2 posts tagged “crabs”
I apologise if you are getting bored of the crabs saga however this morning brought some unpleasant news.
This morning I found UMO in several pieces around the cage. Dead.
I can not be sure how this actually happened, but looking at the huge burrow he was in it looked like he had gone through an unsuccessful moult.
I'll miss UMO, although he was a bit of a scaredy cat he was a nice addition to the crabitat. I'll never forget him, as UMO was the first crab to pinch me.
This picture is not for the weak-hearted.
These are the pieces I found him in. From Left to Right; Shell, body (look at the slug like abdomen) and a leg.
The first thing I had to do was contact Pets at Home in Gloucester, where I had purchased him from. They were very helpful on the phone and asked me to bring the body in so that they could give me a replacement. I was not able to travel to Gloucester today so I asked if I could take it to the Redditch branch and exchange it, the man on the other end sorted it all out for me, so that there was little hassle when I arrived in Redditch.
I got to choose a replacement crab. I chose one that looked a little bit like UMO. The only snag is that he has burried himself in the sand ready for a moult, let's hope he is more successful than UMO.
I don't think we will be seeing him for a little while. His moult should take between 1 and 18 days! LOL!
As the story goes, the animals always come in 2x2 so, I forked out an extravagant £3 to bring home another of these little beauties. Say hello to un-named crab 4.
To bring my total in Pets at Home up to £7.47. I bought a further 3 novelty shells, which can be seen in the next photograph.
2 differently shaped football shells and 1 basketball shell.
So the crab roll is now on 7 with: UBO, Túko, Tikí, Un-named 1, 2, 3 and 4. So hopefully by the next time I write I will be able to tell you all of their names. I don't plan to get any more crabs before I next write, so we should be safe with that one.
Just before I go, I have taken a picture of something that always makes me smile in the crabitat. It's Un-named crab 1, hiding in a little nook in the piece of vintage wood. Sometimes I fail to notice him, even when I look so he has me worried sick that I have lost him.
See you soon,
Martin
Oh I do like to live beside the sea!!
Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I can tell you we are now thinking of renaming our house and garden Alcester Zoo and charging admission on the gate.
We already have a lengthly list of animals:
2 dogs
1 tortoise
12 chickens
26 Quail
2 hamsters
3 Rabbits
But in a weeks time, I shall be telling you all about are estimated 4 or more new animals.
The first of the new arrivals is due midweek, I was hoping to do pick them up this weekend but unfortunately everywhere local seemed to be out of stock. However, Redditch Pets at Home are getting some in this week!
If you don't already know what the new arrivals are, I can tell you that they should look like this.
Still don't know what it is? Well it's found along the shorelines, and it lives in a shell. NO IT IS NOT A SNAIL.
It's a Land Hermit Crab. The crab in the photo is not mine, but I thought I'd show you what they look like. They are meant to be for my birthday, but they seem to be so sparsely found yet very popular, so as soon as they pop up you need to get them. Over the last few days we have spent in access of £100 buying a cage, and trying to replicate a shoreline scene. Despite being crabs, they don't actually like water. The only time that they go into the water is to lay their babies!
Mum is going to pay for 4, but I have a little extra money which may just turn into a fifth crab!
Here is a picture of the tank in all it's glory so far.
Yes that is a video recorder in the picture, if you have forgot what one looks like!
You can see the rockpool area in the front-right corner.
The two front ones are for salt water (for bathing and baby laying) and neutralised tap water for drinking. The back one is for crab foods. A crabs favourite meal is chicken and apple apparently, but I'm so mean I bought them specially made crab pellets! In the background of that photo you can see a couple of the shells, and their little house.
This is their house it's appropriately named a "Cocohut) as it is half a coconut with a door carved out and a few wholes in the top for ventilation.
These are definately going to be an interesting pet.
Did you know that despite living in places such as Florida and Africa, they actually prefer temperatures of 20-26 degrees. The only thing that really matters is humidity, it has to be at least 70%. To achieve this you just spray the tank walls with water, and make sure that there is water in the rockpools at all time.
So that is the only definate arrival this week, but I really would not be surprised if I was telling you about other arrivals this time next week.
Martin
