Quick update

     Ugh, I tried so hard but she moves too much lol. Here is the only picture I could kind of see her in... Its still bad.
     It feels like its been a long time since I last posted but it was only a day, must be all the brain storming I've been doing for my writing. Well, my fanfiction readers will be happy i'm sure :)
    I haven't gotten another hermit crab yet but I hope to soon, I'm still fighting growth within the crabitat sadly, and yeah, thats about it.

Unitl next time,
Pearl Popping~

How to...

     I was looking up information on how to introduce a new hermit crab to an old one properly when I thought I should share this on my blog :3 I'm going to try it out, hope for the best. I think Chloe would love a buddy as she has been a little off lately (sorry about having no picture too). Within the last few days I've noticed she hasn't been moving as much as is her norm. I hope Chloe is fine and only lonely as this can be an easy problem to solve vs. something else (e.g. sick).
     The site I found the "how to" was actually on Yahoo!answers: Can I put a new hermit crab in w/ my old one? 

The best answer: 

Yes you can introduce new crabs into established colonies.

I just introduced 3 little ecuadorains in with my purple pincers both large and small and there was no world war three. I have a large tank so this may have a lot to do with it.

In the past there have been some little scuffles but being social animals this is expected.

The first thing I would do is isolate a new crab in your isolation tank. You don't want to introduce a sick crab in with your other pets. I kept my Es in isolation 3 weeks giving them lots of time to moult or change shells if they wanted to. And it gave them enough time to settle in to their new habitat.

In the isolation tank give the crab lots of shells to choose from and get rid of that nasty painted shell ( I'm so happy you know how bad they are). Give the animal salt and fresh water and lots of fresh foods. Peanut butter does wonders with new crabs. The big thing is you want to make sure the crab is eating and drinking before adding it to the main tank. Give the new animal ample space to hide so it feels safe.

When you feel the animal is healthy enough to move in with the new tank mate give both crabs a nice bath. I rarely bath crabs but this is one of the few occasions I will.

Then introduce the new animal to his tank mate. Do it on a day you can spend lots of time with them. Let them get to know each other. If they get up on back legs and start showing off with their claws that's fine. If one crawls on top of the other and pushes the other crabs shell aside that's fine too. What you want to look out for is digging claws into the shells and trying to get the crab out.

If the crabs want to scuffle just let them. It's easier to let them establish dominance and get it over with then trying to break it up every time they raise a claw. If you constantly break it up they'll keep fighting, but if you let them get it out of their system you won't have further problems.

     I'm going to give it a shot and record their meeting when I actually buy her new friend, hopefully soon. wish us the best of luck :]

Until next time:

Pearl popping~

Oh, what to do?

     After my first comment on Chloe's video I started wondering if I should get another hermit crab to keep her company. I'm just so nervous they are going to fight, and with my awful luck they will. However I will give it a shot and see what happens - take it from there. I will try and record it as well, maybe someone can point out if I did something wrong. 

     On another note, I have been having a hard time with temperature lately. The warm days and cool nights have been driving the crabitat crazy. I feel like it hasn't been prefect these last couple of days but Chloe seems fine. If anything she's acting as if she is unaffected by it. Still my little energizer bunny. 

     I actually caught her sleeping the other day, completely tucked inside her shell! There's a first time for everything. I opened the lid to the tank to quickly snap a picture and boom the moment was gone... I'm telling you, its like she knows when the cameras near. Oh, well I'll get her one of these days. 

    

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Chloe's first youtube video~

     After two hours I finally finished this video :)

Until next time,
Pearl popping~

Random thoughts :3

     Woke up to a cloudy sky this morning but Chloe seems to like it. More active than when I usually see her walking about in the daytime, she is just moving all over the tank which is a good thing because she was rather still last night. Choosing to stay on top of the bridge for hours and making me nervously check the levels every ten minutes to see if something was wrong. I did give the fresh food a break, only giving her two different hermit crab pellets I bought from the pet store so maybe that was it. With the mold scare, though, I'm trying to fight any new growth and the reasons that it appeared to begin with.

     I will be adding some apple pieces and either organic peanut butter or a small piece of tuna to her bowl later so she will have fresh food tonight. I think that leaving the food in for the suggested 24 hours is what lead to my crabitat growing mold so from now on I will only leave it for the night and replace it in the morning. Also, I will be doing more frequent cleans. The sand needs to move around more to prevent growth and possibly add dry calcium sand as well to remain excessive wetness while adding something good for her health. I'm actually debating on putting half and half substrate so it's more like it would be in the wild for her. Placing the saltwater on the side with the sand and the fresh food/water with the soil/coconut bedding. I may wait until fall comes around as I am worried that it may make the mold grow faster.  

     Anyway, back to what I wanted to talk about: After I went to bed, she must have moved around a bit; the fake plant I had added after her climbing episode last time (Read it here: Over protective mom?) fell throughout the night. I put it back up, adding a few more hooks to keep it in place, and she ran over to me as if so excited I was fixing her toy. Maybe it's a sign she's used to me? I hope so~!  ^---^

   

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

    

First Shells

     Chloe's first two shells with me ^--^ I was hoping to get her in the new shell beside these two however she was running away too much so I had to put her back. Unlike Prada, Chloe never really goes inside of her shell which makes handling her a bit tough. She is my energizer bunny through and through (^3^)

I bought her in the white one and once home she entered the spotted one on the right.

The size compared to a US penny.

Until next time,
Pearl Popping~

Over protective mom?

     Ugh, three o'clock in the morning and I'm so sleepy but Chloe just had to wake me up. I apologize now if nothing makes sense in this post...
     I heard something, like a cat scratching at a post or something but as I own not one cat I knew this couldn't be the case. It was coming from the tank so I turned on the light and headed over to see that Chloe was climbing on the lid once again even though I tried so hard to place things in spots where the top couldn't be reached. Yeah, I guess that didn't work.
     She seems to have used a piece of cloth from the towels I keep on the lid for humidity reasons as a boost but after I removed that small piece in fear she'd be able to escape I also took away her "step down". Great now she's stuck...
     After what felt like forever I tried to gently peel her off because nothing else I tried worked however this didn't either. With a sigh I took the lid off completely and helped her climb back to the soft sand where her butt is safe. I also took the time to add extra fake plants that are high enough for her to reach should she get anymore smart ideas.
     So, am I an over protective pet mother? Maybe, buy at least I know my hermie is safe before I go back to sleep.

Until next time,
Pearl popping~