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~

Update: Molting, Mall crabs, & Breeds

     It's been awhile since I've made a post but everything is the same for the time being. I still have yet to see Chloe's little eyes and Prada remains in the ISO tank however I am debating on returning her to the main tank even though I haven't bathed Chloe in the stress coat. Hmm, I'll figure it out. 
     On another note, I  went to my local mall again and saw the Hermit Crabs still there. This time I was smart enough to take a picture ("Boo" to painted shells).

     I was told that they sold Strawberry and Blueberry crabs. I've heard of Strawberry crabs but never Blueberry so this is something else I'll have to look into. This had me thinking of the breeds of my own little hermies. I know for a fact that Chloe is a Purple Pincher Crab, her largest claw giving that away. Prada however I'm not too sure. With her missing her largest claw and deeper coloring (red "feet") I believe she might be a different breed of all together.

(An old picture of Chloe) purple claw

Prada's hints of red

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Climbing higher & higher

     I hate waking up five minutes before my alarm clock let alone two hours but this morning I had a surprise. There was Chloe, active as always, hanging upside down on the grate lid of the tank. She looked so happy and her antennas were just moving all around the place with each little careful step she took but I was the complete opposite. I was looking around the crabitat for what in the hell gave her the boost to get up there in the first place. Those fake plants, I realized after two minutes of trying to get my brain moving. All I could think of was how happy I was that I had taken out the towels. Now I'm on the hunt for clamps to secure the lid and keep my babies inside their tank, where I know its safe for them. I've heard so many stories of Hermit Crabs escaping from their crabitat - sure they were found alive later (most of the time) but my house stays cool until the summer time really hits. My crabs will freeze without the lamp and suffocate without the humidity.  

     Later in the day, while I was at work, I was still thinking about it because this will be the second night I've seen her hanging around above the "ground".

(Chloe) The first night

(Chloe) The second night

 Does this new behavior have something to do with the switched sand? I hope not but if so I'll add some more of the calcium sand into the play sand as I still have some. Perhaps I'm over thinking it and my new tank setup is better and allows her to act more like a hermit crab? I'm not sure...

     Prada was active last night as well, on a different note, however she stayed closer to the sand if not on it. I spotted her staring at me and grabbed my phone (I'm still on the hunt for a good picture of her) snapped a couple and left her be as she ran away from me. She is still shy but at least she's coming out of her hut - even though its mostly when the lights are off.

Prada hiding in her shell

There she is~! :3

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

All About The Heights

     One of the first things I learned about my new little buddies was that they love to climb. As such almost every hermit crab owner tries their hardest to stimulate their crabs to reach for the sky... or at least the next branch. I know I can add lots more to stimulate my babies and I will sometime very soon but for now we are just getting to know each other. This is my very first time owning Hermit Crabs and I'm trying my best to learn fast and understand their body language. I'm always nervous they might start a fight over shells or something, maybe that is why I keep adding new ones to the tank.
     Anywho, Chloe was very active last night - as always - and I could hear her shell knocking into the glass with every step she took. She ate she fresh food snack up and afterwards she continued to run around like she had appointments in every corner of the crabitat, all while I only got a glimpse of Prada stealing a raisin from the dish. I know crabs are all different but I hope one day Prada will be a little more active and maybe warm up to me.

Climbing on her favorite piece of wood :3

She spotted me lol

Chloe and Prada

     Let's be honest, hermit crabs aren't the best picture takers. My little girls are scared to death of my phone let alone my camera. How some people are able to get such great shots is beyond me but I tried my hardest.

Chloe

Chloe is my smallest crab... or I think she is. Since she has moved out of this shell into a much larger one she looks about the same size as Prada now. She hasn't molted with me yet, I've only had her for about five days now, only swapped out shell. She is very active; I have yet to see her sleep and she's always climbing over everything in the crabitat. Chloe is my guinea pig when I place new items for them to play on inside the tank only because she is the first to notice :3

Prada

Prada is completely opposite of Chloe, she is quite and shy. She likes to stay inside her hut and only comes out to grab a raisin or two before running back to her corner (that is why I placed her on a towel to get her picture). She hasn't switched shells yet and it doesn't seem like she's looking either, which is fine.

I'm always looking in on her because I'm hoping she does molt soon. I believe she was in a fight at the pet store as she is missing her largest claw and has trouble climbing when she actually takes the time to do so. This makes me a little uneasy and I'm constantly looking out for her and hoping Chloe isn't trying to fight with her. After stopping countless fights with Hermes and Chloe I'm on edge, however I was told that since I bought them at the same time from the same pet store this would be highly unlikely - I'm crossing my fingers in hope that this is true.  

Close up of Prada

    I hope to one day add to their little clan :3

Why a blog?

     Never in all my life would I have thought that I would own a crab, two on top of it. But now that they are here I'm sure they're not going anywhere. I have two small crabs at the moment, Chloe and Prada: named for their shells and my sisters love of fashion. I did have another before these two, however, named Hermes but he was a fighter and so after placing a question on Yahoo!answers I thought it best to take the advice given to me and return him to my local pet store. After peace was returned to ten gallon crabitat I realized that as much as I hear Hermit Crabs are an "easy pet" it's not completely true. 

     

     I am always searching up new things for my little roommates (diet, substrate, shells, etc.) and wish I had someone to ask directly. Thus my Hermie Diaries blog was born. 

    

     Plus, it'll be nice to have a spot where I can show off my crabs and see other peoples as well :3

Until next time,

Pearl popping~