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The first magazine for land hermit crab enthusiasts!
Photo by Pepe
In this issue:
Hermit crabs on the job December winners Buying & Shipping hermit crabs Sexing your hermit crab Cafepress merchandise Coloring page
January 2007 Volume II Issue 1
December 2006 Winner:
Crabazonian Jungle Crabarium Owner: JMThrash Dimensions of Crabitat: 36inx36in base, 24in height, 56in corner front Volume of Crabitat: 92gal Description of Substrate: Front 1/4 coco-fiber, rest play sand Description of Tank Items: Two pools with duetto-50 filters, waterfall. Bonsai, temples, cork bark tunnel, half-logs, cave, cholla, wire-mini-cubes with wicker baskets second level, foliage. 100w moon-glo, repti-sun 5.0, tropi-caire. JMT won 200 CSJ dollars to spend on prizes!
December 2006 Winner:
This photo was submitted by tainteddogma0 She won 200 CSJ dollars to spend on prizes!
OOPS! We goofed!
Last month there was a misprint in the Calendar
Crabs article. JoeyO did not win a free copy of the
annual calendar for winning the November monthly
contest.
Instead JoeyO will be given a free copy of the annual
calendar for being chosen as the COVER CRAB for
the calendar.
Sorry for the confusion!
-Dae The article on Crabby Cove will be printed at a later date when Angela is back with us .
Office Crabs
By Jedi_sena I became fascinated with land hermit crabs when browsing a pet store to replace a coworker’s dead betta fish. On returning to the office, I searched the internet to find out what would be involved in their care. It seemed a bit overwhelming, so I decided to think on it some more. Meanwhile, I dis-covered that my 4-year old niece had two hermit crabs that she’d won at a State Fair. Her parents convinced me that she’d lost interest in them and offered to give me the entire set-up. Still, I was not ready to provoke my husband by bringing home another pet—especially one that I knew so little about. Well, about a week later my boss pulled a stunt that almost resulted in my termination. After fuming to my husband about the injustice I had suffered at work, he suggested that now would be a good time to move some hermit crabs into my office. And that’s just what I did! My boss did not like seeing a critter carrier on my desk, but he dared not provoke me further, so he allowed them grudgingly. After all, he owed me one. Keeping crabs in an office environment has presented certain challenges. The 10-gallon tank is lo-cated in the reception area of a very formal office whose clients are all professionals, so I have made special effort to make it as attractive as possible. I have to be careful that I give my boss no legiti-mate excuse to complain about them. I arrive early or stay after-hours to maintain the crabitat. To prevent foul smells, I change food, water, and sponges often. Some lights are left on for security at night so I chose a location in the building that would provide my crabs adequate darkness for their health. I had to instruct the janitorial service to keep my area clear of cleaning chemicals and de-odorizers. Resisting the urge to buy more crabs, I keep the population low and the tank size modest. The advantages have been numerous. I get to observe their behavior all day long. Customers and corporate visitors have shown curiosity and I’ve been able to help many people appreciate how to properly care for crabs. Coworkers have taken an interest in them and often bring treats from their garden or lunch. One vacationing coworker returned w/ a whole new wardrobe of seashells and we’ve witnessed several shell changes.
Meet the author Jedi_sena is a 31-year old female who cur-rently keeps 2 PPs (Tank & Zamboni) in a 10 gal-lon tank at her workplace in Colorado, USA. She has been crab-keeping for about a year and a half and enjoys conducting food trials of wild flora.
Buying and Shipping Hermit Crabs
By Michelle Stephens
As new hermit crab owners become experienced hermit crab owners, they often want to branch out and acquire different spe-cies. Many crabbers are often frustrated by the lack of availability of different spe-cies and sizes at their local pet stores and consider buying hermit crabs over the internet. Whether or not you get hermit crabs delivered by mail is up to you.
Hermit Crabs DO get mailed, that's how they get to pet stores. If you make the decision to order crabs in the mail, you need to consider the following things:
1. What conditions are they kept in at the store/location where you are pur-chasing them? The owners shouldn't have a problem answering your ques-tions. If they do, then look elsewhere.
2. What are the exact methods that they use to ship their crabs? You are looking for someone who packs well, preferably insolated, moist and with a heat or cold pack depending on the season. They should also have a "no ship" policy during extreme weather seasons (even if you both are in a warm region).
3. Expect to pay considerably more than you would pay in a pet store. Ex-pect around $20 for overnight shipping. Yes, priority or ground shipping are both cheaper methods but neither are guaranteed. I've known priority mail packages to take up to two weeks. Unless the shipping offers a guaranteed delivery time, pick someone else. Then make sure there is a person home to pick up and unpack the crabs ASAP.
