Wednesday, November 20, 2013

How long will my Hermit Crab live?

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Cherio22


I have had my Hermit Crab for a few years now. I clean his tank out once every month and treat him properly. He lives in a 5 gallon tank with sand, water, food, a sponge, some rocks, other shells, and some shelter. I also got him at a local Pet Smart. He has showed no signs of death, but this is the longest mine has ever lived. His shell is a little bigger than a golf ball. How much longer will he live? Also when I clean out his tank I let him walk around and stretch his legs.


Answer
Hermit crabs can live 30+ years with the proper care. Carol from crabworks.com has had her same two hermit crabs: John and Kate for over 40 years! It's estimated that they live to be over 100 years old in the wild!

Here are some crab care tips:
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Housing:
10gal glass tank minimum with glass or plexiglass lid is recommended, as it holds in heat and humidity better. It is important to vent the tank daily in order to allow clean air circulation. As a temporary home you can use a Large storage container- poke plenty of holes in the lid. Keep your house warm- or clip a low wattage clamp lamp to the edge of the rubbermaid container. Hermit crabs are found in tropical areas such as Florida or the Caribbean. They absolutely need the warmer temps and higher humidity.

Plenty of hiding and climbing places. Hermit crabs love to climb and need places to hide within the tank so they feel secure while they sleep during the day.


Temp:
70-80F

Humidity:
72-80% Allows the crabs to breathe through their modified gills

Substrate:
A mixture of moistened sand and coconut fiber or sand wet to sand castle consistency. Substrate must be deep enough so that your largest crab can fully burrow. This allows your crabs to build their molting tunnels. The moistened sand prevents the tunnels from collapsing while the crab is molting.

(Play sand is recommended- its cleaned beach sand. It doesn't cake when moist like Hermit Crab Calci sand does- hermit crabs have gotten injured due to this in calci sand). A 50lb bag of play sand costs $4 at walmart or home depot.

Frog Moss or Sphagnum moss pits make a great snack and keep humidity raised.
Make sure they have plenty of coco huts or other items to hide in. Fake plants work well for creating a hiding spot as well as climbing item. Hermit crabs love to climb!

Commercial Food Warning:
Majority of hermit crab commercial foods have insecticides in them. The insecticide is harmful to the hermit crabs because hermit crabs are from the arthropod (insect) phylum. It is best to offer dehydrated, freeze dried, and fresh foods to them. It is recommended that you give them different choices of fresh foods every other day. They need a variety of vitamins and minerals in their diet. Fresh foods: Hermit crabs eat much of what we eat- feed fresh unseasoned meats, fruits, veggies, and cuttle bone (found in bird section at walmart for $1= for calcium) or crushed oyster shells for calcium. Calcium is important to the molting process, it helps the new exo harden.


Water:
Needs access to both dechlorinated fresh and marine grade salt water. They need the water to be deep enough to allow them to clean out their shells. If you have very deep dishes make sure that they have an easy way out of the dish to prevent drowning. Vines, stones, and aquarium rock can be used to create a way out.

They need marine grade sea salt water (Instant ocean or oceanic works well- it costs around $5 for a box and lasts for a long time- it can be found at a pet store in the fish section).

A tap water conditioner will remove the chlorine and chloramine found in tap water. The chlorine causes blistering on the land hermit crabs gills and will cause them to slowly suffocate.

Shells:
Keep 3-5 per crab. Shell sizes should range from same as their current one to a bit larger. This will allow them to change shells when they desire and eliminate the shell fights. Hermit crabs love to change shells for fun and also after they molt (molting is where they shed their exo so they can grow).

Molting:
Needs moist diggable substrate such as Eco Earth bedding (reptile section) or playsand moistened to sand castle consistency- walmart or home depot for around $4/ 50lb bag.

It is not recommended to house a hermit crab alone as they are social creatures and can become depressed and pass away without a friend. With proper care hermit crabs can live up to 30+ years in captivity!

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My cat has been missing for a month, my dad is convinced he saw her in our back yard. What to do?




Kimothy


My cat, Kitty Baby, has been missing for over a month. I've looked for her everywhere, contacted every vet near me, posted "missing" posters throughout the neighborhood (which were removed by some a$$hole a couple of days later) and called every animal control shelter within a 20 mile radius. My dad told me yesterday that he saw her in our backyard and she darted across the yard and ran behind our shed. She does not come when called...but has always been extremely friendly, affectionate and responsive. Is it likely she is hurt and being reclusive? She is only 5 years old and in good health. My dad said she looked fine and healthy due to the fact she ran so fast and didn't look injured. Why would she be living in my backyard? Is it more likely my dad saw a stray cat he thinks is Kitty Baby? Can cats go feral after being lost for over a month? Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you very much.
Thank you everyone for your responses, it means a lot to me. I will try to lure her back in. :)

I don't think she found a love interest because she is spayed and "aint' nobody got time for dat". It's possible it was a stray, but my father is thoroughly convinced it was her. I was just wondering more if it is possible for cats to revert to being feral...She is 5 years old, we used to let her out all of the time and she always came back within a short period of time. I only let her out because she hates it inside (we have a multi-cat home) and she loved the outdoors. She would always figure-8 around my legs when I was outside with her and never go far from home. We began keeping her inside recently (before she ran away) because fleas were bad and we didn't want anything to happen to her. She would get super-upset when we kept her inside. This time, against my husbands advice, I let her out. And she has yet to return. From the way my father described the sit



Answer
Cats do not revert to feral, your cat never was feral. Feral is a cat that wants to kill you. What happens is pet cats become streetwise. What also happens to some cats is that they become terrified when lost and they will not come to you even if they see you and know you. The longer they stay out and become streetwise and terrified for their safety the harder it can be to catch them again.

I had one knock out a screen on a window (no more open windows!) and freak once she was outside. She lived in a fenced area where there was an old platform some kids had built years ago and the area was covered in berry vines. No way in. I used to stand on a step-stool sometimes for 30 minutes talking to her over the fence and coaxing and sweet talking sometimes daily sometimes a few times a week. I left food and water outside and she came. She lost weight and during the third month she was on the fence and I walked (inched my way) out to the fence holding an opened can of tuna and she inched her way toward it and while she was focused on it I snatched her with my other hand. Sometimes you can use a fishing net on a pole (from the fishing section at Walmart). Sometimes you can borrow or rent a humane trap from animal control, a pet supply, a pet rescue group, set it up with the smelliest food you can get like tuna or sardines, and for some strange reason KFC chicken draws them like flies. You set the trap, cover it all lwith a beach towel except the opening and check it the next morning. The towel helps keep a trapped cat calm because it is dark and they feel safer.

Just because it ran doesn't mean it's healthy or that it hasn't contracted a disease from any other strays it's met or been in a fight with or that it doesn't have fleas or worms. So when and if you catch it again, it must go immediately to the vet for blood testing for FIV and FeLV and deworm and have Advantage put on it. Do not let it back with your other cats until that is done!




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