Southern California, Hermit Crabs, and More!

Hey!

I know it's been a really long while since seriously posting as I was on hiatus during my freshman year at college.  I traveled 2,129 miles from my hometown in Pennsylvania to sunny Orange, California to study creative writing and French.  My what an experience it has been!  I've gotten to explore Southern California, meet a ton of amazing people, and enrich my life with a quality education learning about the things I love.

During my freshman year, my parents decided to accept the challenge of caring for my hermit crabs while I was away.  They've done an excellent job and I couldn't be happier.  This summer I get the chance to give my hermit crabs the necessary TLC they need from me and then I'm back to Southern California for my sophomore year.

In the next few days, I will be posting some crabitat pictures and maybe some shots of my crabs if they are out and about!  In the meantime, I am glad to be back and regularly posting.  I hope you all will enjoy what's in store for Kilimanjaro's Hermits.

Love and Happy Crabbing,
Rob (Kilimanjaro)

Viola at Play

Here is one of my Viola hermit crabs, Monster, climbing happily!

Shinto Loves Maple Leaves

Here's a video of one of my Purple Pinchers named Shinto eating a freshly harvested maple leaf!  He is always the first one to come and eat.

5 New Ecuadorians

 

Today I welcomed five new Ecuadorian hermit crabs to my clan.  I had intended only to buy three, but they all were so cute that I ended up deciding to get four, and then eventually I had settled for five because I couldn't leave this little cutie there!

This one to the right I named Papillon.  She is a female.

This little bugger at the top has no name yet, and the other three have already buried down into the substrate!

Making a comeback!

Hello, everyone.

I am going to resume regular blogging here on Kilimanjaro's Hermits!  Stay tuned for updates, crab care articles, and more.

Here is a small update for now.  The 55G crabitat is currently home to 9 hermit crabs:  three Purple Pinchers, three Violas, two Ruggies, and an Indo!  I am planning to add some new Ecuadorians to the crabitat soon.

Here is the current set-up of the 55G crabitat.  I got rid of my two filtered pools because the crabs continuously dislodged the filters, causing them to spew water out into the tank and making a soppy mess out of the substrate!

 The two pools now are equipped with airstones and I do weekly water changes.  Everyone has been very active lately, save the four crabs who are molting.  I included a picture of Shinto with this post!  He is looking gorgeous as ever.

Mako Finishes His Molt

Mako recently came up from what I believe to be his 11th molt with me! When I first got him, he could fit on a fifty cent piece. He is about the size of a tennis ball overall now!

He definitely grew a bit from his last molt, and his coloration remains outstanding. He was moving all about and managed to pig out in the food dish and both water pools!

I was missing seeing his cute crabby face, so I am ecstatic that he is out and about now.

Mako is my oldest crab. I've had him for a little over 5 years now.

My Land Hermit Crabs

It's taken me a while to figure out who is who among my land hermit crabs. In particular, the Violas were confusing me. However, I managed to determine the gender of a few crabs, and I'm not quite positive that I know who each crab is! This post is an introduction to my current colony.

Mako (Purple Pincher, male, 5 years with me!)


Shinto (Purple Pincher, male, 3 years with me!)


Santino (Ecuadorian, male, 1 year with me!)


Manhattan (Viola, female, 2 years with me!)


Vida (Viola, female, 2 years with me!)


Indi (Indo, female, 2 years with me!)


Takéo (Ruggie, male, 1 year with me!)


Verdi (Ruggie, female, 1 year with me!)


Lady Gaga (Viola, gender unknown, 1 year with me!)



Monster (Viola, gender unknown, 1 year with me!)

Viola Meet-Up

Two of my Violas were out and about the other night when they both crossed each other's path. The Viola on the right began pushing the Viola on the left with an open claw.

The Viola on the left was trying to retract into its shell while still defend its stance. It was chirping very loud.

Eventually, they both parted ways and everything ended well. It was interesting to watch their territorial showdown!