4. Be prepared to ISO the hermit crabs right away and for longer than you would isolate pet store hermit crabs. This is a second stressful journey. There is a good chance that some won't make it. We only see the live hermit crabs that make it into the pet store tanks, there are many that don't. This is true for all shipped animals. Some are almost always lost in the shipping process. By choosing to order crabs by mail, this is a risk that you must accept. This is why sellers often send "extras". If you order three crabs, do not be surprised to see five or six. It is com-mon practice to over-ship to compensate if one or two die along the way. In fact, just the other day I saw a cus-tomer comment on eBay that said "8 of 9 crabs made it, thanks!" I strongly discourage anyone from buying her-mit crabs on eBay. Unless they can offer proof that they are licensed to sell hermit crabs, they may be getting them from anywhere, including nearby beaches. (eBay sellers are often located in Florida). Also, pet-store owners are required to pass inspections by state and local government organizations and private citizens are not. You will have no real information about how those hermit crabs are being cared for.
Once you have made your decision to ship you need to abide by the self im-posed "no ship" window, which takes place from October through April. This ban is important regardless of the point of origin or the point of delivery. For example, you might think it's okay to buy hermit crabs in winter because they are being shipped from Florida and you live in Texas. However, the post of-fice in it's infinite wisdom, often routes packages (even overnight) through other major Post Office hubs. Those can be states away. A good example is Chicago and Omaha, both are very cold right now. This is also true for FedEx and UPS. If you are desperate the best thing to do is to look into a courier ser-vice like Airborne express or talk with the Post Office about routes. It's possi-ble that it will stay in good climates but it is just as possible that it will not. If it goes through a cold city, a heat pack cannot fight the temps outside. Pack-ages are shipped in unheated trucks and are often left to sit on airport tarmacs unprotected for long periods of time.
So be careful, don't make a purchase in haste. Consider all the potential risks before you make that purchase.
Did you know? Michelle makes her own all natural hemp nets for her crabi-tat. From time to time she offers them for sale. Stop by her site for more information! www.naturallycrabby.com
January artwork raffle: This is one of two pieces of artwork commis-sioned by Vanessa from JinWicked. These are original, one of a kind pieces. Money earned from the raffle will help offset prior printing expenses for the newsletter. $1.00 equals 1 entry in the raffle Send your $$ in via Paypal in the Donation box in the lower left corner of the site, include a note that it's raffle money along with your name for the tickets. Send your $$ via money order to me at The Crab Street Journal 19 N Washington Trenton IL 62293 Be sure to note that it is raffle money. Vicki will fill out the tickets with the names on them. The drawing will be February 6th, 2007. Visit the site to see the artwork.
Become a CSJ Local Rep, here are the requirements: *helpful and courteous manner * at least 21 years of age * have owned hermit crabs at least one year * must have had at least five successful moults * have an approved adopter profile * need to have posted photos of your Crabitat to our CrabbyPhotos Gallery and /or filled our the Crabitat Interview * an instant messaging program (YIM, MSN, ICQ etc) installed for emergency situations * regularly check your emails * u dont tyPe lyk diz * if you receive email from [email protected] you will hit 'reply all' so that other localreps know that an emergency email has been replied to * regularly post to the CSJ Forums offering helpful advice * if you don't know the answer to a question you will post links to information and resources related to the enquiry
Still interested? Fill out the form online at
http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Local_Reps
Sign up to become a CSJ adopter! http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Adopters
Determining the sex of your hermit crab can be quite tricky. Once you know what to look for, you have to have a crab willing to participate in this game of twister! Your crab will have to be extended out of it’s shell in order for you to see the underside of the third set of walking legs. Please never, ever pull your crab from it’s shell to determine it’s gender. A female Coenobita will have two openings called Gonopores. A male, will have no visible openings. These openings look like shiny little dots. There are more Gonopore photos at http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/photos/entrants/thumbnails.php?album=85
Help support the website by shopping in our Cafepress Store. You will find one of a kind artwork to express your love for hermit crabs. Vanessa often makes made to order items as well. Each year we have a calendar that features our monthly winners from the previous year. What a great way to log your important crabbing events!
These are just a few of the designs you will find in our shop. Shop online at: http://www.cafepress.com/crabstreet
Kid’s Zone Coloring Page Kids color this page and then scan it and submit it to Crab Street Journal to show off your artwork! Thanks to Amie Shuler for the image!
Vector graphics by Amie Shuler
19 N Washington Trenton IL 62293 [email protected]
Next Month: • Let sleeping crabs lie
• January winners
• Product reviews
