The end is near

[sal_amanda]

i noticed late last night that one of my hermit crabs was walking around the tank without a shell. intrigued at first, i quickly realized this is a bad thing and probably means he's dying. i do remember that's how we found julie's hermit crab back in the day when it died.

i did a head count to figure out which one it was. Zoidberg, who is probably my favorite because he was the most active and did weird climbing feats. He also was the only one that didn't freak out when i went near the tank.

well, i checked on him this morning and he was still alive, but also still without a shell. been checking on him periodically and he keeps moving to a different spot, but not into a new shell. i figure it's only a matter of time at this point.

the other crabs haven't seemed to care or notice. i wish i knew what to do to make a hermit crab's last hours more comfortable.

and i'm planning burial arrangements. john thinks he's small enough to have a burial at sea without clogging the toilet. hmmm.

Comments

[heywoodjabloski.livejournal.com]

hope he's just inbetween shells
*hug*

[sal_amanda]

i appreciate that, but they change shells very quickly, quickly enough that you really don't tend to see it. him wandering around naked was a very bad sign. he's still alive and still out of his shell after two days, but he's extremely sluggish and will definitely be going soon. frankly, i'm surprised he's still hanging in there after all this time. but the sentiment is very kind. thank you.

[heywoodjabloski.livejournal.com]

any kind of crossing with death is difficult...
I do hope that he's just inbetween shells though

[sal_amanda]

well, he is truly hanging in there. quite astonishing, really.

[schraderj.livejournal.com]

Even though it looks like you have other shells that are just fine to move into, hermit crabs are very picky. He may have rejected all the shells you have because they just aren't "right".If you really want to help Mr. Z, get some more shells and see if he likes any of them better than what you have right now. Of course, it's Tuesday now so maybe it's too late...

[sal_amanda]

i have an absurd amount of shells in there, but if he wants another one...

as of tuesday at noon, he was still wandering around.

[schraderj.livejournal.com]

I know, and I'm sure they all LOOK like perfectly respectable shells, but I bet something's just not right with them. Getting new ones won't guarantee he likes those either, but I swear I hear that somewhere about being picky. You might want to mist him with a little warm water so he doesn't dry out. Nothing sadder than a dry hermie. I should be doing work, but instead I'll search the web for an answer to your crab dilemma. And your birthday present. He didn't get kicked out of his old shell, did he? In that case, he might just be pouting.

[schraderj.livejournal.com]

Great. I just read every bit of information on www.hermit-crabs.com and now I want some.

[sal_amanda]

well, they are generally pretty low-maintenance. and you can get fun shells. i don't believe he got kicked out of a shell. although, maybe he's not Zoidberg after all. i only assumed that based on other occupied shells. perhaps it's someone else and Zoidberg is in their shell. hmmm.

[(Anonymous)]

And of course, I am now going to check out this website...despite the fact that it is almost 3 in the morning, I am exhausted, and will be alone with two kids for over twelve hours tomorrow (or today, is it?). I am sure that my husband will be just thrilled if I want to get a hermit crab. We just recently acquired a beta fish that we "absolutely could NOT have," he is still getting over the fact that I talked him into a dog almost eight years ago, and we only recently lost our (my) beautiful bird that I got when I was fifteen. For a guy that grew up on a farm, he is so very, very against pets!

Good luck with your little guy...

-Kristina

[sal_amanda]

how can you argue about a betta? that's really as low maintenance as it gets. hermit crabs are cool. totally look into it.