Update on the Crew

I had some unfortunate deaths in my crabitat over the past year since I haven't posted. There was definitely an outbreak of some type of disease because a lot of them passed at the same time and exhibited similar symptoms. A few deaths may have been due to neglectful crab care while I was very busy with end-of-the-year school things.

The important part is that ten of my crabs are happy and growing strong! It's almost Mako's 5-year anniversary!

Live Hermit Crabs Order

Well, I splurged.

Even though I had already made an order from ELHC this summer, I decided to make another from Live Hermit Crabs because everyone else was ordering great crabs from them. My order consisted of three Strawberry crabs, one Blueberry, and one pink Indo.

I'm very excited for their arrival. Keep an eye out for the arrival post!

-Kilimanjaro

A Crabby Tale

The crabs managed to give me a good laugh last night.

I decided to give the crabs a thawed pinkie mouse for a nutritional treat. The last time I tried this, the pinkie mouse disappeared! This time, I managed to see what happened to the little mouse... at least, for the most part!

The story begins with the crab pictured to the left, my Indo named Indi. Indi was eating the mouse and really going at it. I scared him a little while watching, so he backed up with the mouse in hand.

Then, a larger Indo, Aria, came up and climbed on top of Indi! I thought they were going to fight, but I usually allow this type of stuff to happen because I think it replicates what happens in nature. Well, I figured Aria would get the mouse and Indi would scurry off, but that did not happen at all!

Instead, Indi quickly began making a dash for a resin log and I thought he had put down the mouse... little did I know, he had the pinkie mouse trailing behind him! He was running off with the little mouse in hand.

Aria quickly followed him into the resin log. I don't know what happened in here, but Indi emerged on the other side victorious with the pinkie mouse in pincher. Aria came out the other side and decided to munch on some grapefruit instead.

Later, I saw Indi sharing his pinkie mouse with an Ecuadorian of similar size. They were both chowing down!

The pinkie mouse is now gone... I have no idea where it is! I highly suggest trying this for your crabs. It can be found in the freezer section of your pet store, normally near the fish and/or reptiles.

An Anniversary and ELHC Crabs!

Today is the anniversary of three of my crabs, the Indos. Toro, Indi, and Aria will be celebrating their one year mark with me! And to celebrate their anniversary, eight new crabs have started their lives in the 55G!

My order from ELHC (http://www.exoticlandhermitcrabs.com/) came in the mail today. The order came around 2:34 and I was very excited to open the package! All of the crabs came in different tupperware containers taped together.

Upon opening them, you could tell they were well treated before. Bob at ELHC does a great job caring for these crabs. None of them were shy so all were gender ID'd and named.

Without further adieu, I present the newest members of Kilimanjaro's Hermits:

Squid, Coenobita rugosus

Avalanche, Coenobita purpureus

Koopa Troopa, Coenobita purpureus Kandoro, Coenobita rugosus

Verdi, Coenobita rugosus

Takéo, Coenobita rugosus

Vaeda, Coenobita violascens

Valencia, Coenobita violascens

All of the new members are currently enjoying their new home!

ELHC Shipping Delayed

Today, I got the news that shipping on ELHC hermit crabs has been delayed due to the heat wave that is gripping us here in the Northeast. With temperatures in some places over 100*F, shipping the crabs could be dangerous and fatal.

So, sadly, I must wait another week and hopefully it will cool down enough for the shipping to be green lighted. For now, I am a bit disappointed, but understand fully why they weren't shipped. It's really good to know that ELHC cares about the crabs they ship. I know I picked the right online company from which to order.

3 New Ecuadorians

Before the ELHC crabs arrive, I wanted to get a few Ecuadorian crabs for my loner, Kiléa. I came home with three newbies, two around medium sized and one small.

Alejandro:

Lucio:

Santino:

Preparing for the ELHC Hermits

As previously posted, I ordered eight crabs from ExoticLandHermitCrabs.com: 4 Ruggies, 2 Blueberries, and 2 Violas. I am extremely excited for this order to come on Wednesday, and as of now, I am preparing for the new guys to arrive.

