"I've Got a Big Bag of Crabs Here..."
I have a hermit crab!
...which means, of course, that I have spent the last hour looking at websites obsessively, because I have no idea of what proper hermit crab care is. He has a 10 gallon tank with about two inches of sand, a dish of bottled water and a sponge, a dish with foods (I bought crab food at the store, but I put some peanut butter in too because all the sites I checked said they really super like peanut butter), two extra shells, and a box for him to crawl under, because all the sites say that they like to have a hidey-spot.
I also covered it with cardboard and a wet paper towel to try and make/trap humidity, since all the sites also have humidity in like all caps and glittery text and everything. The problem is I know nothing about how to gauge humidity, so I will probably have to cave and get a gauge or something, as soon as I can find somewhere that sells them. Maybe Dani would consider driving me to State College or somewhere they have fancy pet stores that are open on the weekend.
Any advice would be extremely welcome.
His name is Percivale, because he's a hermit in the desert, and during the day he was really, really active, but he got very quiet at night. He's also more active when he's sitting on me, which I think is because I have a higher body temperature and so that makes him feel more alert. I'm worried about him getting too cold--I made sure our window is closed, because it's been frosting at night, and our dorms aren't that well-heated. I'm not sure whether it would be okay to turn the lamp on at him or not.
He's so beautiful! And so curious, and he loves climbing. He also loves my watch, he finds it really fascinating. Everything says that hermit crabs like to play, so to-morrow I'm going to try to find maybe some things for him to play with, like non-piney wood and stuff. Also, apparently they like grass. So I will bring him some grass.
He's the first thing that's made me feel alive this whole week. Which I realise, and I'm going to try not to pin too many hopes and dreams. But I've been so miserable and sick and my anxiety and depression have been so much worse, but I feel better by just stacks when I'm playing with him.
I really hope he's warm enough. Maybe I'll fiddle with the thermostat, not that it ever does any good.
...which means, of course, that I have spent the last hour looking at websites obsessively, because I have no idea of what proper hermit crab care is. He has a 10 gallon tank with about two inches of sand, a dish of bottled water and a sponge, a dish with foods (I bought crab food at the store, but I put some peanut butter in too because all the sites I checked said they really super like peanut butter), two extra shells, and a box for him to crawl under, because all the sites say that they like to have a hidey-spot.
I also covered it with cardboard and a wet paper towel to try and make/trap humidity, since all the sites also have humidity in like all caps and glittery text and everything. The problem is I know nothing about how to gauge humidity, so I will probably have to cave and get a gauge or something, as soon as I can find somewhere that sells them. Maybe Dani would consider driving me to State College or somewhere they have fancy pet stores that are open on the weekend.
Any advice would be extremely welcome.
His name is Percivale, because he's a hermit in the desert, and during the day he was really, really active, but he got very quiet at night. He's also more active when he's sitting on me, which I think is because I have a higher body temperature and so that makes him feel more alert. I'm worried about him getting too cold--I made sure our window is closed, because it's been frosting at night, and our dorms aren't that well-heated. I'm not sure whether it would be okay to turn the lamp on at him or not.
He's so beautiful! And so curious, and he loves climbing. He also loves my watch, he finds it really fascinating. Everything says that hermit crabs like to play, so to-morrow I'm going to try to find maybe some things for him to play with, like non-piney wood and stuff. Also, apparently they like grass. So I will bring him some grass.
He's the first thing that's made me feel alive this whole week. Which I realise, and I'm going to try not to pin too many hopes and dreams. But I've been so miserable and sick and my anxiety and depression have been so much worse, but I feel better by just stacks when I'm playing with him.
I really hope he's warm enough. Maybe I'll fiddle with the thermostat, not that it ever does any good.