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~

Fighting unwanted growth: deep clean

     I was ready for bed last night at about two o'clock in the morning when I took a quick peek inside the crabitat to make sure the levels were perfect when I noticed Chloe was still sitting in the same spot. Freaking out I threw the top off and made sure she absolutely fine before placing her back on the sand to which she ran away from me. As she moved with the speed of light I felt completely disgusted with myself for putting her back in that nastiness! Little "cotton clouds" were everywhere in the sand! 

     I grabbed Chloe again, much to her dislike, and placed her inside of a bowl (the ISO tank was nasty too) then began pulling out all the items I was going to need. Noting this would take awhile I sprayed the  bowl to give her some much needed air and covered it with the lid so she couldn't escape - that's all I needed, to be running around my room at two in the morning looking for a crab. 

      Once Chloe was safely contained and out of my way on my bed I removed everything; yes, everything. I have no idea what the hell was in that sand but it needed to go. It took a while and it was pretty messy, I'm not going to lie, but at least it was done. Now the substrate is completely fresh with added calcium sand just to give her a little boost. I washed all the dishes, the toys, the coconut hut and even wiped down the tank with saltwater as I couldn't use disinfectants. I removed the tree and replaced it with the bridge I once had in the tank that Chloe enjoyed. She actually took a short nap on it after everything was settled. 

     I also added new items she can climb on such as a doilie (Which she took to right away), the shredded coconut wall (I forgot what it's actually called, sorry), and I also put the soap dish "second level" back inside and she loved it all over again. Chloe loves to climb and that's something I can't forget, but I also keep it safe to make sure she can't climb right out of the tank. 

     Hopefully the growth stays away and Chloe enjoys her clean new living space. I also threw away the ISO tank I had because it was absolutely overrun with a disgusting mold or fungus and I didn't have the stomach to clean it. With only one hermit crab I won't have to worry about molting as she can do it right in the main tank. 

     Last night was crazy but at least I didn't have work today and could sleep in. I really am fighting the growth though, I have seen it before but it was only a little and in the powder foods so I discontinued them, only giving my hermies pellets and fresh food. After searching it up on the web I believe my humidity might be too high along with the heat. These are the ideal levels for Chloe though and I am lost on those facts. For the time being I will keep my eyes open and continue fighting anything that doesn't belong. 

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

24/7 Salad Party~

       I have just finished mixing a fresh salad together for Chloe consisting of mustard greens, broccoli, raisins, and dried cranberries. I might add some meat in later as well but for now I think that's good. I always add raisins because it seems my hermies really liked them. While raisins were Prada's favorite I'm still trying to find Chloe's, though she seems to really enjoy eating that piece of driftwood... I should buy some more of that soon. 

     I was placing the top back on when I saw her climbing on the side where I placed the net at. It made realized that she I haven't seen her climb on the tree as of yet which is weird for her seeing as she loves to. As I'm writing she's making her way up the net again. I am pretty sure she doesn't sleep too, every time I look in the crabitat she is wide awake. If anything I have been play hide and seek with her. One minute she's here and the next I can't find her again. 

     Well, like I was saying: I haven't seen her on the tree and so either later today or tomorrow I will revamp her tank (sand, shells, decorations, etc.) to fix it up to her liking. My reason being the tree is pretty big and taking up space, if she doesn't like it then it needs to go. Actually I still haven't taken a picture... salad party

Tank setup

     This is how the tank has been for a while now and I'm ready for a change, I like to believe Chloe is too. Speaking of Chloe, raise your hand if you see her ^--^ (Answer: on the left near the water dish in the green shell.)

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Back to square one

     Two days after resurfacing Chloe has gone back to normal routine; climbing, eating, and some more climbing. I saw her resting for a bit before she went right back to her crazy hermit crab antics. It's great that she is still active for that was one of the things I was worried about but I've noticed she seems to be a little more unsure of me than before her molt. I'm not taking it too seriously, perhaps after a couple of weeks of not seeing me she needs to get to know me again? Also, I really want to get some new pictures of Chloe but I am waiting for the right time.

