Final Update: PLEASE READ!

  Hello my beloved followers and viewers, its great to be on here again.
I have been keeping up on comments via phone and am still so warmed to see how many people out there love these little guys and seek help on care, from me!

  It breaks my heart to tell you all a few pieces of news involving my crabbies and this blog.

Firstly, I will not be posting anymore for reasons listed below. Unless I discover some news on care, on availability/popularity/anything at all on them I will no longer be putting up new posts. I WILL HOWEVER KEEP THIS UP and keep answering any and all questions. I did keep and love these guys for years. I am so happy to give anyone the help and correspondence they need. PLEASE DONT FORGET everything you need to know is here! I have posts about housing, care, everything I could think of!

Secondly, In October I woke in the middle of the night to many strange noises going on in my room, I got up to check everyone (I also have other noturnal creatures in my room) to find that Bubbles was dragging Jack into a hide. THIS IS NOT A GOOD SIGN. I quickly grabbed him away from her and shooed her into the burrow and away. Jack was limp. I put him into a bin for examination and he was sadly dead. Beyond any sort of help, Bubbles had attacked him and crushed much of the front left of his carapace along with im assuming eating some of his legs, as they were completely missing.
  It is my educated guess that he had been mid molt, and Bubbles (being the nasty aggressive meany she always was) took advantage to get him. Normally id attribute this to hunger, but they were always very WELL fed. *sigh*

The Last part of this news is that I then rehomed Bubbles. As much as I love these creatures I am too emotional. It made me so mad at her, Jack had been the sweet one. Still timid but he at least came out, showed himself and observed me. She made me SO MAD. I decided it would be best to rehome her, put her with someone who would give her the care and attention she deserved. I know they cant understand when were yelling and angry at them, they arent dogs. But i was literally calling her foul names every time i misted/fed/changed water.... It was best to give her a loving home.

In conclusion the quick facts are that no, I no longer own these animals. But I did nothing wrong in their care to cause this. And I am still keeping this blog up and tuned so that anyone who needs help and info can get it!! its linked to my email, I will see you commented, I will answer when I can. 

Thank you to my few followers and the many people i have connected with because of this blog. I hope it continues to help people!

Cleaning Day Process: The way I work

So I cleaned out the tank today and decided to walk you guys through what I do for my dynamic duo.

I am going to trow this out there, and some people might not like it, but I only do a full sand replacement about every 3 months now.
It seems like its too far and few between but for me its not. These guys in the wild leave their food hoardes to rot in the ground so having tiny bits of shredded food here and there doesnt seem to bother them. February will be 2 years that I have had these guys and its the longest I have seen anywhere that anyones been able to keep them going. So I would like to think that what im doing is okay for mine. 
Every week I scoop out what poo I see (looks like tiny black cylindrical tubes) Every month-month and 1/2 I scoop out the yucky looking sand and mix in some fresh, and every 2-3 I full replace like I did today. Usually around then it starts to smell a bit strange.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU KNOW whether or not your crab is molting before doing this type of thing. you never want to dig up a molting crab. I make sure I see both my crabs out 3 nights in a row.

I grab multiple hole-less grocery bags, two carries that the kiddos cant escape from (taller than their legs and body outstretched sideways), 2+ gallons of spring water or treated water, a 50 bag of natural unbleached play sand (I use quickcrete brand from lowes $3.57), my sprayer, two old socks, and a scoop I got at the dollar store that looks like it would be for flour or coffee beans or something. 

First I pull the tank a bit from the edge for easier access and pull all decor and bowls out that I can see (things get buried). I then begin scraping and scooping bits at a time into the bags to toss. Do this very carefully so you dont accidentally find a tunneled crab and break legs. I scrape and scoop from low water side up because it gives you 6+ inches before possibly finding one. 

Scoop as shown

I dont have pictures of all of the steps that follow, but when you do find a crab and have them up and running around now is the time to pull them out. I put old socks on my hands to make a sort of cloth web hand. It saves you from being pinched and helps scoop them up. I get a container ready and try and grab them, sometimes i put the container on its side and scoot them into it. Other times I get them to pinch a handing part of the sock to swing them in. Either way I get them both out and secured, I usually spritz them down and give them some leaves while I work the rest of the tank.

Next I get as much sand out as possible, hose it down with some soap and water, rinse thoroughly and replace. I then add an inch of water to the bottom and begin pouring my sand. This helps keep the dust down as you pour.

Putting in water first keeps dust down

 I keep pouring sand and adding water as needed, stirring occasionally to evenly moisten, you want it to be sand castle building moist. I then position water dishes, hidden hides and small rocks and create a slope. You want it high on the non water side and sloping low to the dishes. This naturally lets them find water. I then add the fake leaves, including the bunches you see me adding below.

