de-stressing from his last attempt to escape. I didn't even know where he was hiding until Thursday when I saw his shell poking out of the sand and Friday he came out to eat some food!

Pinky of course was out and about in the evenings, usually just to get some food and then he would crawl back under his log. He LOVES that log.

On Saturday I decided the crabitat needed to be updated. Sandy had to create a make-shift crabitat after the nice one had been destroyed and it was just too small. So I went and got some more terrarium sand from Lowe's and a nice big container for them. I also decided to make them a salt bath, because Hermit crabs need baths too!

When I introduced the crab's into their new habitat they seemed to love it! I even put them in their bath to make sure they could get out and they just sat in there and soaked for a while!

Also, Pinky decided he didn't like the normal entrance to the log... so he created his own :)

(Februrary 16-22) Attempt to take over the world #1

2010-02-23T16:23:00.000-08:00

My journey this week started rather bumpy. Like a good mother I put my babies (the crabs) in the back seat on the passenger side. There were no restraints on the cage because I figured my uneventful ride home would not require such an act. This is evidence that I highly underestimated driving in Provo. Traveling down 800N during passing period in traffic equals disaster. A pedestrian appeared out from behind a vehicle forcing us to slam on our breaks. The cage on the back seat slid off the seat and to the floor, shattering the cage. We drove home and relocated the crabs in a new home. I was pretty disappointed about the whole situation, but Jessica pointed out that it was probably one of their evil schemes to escape their cage and take over the world.

After the relocation, Pinky seemed up to his normal behavior. Brain, however, burrowed himself completely under the sand and did not reappear for the rest of the week. Pinky seemed comfortable enough with the new situation. He came out at night several times and allowed guests to hold him.

The new home seems a little too cramped, so we will have to try to create a accommodations.

(February 8-16) Comfy home

2010-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Cicely observation 1:

During my first hermit crab week observation, February 17 to March 1, I noticed that hermit crabs keep to themselves. Pinky was much more active than Brain as he would scurry a couple of inches around the cage. Brain came out of his shell twice. I would spray the cage to keep it hydrated according to the hydro-thermometer. Sometimes I would spray the crabs to get them to move. The water we used was distilled water. I found their habitat very luxurious- a log to hide under, sand, shrubbery, a hydro-thermometer, distilled water, and a lamp to keep the cage at a comfortable room temperature. I am glad they weren't noisy as I assume housing crickets would be when I slept.

(February 1-8) ZZZZZZZZZZ.....

2010-02-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Posted by Christa Chamberlin

Well, all the little hermit crabs do is SLEEP. Or at least that's what they look like they're doing from my view. Maybe in their shell they are having a party. We finally got them out to play and Pinky (the white one) is wild! His energy doesn't last long though. He is a hermit crab after all.

Observations: no movement all week.

(No, Pinky did not come out on his own, we pulled him out of the hole he dug under his log to make him look alive)

(January 24-30) They aren't Dead

2010-02-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Posted by Sandee Clark

January 30
My husband and I were up late (12:10) playing board games and I glanced over at the crabs. Pinky was out of the log! I was so excited that I scared the little guy as I hurried over to check on him. After 5 more minutes he came back out to drink water. Pinky proceeded to attempt to climb out. I could hear his little legs scratching the glass in an attempt to climb out. I picked him up. He slowly came out of his shell and then tucked back in. This put him off balance and he fell out of my hand onto the table. I put him back in the dish and he scurried under the log.

January 29
When I checked on them this morning one of their food pellets was missing! It also looks like they have shifted the location of their log so it is more perpendicular to the side of the dish than it was before. They seem to have burrowed deeper into the sand under the log.

January 28
No life signs...I am afraid they are not alive, but I don't want to move them in case they are molting. We don't have new shells for them if they are molting. Well, we will see.

January 27
I haven't seen the hermit crabs move a muscle. When I check them in the morning everything seems to be in the same place. I am still checking their humidity and temperature, and it is usually close to what it should be. I hope they come out to play soon!

January 26
I have had the little guys for two days now, and I haven't seen them outside of their wood bridge once. My husband, upset that they still haven't done a single thing, was questioning whether or not they were alive. I lifted the wood bridge and prompted them to come out by lifting them above the ground. They came out and slowly awakened. Brain (the one with the dark and light striped shell) moved slowly, got a drink, and went back under the bridge. Pinky (the one with the lighter shell that is bigger) moved much quicker. He went right to work at climbing out of the glass bowl. After about 5 minutes of scratching at the glass, he gave up and joined Brain under the wood bridge.
After discussing the situation with group-mates, they helped me realize that the crabs might be molting; therefore, I should no longer disturb them. Hopefully all will continue well.

(January 17, 2010) Hiding

2010-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Posted by Jessica Morgan

Pinky and Brain have been in hiding for the past couple of days. Ever since I added this log for them to climb on and hide under, that's where they have been.

I removed the log briefly to show how they like to burrow themselves into the ground. I also thought it was interesting how they huddled together, they typically would stay away from each other.

I am thinking that maybe the crabs are coming out at night, or when I am not there. I have also heard that crabs "molt" and stay in hiding for about a week before they need a new shell.

A New Crabitat!! January 16 by Jessica

2010-02-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

After doing some online research I found this awesome website that tells all about how to take care of hermit crabs. http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Hermit-Crabs

After reading a bit about the hermit crabs I realized that our home was not up to par for the little guys. So I went out and bought a few things, like sand and jungle bedding instead of pebbles, and a log for them to hide under. I also added a few shells and a watering dish. They seemed to like it!

Pinky immediately began to run around, while Brain took a few minutes to observe his new surroundings.

Hermit crabs LOVE to climb. It was so interesting watching them climb around, it is amazing to me that they can climb around with that big shell on their backs.

King of the LOG! haha, Pinky was climbing all over this thing.

He also liked to suprise-attack Brain from above. Haha, Pinky totally uses his larger size to climb all over Brain.

This is probably the best tool I got for the crabitat, a thermometer AND Hygrometer. The crabs need to be kept in a specific temperature and humidity in order for them to be comfortable and even breath. We have a lamp that sits over the cage to keep it warm in these cold months, and a spritz bottle to keep it humid. The jungle bedding also helps keep the crabitat humid.

Welcome home! 1/19 - 1/20 by Jessica

2010-02-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday the hermit crabs were introduced to their new home which is an old large fishbowl.

They seemed to like it, they would crawl around in the food dish, but mostly they wanted to escape. I say that because they were constantly clawing at the walls. However, they did seem to like their food dish.

It was interesting to watch them eat their food. They just take a bit at a time from one of the pellets, and its hard to see because their mouth is kind of underneath.

Pinky started trying to climb over the sponge, probably trying to get himself up higher.

After much thought, Brain attempted to climb UP the sponge several different times.

It never really worked out though - the sponge kept falling over just as he would get to the top!

Introducing Pinky and The Brain by Jessica

2010-02-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

Meet Pinky and Brain. They are hermit crabs, and so fun to watch!

Pinky is always the more adventerous one, and climbs all over the place

Brain is more cautios about things, maybe he is deep in thought on how to escape from the bowl.