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~

Little Action

     Well, its been three days since my last post and I am still completely sad about losing Prada and Louis, which is too be expected. Having no activity in my crabitat only makes me sadder everyday. Chloe has yet to resurface and notice she's all lone however I checked on her this morning and she seems to have started digging to come out from under the driftwood. 
     I'll be happy when she does but at the same time I wonder if I should get her a new friend just so she isn't lonely. Although if they fight I'll have to return the new one... I'll wait it out. That brings back memories of my very first hermit crab, Hermes. 
     I'll keep you posted on Chloe but until she comes up from her molting my updates will be far and in between. 

Until next time,
Pearl Popping~

Better place: RIP Prada

     After coming home from work and walking into my room I was greeted by a fishy odor, I almost cried. I knew right away it was Prada. I removed the fake plants and dishes to get a better view of her to which I saw she never had moved and lifted her up. She didn't fall out of her shell but after testing her limbs I noticed they were weak and moved too easily with my touch. I'm so depressed and have no idea what I did wrong, if I did anything wrong... 

     More questions enter my head; was she walking like that because she was in fact missing a claw or was it something else I didn't notice? Is it the food I gave them? The play sand I placed inside the crabitat? That damn tree?! Every since I bought it two of my babies have passed on. Just to be on the safe side I removed it for now; what if Chloe decides to resurface now and climbs all over it only to die by morning? 

     I'm completely heart broken and am really paying close attention to Chloe now. Since she is molting she's extremely weak and I don't want another dead crab. 

I hope you're eating the largest bowl of raisins right now, Prada :{

      That was my favorite picture of my little girl, I really caught her beautiful red coloring. 

Here is a video by expert village that states how to tell if your hermit crab is in fact dead.

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~

Canned Shrimp

     After coming home from the movies I noticed that Prada was peeking out of her hut and heard action underneath the driftwood from Chloe. Now, I thought, is a good time to add the shrimp to their fresh food bowl. I was so excited for unknown reasons and quickly washed their dishes, throwing out old food and replaced it with fresh. I then opened the can and succeeded in keeping my ground but I was so freaked out! 
     The little shrimp (and they are tiny!) still have their heads and kind of look like worms! Ugh, I hate bugs so much... Well, I quickly spooned a couple into their food dish and tossed the rest in the refrigerator hoping that tomorrow I can face them better although I'm not looking forward to it. I should have bought the freeze dried ones instead. 
     Bottom line is I hope they enjoy it and they better eat those creepy little shrimp lol. I also gave them romaine lettuce, raisins, carrot pieces, and gold fish flakes. I'm always looking for something new to introduce them too but is also healthy for them and after searching up lists of food that is great to feed hermit crabs (which is really long, by the way) I've found that most of the items are for other animals - even us. Like peanut butter is a get way for them to get protein. However some food is better to just give them the real deal, thus the shrimp. It is packed with carotene which can help my strawberry crab keep his coloring as well as Prada and Chloe :)

eww...

    

Basic care

     Here is one of the sites I go to all the time whenever I feel lost about something. It's pretty straight forward, filled with facts, and has helped me in many ways.

Hermit Crab Basic Care*

Until next time,
Pearl Popping~~ 

Tank setup of my dreams

     I love this setup, its so beautiful and roomy but also gives the hermit crabs the things they need to climb and hide in. I have no idea how large this tank is but if I could pay the person behind this to redo my own asap I would.
     I just had to share this lol.

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.

Not Sure...

     After about two hours in the ISO tank Chloe stopped all signs that she might molt. I noticed she had stopped digging completely and only walked around as if taking in her new environment (I could tell she didn't like it). With nothing to climb and only her favorite piece of wood reminding her of her real home she sat on top of it and watched me as if silently trying to will me into putting her back. As all parents (yes, even of pets) know those sad eyes always win. 

     Now Chloe is back in her tank with Prada, whom she sought out right away, and loving the second level. On top of that, after coming home from work and checking on the hydrometer (etc.) I see she has been digging again. All the levels are fine inside the crabitat so it can't be she finds it too cold or hot, not enough humidity or too much. Molting is all I can think of. Also, Chloe has been a little less active. Usually she's really all over the place, investigating everything and now sometimes I'm waking her up from a nap accidentally.

     Bottom line is I'll keep my eye on her and if I start seeing lethargic behaviors or cloudy eyes I will then place her into the ISO tank straight away. I don't need any cannibalistic crabs...