Add decor! Leaves rocks and branches give them climbing and hiding spots

 I also then reclean any sand from the dishes, make one fresh and one salt. I also create a fake burrow here and there to get them started and give them a place to go when I put them back in.

See, Nice slope. Leaves hides and rocks

I then usually photograph them which is a hard job and will be shown off in the next post, and return them! Secure lid and turn on their heat lamp =]

Look, Jack is at the freshwater! Bubbles already hid herself in that rock hide.

This is my WHOLE shelf that they are the bottom of. I convinced my boyfriend to build it for me haha. It houses the crabs, my Grandma Leopard Gecko, Kali. And all (currently) 13 hatchling Crested geckos. The adults are on another unit. 

Most of my other critters, and some artwork and decorations ;)

Hope this helped! Onward to the photospam of babies!!!!!

Information on the Blackback Land Crab (Grecarcinus Lateralis) NOT HALLOWEEN MOON CRAB

A reader had emailed me about getting the wrong crab, what was it? They had received the Black back land crab instead, under the name "halloween crab". (Please see "Is your crab a Halloweener?)
This got us chatting for a while as I tried to do some research and help a fellow crabby lover out. He brought to my attention a german site that translated some information that I found quite useful, even if it was not 100% accurate.
I have shared this with you and would like to add a few alterations, such as the temperature range they list is 68-82 F. Id probably keep it 74-80 range since this is in a tank and not the wild, they cant dig as deep to escape heat. They also list that they do not need a water dish.
hm.
I highly disagree with this here. I think any living creature will benefit from a water source (even crickets and feeder bugs need water access such as crystals so they dont drown)
G. Lateralis may avoid bodies of water in the wild but I can bet they dig deep to find the water table. They use the substrates internal moisture to wet gills, but in captivity we can not always guaruntee there is enough internal moisture. I think you should always include a dish just in case. these creatures are not stupid, if the substrates dry they will seek water.

Other than those points i find this entry quite helpful and am glad the reader took the time to show me!
Before I leave this post id like to make a point of reminding you all how to research for your buddy.
Google search not just caresheets, but scientific blogs and articles, REAL RESEARCH papers. Look at 10, 15, 30 pages. There is no such thing as too much. Look up where these crabs live in the wild, then research those countries. These things give great insight as to how they live in the wild and what you should give them in return to replicate things like temperature and substrate.

I am currently working on two new posts after this, one of how i go about digging out the critters and cleaning, and just another photo update on the lovies. Hope you enjoy!!!

Long time, No post!

Its been a while crabbie people! My laptops fan took a poo, so I am currently typing on it from atop an old box fan. Ghetto/redneck fix, but it works! Anyways that's why I haven't been on.

I DO have update pics and info though!
My crabs have tripled in size since February when I got them, and I couldn't be happier. They kind of scare me now with how big their claws are. I'm still doing a false bottom enclosure, but with a good 6 inches of sand to dig in, I have come to terms with that my crabs are super diggers and need it. They also are terrible tank re decorators.
I'm still feeding them a mix of fresh fruit and greens, dried red shrimp, crab pellets, millet, and occasional mealies. They are still provided with a bowl each of fresh (bottled spring) water and salt (bottled spring with a measure of hermie salt) water. Their substrate is mainly sand, with a bit of soil mix in the bottom, kept moist at all times with a false rainfall every evening. I scoop their droppings as i see them and change sand about once a month.
I keep a 50watt red bulb on at all times, in a room that's between 76-79 so that their tank temp is approx 86 surface. I DO NOT keep a under tank heater or heat pad, they need a place to escape the heat.
I do not really handle them. They can cause injury to themselves if they pinch, do not let go, and walk away. or in the struggle to get away can damage their legs or eyes. I would like to some day... but I don't see it happening any time soon.

Both of mine have molted at least 5 times now! and I see them out just about every night. (see photos, compared Boo's first and only preserved molt to them now)