I am going to reorganize the 55G, which is currently housing my other 12 hermit crabs. I'm going to do a semi-deep clean and change out the pools and moss. I think I might buy a few extra plants and a hidey to make it a little more natural. I am also going to add some aragonite sand to my 100% EE mix, as recommended by many other crabbers.

I've had so many successful molts on pure EE, but also a lot of unsuccessful molts. If other crabbers are having better success with a mix, I am going to try it, too. I'm looking for what's best for the crabs.

Of course, while I'm out shopping for all of these extra things, I know of a store that has Ecuadorian crabs... I might have to bring home three. My current Ecuadorian, Kiléa, has been left alone due to a series of bad molts and PPS.

Luckily, with the addition of the eight crabs from ELHC and the three Es I'm planning to get, I'll be back to a nice colony... 23!

Summer Update Post

I decided it was indeed time for an update post, as a couple of unpleasant things have happened in my crabitat during the past few weeks.

1) Ryukyu, my biggest Viola, died. I am not sure why, but he spent a lot of time near the water pools and eventually went naked. He died a few days later. I still wonder why he died.

2) One of my Strawberries from HCV died. This came as a true surprise to me as the Strawberries from HCV have been doing great and are now celebrating their anniversaries with me!

I've had a few other losses and I've been researching why the mysterious deaths have been happening. I'm going to try a few different things: more fresh foods and less dried stuff, and also changing the water (even though it is filtered) more often.

Anyway, happy crabbing! The rest of the crew seems to be doing great and I'm looking forward to getting my ELHC exotics on WEDNESDAY!

ELHC Crabs Soon to Arrive

I recently ordered 8 hermit crabs from ELHC: Exotic Land Hermit Crabs. I did a little research on the facility and operators prior to ordering, and it seems as if they are a great company to order from.

I ordered four Ruggies, two Violas, and two Blueberries. I'm very excited for my order and I am awaiting a confirmation email now! I hope they will process my order and the crabs will arrive soon.

Needless to say, it is now SUMMER and the season for harvesting has arrived. Take a nice nature walk in your local forest and scavenge for the crabs! They'll appreciate it, and you will have done something healthy for yourself.

It's Been So Long! UPDATE POST!

I can't believe how easy it is to forget about this blog sometimes, and even to forget about the hermit crabs! My life has been so busy with school, AP classes, Junior-year stress, college choices, career choices, working, social life, and a plethora of other things with which I don't want to bore you!

I decided to do a little update because Ryukyu, a Viola I've had for a little over two years, surfaced a day ago and is looking extremely vibrant! I am proud of his new color.

As for the rest of the crabs, they're all doing great. The three Straws are quite active, and Mako is as malevolent as ever! I always have to keep an eye on him. So in short, the crabs are doing great, and I will try to remember to post on here!

A Completed Colony

To celebrate setting up the new 55G crabitat, I have acquired four new hermit crabs to help complete the colony. This brings me to 24 land hermit crabs, and now, I feel like the tank has been completed.

First off, I got two new Purple Pinchers since I only had two. I don't know the medium's gender, but the smaller one is a female and is named Kshana.









Today, I bought two new Ecuadorian crabs, although I could have bought a lot more because of how nice they all looked. This smaller Ecuadorian is named Panko because of the extra exoskeleton on one of his legs... it's like he's breaded in Japanese bread crumbs!


This larger Ecuadorian has been named Rio. He is a male.


Enjoy!

Tremendous Update!

The 55G crabitat has arrived and it is now set up! I am really ecstatic and the crabs seem to be enjoying it! If you want to see pictures, check it out at the HCA.

I also got two new PPs... one is a female and one is unknown right now. I'm still deciding on what to name the female!

And as you may have noticed, Limeslide from the HCA (and also Oretachi no Melody - a blog) has made me a new banner to use.

-Kili