     Besides that, I really hope she's okay without another hermie in the tank. I'm not ready to adopt one quiet yet and I'm still not sure if I had done something wrong with Prada who was fine one day and died the next. As I said before, I'll figure it out. For the time being it'll just be Chloe and I. 

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

    

Hey you~

     I could not sleep last night for the life of me and I completely blame it on coffee I decided to drink at nine o'clock. Seriously, I watched movies and ate. Last time I remember looking at the time it was five in the morning. However I slept for the most important three hours of the night! Chloe had dug herself out and changed shells ^^ I'm so happy to see my little energizer bunny moving around and swapping shells until she finds the right one. 

     Chloe has definitely gotten bigger and her coloring is more vibrant, closer to red. I can finally really see her instead of peeking in from time to time. I noticed her quickly move into the hut and reemerge as if she was looking for Prada which made me sad. I'm still not sure if I should get her a friend or not; so nervous they will fight.

     Well, besides that, I was sure to get some pictures of her new little exoskeleton and shell to which she switched three times before staying with it for the time being. Now that she is bigger I will have to revamp the shells inside the ten gallon tank soon but since she just come out from her "den" I want to give her some time to readjust before taking her out to do a deep clean on the tank. 

There she is next to her old shell. This picture isn't the best for her size but like I said I am giving her some much needed time before cleaning the sand out and getting better photos.

 

     I'm so happy and excited I don't know what to do with myself, my little baby is getting so big TT^TT I'm going to have to take a picture showing off the shells she was in from the time I bought her to now soon :)

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Molting?!

     Wow, don't I feel like an idiot... I came home from work today and checked on my babies only to see that Chloe is molting now. This means that about a week ago she was just preparing, go figure. I also looked for Prada, who was very active last night, and saw her sitting behind the tree I just placed inside the crabitat last Saturday only to see she wasn't moving. I misted down the tank, hitting her with a little bit of water and she was still lifeless.
     I refused to believe that two of my crabs died within such a short time span and searched it up on google.com. I hope she's just surface molting, I'm scared to lift her up and she falls out or something so for the next couple of days my eyes will be glued to the both of them for any abnormal signs. Oh, wish me and my hermies the best of luck, if I loose another one I don't think I'd be able to take in anymore for the fear that I'd kill them :'(  

Until next time,
Pearl Popping~

Update: Molt

     I have moved Prada back into the main ten gallon tank and I could tell she was so happy, so was I. Having my hermies in two different tanks gave me a little bit more to worry about as far as food, humidity, and - sadly- mold/fungus. Yes, I have spotted some kind of growth in my tanks but it's okay I have quickly read up on it and know what I am doing wrong to fix it. See how here*
     Also, I took a peek at Chloe still underneath the driftwood. I know I probably shouldn't have but seeing her tiny face looking back at me made me so happy. She is moving around under there but has yet to remove the sand sealing the exits and step out for some food as far as I could tell. Hopefully soon she will come out in no time and Prada will have her buddy back soon. 
     I am playing with the idea of bringing new hermit crabs home if only because  "Two crabs do not make a colony. Go get him a friend, or better yet, two." as said on www.hermit-crabs.com We'll see. I really want a Strawberry crab ::sigh::, again we'll see. 


Until next time, 
Pearl Popping~

Update: Molt

     Today makes a week that Chloe has hidden herself underneath the driftwood and Prada was placed into the ISO tank. I still have not noticed any change in the main ten gallon but I have no idea what time she started as I was at work. Although time of day has nothing to do with it. Some hermit crabs take weeks (months for the larger ones) to finish a molt. However, I like to hope that when I get home tonight Chloe will be up, walking about and looking for her friend. I know Prada is having a hard time in the ISO tank by herself as I've noticed she hasn't been eating her food lately. 

     Do I really need the stress coat? Sure it has its advantages with removing the last traces of the "fresh molt" scent however in the wild hermit crabs don't have this to bathe in. I think I might just dip her in some water and see what happens lol. 

     Surely Chloe will be bigger then Prada now because of the molt and maybe that is why she chose a larger shell when she swapped out. I'm excited; I hope I am able to see her little eyes tonight, I miss my girl.

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