Learning tips:
Tip #1- DONT FREAK OUT. Calm the eff down, Its taken me a long time to learn this. However its a great tip when dealing with these, especially ones like mine that are fresh caught youngins. Its imperative you and your crabs that you (excuse my french) keep your shit together. I cant even begin to explain how many times I up and lost it before during and after Boo's death, though her dying did help me to chill a bit. You stressing doesn't help you or your crabs one bit. The more you stress; the more you bother them to make sure they're okay, the more they stress, and the quicker they may die or get sick! Take it from me and leave them be, let them do their thing. Jack is finally starting to get used to me passing by the tank everyday, occasionally he still runs, but something he does stay out and notices I DON'T HURT HIM. I'm not a bird, i'm not going to eat him. Bubbles is still kind of a spaz... but I think thats just her personality.
Tip #2- Provide them with both fresh and salt water no matter what. Though scientific research on the animal shows that they mainly go to sea only to reproduce, they do wander to the sea on occasion. And my crabs seem to enjoy "tasting" the salt water and taking a quick dip in it. I always keep their sand moist with fresh though as thats what they wet their gills with daily. You will not be able to breed your crabs, so it may not seem like you should have salt water, but trust me they like it and it doesnt hurt.
Tip #3- If they havent been seen in a week or so, let them go! Do not dig them out! They are probably preparing to molt. Care sheets and websites on them estimate it may only take a week or so but the process can be so much longer. Recently a crab owner emailed me asking for advice and it reminded me how long its been since I updated and rewrote my learnings. Your crab may only be "pretty" for a week or two at a time and look ugly and ready to molt the rest. Your crab may take 3 weeks to molt. or they could only be ugly for a few days and molt and be done within a week, It varies by crab depending on their care and the crab itself'... it also varies per molt. Bubbles will disappear for weeks and not even molt.
Now if its been more than 4 weeks and you are really worried they dug away and died, DONT DIG THEM OUT just yet, take a thin reed, a chopstick, or something long and thin and not metal, poke it around in the substrate gently. if you hear scuttling, they are fine leave them be! Keep in mind not to handle them after they resurface, sometimes they stay under to harden and other times they dont. Jack molted above ground in plain view before!

Well thats it for now, this got lengthy... PIC TIME!

Jack (Left) and Bubbles (Right) fighting for the best spot to hide during tank day.

Jackie Boy <3 Look at those claws!

Bubbles =] Please ignore the sand on her one eye, she wouldn't let me rinse her well.

Jack posing all cute

Last one, you can really see his mouth well here. 

I guess thats all for now! Ill try to think of anything new I should post about. FYI I post a lot of Jack and not a lot of Bubbles because shes a spaz and he stays still very well.

A Death in the Family

  I am saddened to say, my midsize female has passed. We left her in a separate container as noted in the previous post and treated her as live, but she began to stink horrible and bloat to the point of *gag* explosion. I think she died that day when I moved her, when she stopped clicking. I still feel like it was my fault, I shouldn't have moved her. But she also may have been eaten or still died in her fragile state regardless. Im taking this as a learning experience, and hope when Bubbles molts (because Jack did already underground and completely ate his shell) that she stays underground too and doesnt surface and scare the crap out of me.
  As far as the 1/4 tank goes, it was a flop (also noted in previous post). The crabs at the moment are in a 10 gallon with natural plant food free topsoil. Due to some transportation and time errors, and a walmart employee being an idiot, I could not get the natural play sand I like. Soil will have to do and I think I like it, but am still gonna stick with sand (or mostly sand) when I get the 30 gal breeder up and running again.
  The 30 gallon got freshly scrubbed, sanitized, and detoxed today. As did everything that usually resides within, all is prepared to be set up when I can get out to Home Depot for sand. This time, I am still doing running water but in the safe and kinda redneck way... Let me explain.
 I went to walmart, and got a 97 cent tupperware shoe box. It holds 6 quarts, and fits perfectly in the tank i have with room on the end for my salt water dish. I cut the top off, making it 3 inches deep, and smoothed the edges with a lighter. Hopefully when it all comes together it looks okay, if not oh well ill live. Im planning on hooking up the filter as i did before, just now its in a REMOVABLE and CAULKLESS section that will be easier to drain and clean... not to mention completely nontoxic!

 ] I will take this time to mention yet again, that this is my first time owning these crabs, I have had them since February and am learning as I go. I decided to do this blog because of the lack of good info out there, and post how I work with my crabs and what I think may work best. They are known in pet trade to die quickly and be tricky, so you get to learn along with me. I AM IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM SAYING WHAT I KNOW IS BEST. As you can see in this post and last post, I screwed up. I am not perfect and am not a pro. This is just my adventure with an animal that I think makes a pretty neat pet. [

 Until next time readers... I hope this is helping people.

^ Jack, My big strong boy ^

Greetings, From Crab Land. And my version of a care sheet

For starters, I do not claim to be an expert or even know for sure that what I am doing with my Halloween Moon Crabs is correct or right. I do not post anything as proven fact. What you will read in this blog is purely from my experience and what has worked for me.

So heres some background:
I got my Halloween Moon Crabs (Gecarcinus quadratus) February 25th of this year at the Northwestern Berks Reptile Show (aka the Hamburg show). I dont recall who the vendor was as it was VERY busy and hectic. I got 3 1 inch crabs, to my eye 2 females and a male. (It is said that females have yellow orange legs, males red orange)
I researched a TON before getting them and found all the info very conflicting. Which is why I decided to do this! I see a lot of people saying they are difficult or dont last long, the care sheets are incorrect/conflicting/totally strange... Can a girl get some solid info?!