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Play sand review & new tank setup

     After replacing the calcium sand with the play sand and watching the levels on humidity for the pass few hours I have to say it's working ^--^ The hydrometer is staying at the perfect 70%  or higher level and my crabs seem to really like the switch which makes it all the better. Chloe is moving around, as always, and Prada is investigating as well. I am currently trying to catch a picture of her with my phone lol. She's so shy and keeps running from me.

Prada

     Here is the only one she let me take before she went missing under the bridge. Oh, and after getting a much better look at both Prada and Chloe together, yes, Prada is indeed bigger then Chloe although not by much. I think I might how been seeing a few signs that she is looking for a new shell - or as my sister likes to call them, apartments lol. Since she hasn't changed yet I'm wondering if I should add more - maybe even larger ones?

     I also wanted to mention I gave them organic peanut butter and they really seem to like that as well. However I believe Chloe's favorite snake is that wood she likes to hang around. So I'm starting to notice what they like which is great. Prada prefers raisins, boiled eggs, bananas, and peanut butter. Chloe likes all that plus the seaweed I buy from my Chinese supermarket and, of course, the wood/bark she stays under. I haven't seen either of them eat the apple I put in nor the carrots but maybe they did and I never noticed.

new tank setup w/ play sand

     Besides the change in sand I also added a fake plant for them to climb on. I didn't get the chance to go to the pet store and buy the drift wood so I used what I had. I have already spotted Chloe hanging on it the night she discovered the soap dish and thought I might it more exciting if I added more. Hopefully Prada can get some fun out of it too.

Until next time,

Pearl Popping~

Play Sand

     I finally bought it, the play sand! Tomorrow I will  clean out the tank and replace the calcium sand with the play sand. I'm hoping this will make my humidity problems a thing of the past :) On top of that, I want to buy more driftwood and climbing items because I know they will enjoy it. I will take a picture of the newest tank setup as well. 

      I bought the play sand at Lowe's and it was fifty pounds for around four and change. That's a big difference between the six dollars I spent on five pounds for the calcium sand. I hope Chloe and Prada like the new change :3 Should I do the change in substrate slowly or is it okay to up and switch it?

     I'm so excited I want to do it now! First, however, I need a container of sorts to hold the rest of the play sand (sand is messy...) and I need to buy the wood. So tomorrow it is. Get ready, hermies~ Tomorrow is going to be fun. Photo shoots, tank changes, new food (?), and maybe some more shells :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

Tank setup

     Here is my tank setup, although I have changed it around since this picture. I am still on the lookout for more items they can climb on such as sticks, driftwood and leafy plants. I know they sell it at the pet store I frequent but the prices are high for wood...come on, $30?

old tank setup

Also, I use calcium sand but am going to switch over to play sand if only because the calcium sand isn't very helpful with keeping the humidity inside my crabitat. 

Should I add more sand into the ten gallon tank as well? I have come across pictures where the tank is  practically filled with substrate but at the same time many have stated that this is unnecessary and a waste of bedding. My crabs are small, not tiny but small, compared to the medium hermies I have seen on the web and inside the pet store. I don't want to over do it. 

Why I don't use coconut fiber substrate? Easy, its made of coconut and that will attract all the nasty bugs I don't want around my babies.

     Here is my new tank setup, I like to change it around at least once every week - week and a half. It gives me the chance to clean up really good and remove food Prada likes to hide under the sand. 

New tank setup

Why are their towels on top of the tank? As I have stated before, I'm having extreme difficulty with the humidity thanks to the mixture of calcium sand and maybe placement of the crabitat in my bedroom. As you can see the sun does hit the tank which I was fine with on the cooler days but now that its getting hotter I have been using moist towels and it's been making a huge difference. I do plan to move them soon though.

Inside tank on the left

You'll notice I placed the burlap net going towards the upper level I made. That is just a soap dish connected to the glass with suction cups and some more shells up there. I used a little bit of fabric to cover the opening at the bottom of of the soap dish and covered that with the calcium sand. How I got the net to stay in place? Easy, I used these little Command hooks ( see them here ), you can actually see one in the picture above in the top left corner. You can also see their food (both fresh and commercial) as well of the water. 

Inside tank on the right

I placed small rocks inside the salt water bowel as well as a sea sponge because I think it might have been a little too deep. Should I have a sponge in both the fresh water and salt water? I wonder if it'll help with humidity...

until next time,

Pearl Popping~