Post by Kelly on Oct 18, 2013 7:52:19 GMT -5
I'm so glad I found your site. Here's my story.
We received our hermit crab from a friend who's daughter had purchased him from a mall about 4 years ago. Herm has always done well in our care until recently and I am perplexed has to what has gone wrong. There seems to be several factors and I don't know if I have unintentionally caused harm to him, but he is obviously stressed as he is losing his legs and I don't know what to do. I can't stand to see him suffer like this. Here's what I know: We changed out his substrate about two months ago because his cage was infested with of those black flying insects that get into all potting soil. They were in all of our house plants as well as Herm's soil, so we decided to treat our houseplants and completely dump Herm's substrate and start over. To my knowledge, the substrate I used is the same substrate we have always used when cleaning his cage. It was damp when I put it in his cage. I didn't have quite as much depth as I'd had before, but he seemed happy. He climbed all over the cage, ate well, switched shells back and forth, etc.
I had purchased a small Venus Fly Trap and sat it in his cage in an effort to help keep those flying bugs from returning. He ate one of the pieces off the plant, so I immediately removed it. I panicked thinking that it would poison him, but after reading online that it was safe I stopped worrying. He continued to be active in his cage until recently, but I figured it was nearing the time that he would bury himself. He never has. Then last week I noticed that he had lost a couple of legs, and that's when I noticed that the soil seemed like it had completely dried out. I have never had this happen before. I got online and read where they can suffocate if their cages do not have enough humidity, and immediately realized that his substrate was way too dry, so I wet it all down for him. This was last week. He has not attempted to bury himself, has eaten very little and when I checked on him yesterday, it looks like he lost his claw. I don't know what to do. I have read a variety of FAQ on sites, but I just need to speak to someone about this. I don't know if I should go and buy brand new substrate from the pet store, if I should try giving him a bath of some sort, bury him under the substrate myself or just leave him alone. I'm afraid to hurt him even more by handling him if I shouldn't be.
If someone can give him some direction I would greatly appreciate it. I don't know how long hermit crabs live and my husband keeps telling me that maybe it's just his time. Is this how they die though? By losing limbs? OR........If he is just stressed out, can Herm still be saved? Am I already too late? Please help. Thanks so much!
We received our hermit crab from a friend who's daughter had purchased him from a mall about 4 years ago. Herm has always done well in our care until recently and I am perplexed has to what has gone wrong. There seems to be several factors and I don't know if I have unintentionally caused harm to him, but he is obviously stressed as he is losing his legs and I don't know what to do. I can't stand to see him suffer like this. Here's what I know: We changed out his substrate about two months ago because his cage was infested with of those black flying insects that get into all potting soil. They were in all of our house plants as well as Herm's soil, so we decided to treat our houseplants and completely dump Herm's substrate and start over. To my knowledge, the substrate I used is the same substrate we have always used when cleaning his cage. It was damp when I put it in his cage. I didn't have quite as much depth as I'd had before, but he seemed happy. He climbed all over the cage, ate well, switched shells back and forth, etc.
I had purchased a small Venus Fly Trap and sat it in his cage in an effort to help keep those flying bugs from returning. He ate one of the pieces off the plant, so I immediately removed it. I panicked thinking that it would poison him, but after reading online that it was safe I stopped worrying. He continued to be active in his cage until recently, but I figured it was nearing the time that he would bury himself. He never has. Then last week I noticed that he had lost a couple of legs, and that's when I noticed that the soil seemed like it had completely dried out. I have never had this happen before. I got online and read where they can suffocate if their cages do not have enough humidity, and immediately realized that his substrate was way too dry, so I wet it all down for him. This was last week. He has not attempted to bury himself, has eaten very little and when I checked on him yesterday, it looks like he lost his claw. I don't know what to do. I have read a variety of FAQ on sites, but I just need to speak to someone about this. I don't know if I should go and buy brand new substrate from the pet store, if I should try giving him a bath of some sort, bury him under the substrate myself or just leave him alone. I'm afraid to hurt him even more by handling him if I shouldn't be.
If someone can give him some direction I would greatly appreciate it. I don't know how long hermit crabs live and my husband keeps telling me that maybe it's just his time. Is this how they die though? By losing limbs? OR........If he is just stressed out, can Herm still be saved? Am I already too late? Please help. Thanks so much!