First off, This is about HALLOWEEN MOON CRABS. Not Rainbow crabs, or halloween HERMITS... Rainbows are different though their care may be similar. The crab itself is different.
Halloween Moon Crabs come from Costa Rica and are LAND CRABS, have black and dark purple bodies, lavender to bright purple claws, and orange legs. They have yellow to orange "eye spots", and two white spots on their backs (photos will be shown in another post). They have BLACK eyes. Even though they are LAND CRABS they do have gills and DO need to be able to submerge into water.
They are crafty and can climb, please remember to have a tightly fitting lid!


Next, The three biggest things I saw that conflicted and were confusing were Temperature, Substrate (land), and Water.

Temperature: I have seen everything from mid 60's to high 80's, and people complaining about every single one. These crabs come from Costa Rica, so after seeing some really strange info I just looked up what Costa Ricas average temps were. They are in that range, but stay in between 70 and 80. As far as MY crabs care is concerned. I've kept their temp never below 70, and no higher than 88. Yes. Costa Rica does get hotter and cooler than that, but In my eyes keeping it in the mid-range is most likely the best bet for survival.
I use a 75 watt red light 24/7 at the moment, but may take that off when it hits summer and my room is warm on its own. They are in a window to give them a day and night cycle.

UPDATE 11/26/2012- my room stays at a 76-79 range, and I now use a 50watt red bulb on my 20gal tank, it keeps the crabs around 82-86 and they LOVE that temp

Substrate:
Or land. In the informational (not care sheet info) articles I have read about these crabs, the say that they live along river banks in mud and sand, stay mostly by the river, but will travel back and forth to the ocean as well. They also LOVE to burrow and dig. I know this from personal experience. The information on them says that in the wild they will make burrows up to 5 feet deep into the ground!
I have my 3 small crabs in a 30 gallon breeder tank with just play sand as their land. the left side has up to 10 inches and the right has about 2 inches. It is a nice slope and has about 9-12 man made hides. Your crabs will need plenty of places to hide and dig. I used Terra Cotta pots buried with the opening out (photos later) but also left places for them to dig. The sand MUST be kept moist at ALL times. This is so they can make burrows that stand up. if it caves in thats a problem.
Dont be shocked if they redecorate.... they do that.
I also have fake plants to help hide their holes, and pebbles and rocks for them to move around.
You may use peat moss as well, but packed moist sand is better for digging solid tunnels.
The land SHOULD be sloped, with water at the low end, as it would in the wild on the bank of a river. Running water is best, and may coax them to go in, but I havent gotten a filter yet for that.

WATER:
This is such a back and forth issue I see on all care sheets. The fact of the matter is no one seems to be sure whether or not these crabs NEED salt water to survive. They do need de-chlorinated fresh water AT ALL TIMES. Enough to submerge and wet their gills. Halloween Moon crabs are known to flit back and forth between ocean and river, so I personally keep 2 dishes of water in the tank, changed often to keep bacteria from growing. One of spring water, one of salt (I use a hermit crab salt water kit to make it). I have NEVER seen them go into them in all the time i have had them. But to be sure they wet their gills every time I have changed their tanks and dug them out i have put them into the water for a bit.
They must have an easy way in and out of the water, as they CAN drown.

UPDATE 11/26/2012- Crabs have shown MUCH interest in the salt water now.


Other than those three items, we have Food, Size, Age, and Sex issues to discuss.
These crabs are scavengers. In the wild they eat fruit, leaf litter, and sometimes fish and animal matter.
So in my home, I feed my crabs mango, papaya, apples (and plain unsweetened applesauce), Bananas, Lettuce of all kinds, well rinsed grass, Hermit Crab Food (moistened, is a great staple diet), and for a treat I sometimes give them dried red shrimp (sold as turtle food).
You can also give them crickets, feeder fish, raw plain fish pieces, boiled unseasoned chicken, and other fruits and veggies. You will also need to provide cuttlebone chunks for calcium.

Halloween Moon Crabs in the wild can live to 15 or so years old, and can get to about 4 inches in width (across the body). They give a nasty pinch so be careful when handling. They are also VERY fast. From my experience, they may take a month or more to start to come out at night and dig around. Mine were burrowed for over 3 weeks!

Also to mention, two males should NEVER be housed together. They may fight to the death (or so I have heard.)


Molting:
Other care sheets say about the same thing... I still dont know much about it. They will most likely eat their shed exoskeleton. How often they do it I do not know. Just be patient and dont bug them. Dont dig them out of their burrows unless absolutely necessary.
They may lose a leg or two in a bald molt, but as long as they dont lose one or both claws, or have damage to their eyes, they should be fine. I have one who had 2 legs missing and grew them back in his recent molt, and my female lost two in her molt. They get around just fine. =]



Lastly, and once again. I DO NOT CLAIM TO KNOW ANYTHING. I could be very wrong.

Thats all I can think of for now. Next post will be photos!