06/29/2025
CW: description and photos of Injured animals
I decided to do once last check on the hermies last night before bed. I had a weird feeling, but figuring it'd be fine. The first tank I check (one of our rehab enclosures) theres a freshly molted crab, out of a shell, and with a injured large pincher.
I take him out, get him in a container with warm, dechlorinated water, and shell options. He chooses a shell, then I examine the pincher and his other limbs.
Upon intake, this crab had severely deformed limbs, likely due to a lack of calcium chitin, humidity, and proper molting space. We've had him, and his take mate for around 5 months now, and have been very closely watching them throughout the entire process. This crab had surface molted not long before, and had not yet recovered, or eaten his exoskeleton. He, likely very stressed and irritated due to such a rough molt (especially with the deformities) had left his shell, and, when I found him, was lying motionless. I honestly worried for a moment he hadnt made it, but luckly that wasnt the case. Sometime between molting, and lying in the corner, he must have knocked his pincher on something, as it was cracked, and part of the exoskeleton was missing.
I applied betadine, rinsed, applied again, and rinsed again. I then applied a Lidocaine cream (hermie safe ingredients only) which will numb the area, and set him on a dish of sphagnum moss.
I then took out all their suppies and substrate, and replaced it with a 2" layer of moise sphagnum moss, replaced their deep dish water bowls with shallow ones, their pea pod food dish with powdered wet food, added some extra shells, and replaced their textured hide with a smooth one. this is so that the food is mire accessible, and the rest of the enclosure is minimally abrasive.
I then set him, and the other crab, back in the enclosure. Well see how he does.
I then checked the rest of the enclosures, everything was normal, and by this point the birds are chirping outside, the parrots are screaming inside, and I decide to have some breakfast. Benny (one of our cockatiels) flys over to my knee for some head scratches, followed by Daniel (another cockatiel) landing on my head wanting me to whistle with him, Cotorro (another cockatiel) waddles over on our dining room table, also asking for head scratches, Yoshi (one of our budgies) dive bombs into my hair before crawling to my shoulder and begging for millet, and Crackers, (our goffins cockatoo) dances and asks for me to play peak-a-boo with him. All while I try to eat some breakfast and review some adoption forms.
I quardinate a couple surrenders, set up to-go carriers for a couple soon to be adopted crabs, and by this point its almost 8am. I go to my room, lay down, and type up all this, along with a list of adaptations I need to make to my rehab enclosures, and emergency plan.
Its now 8:40am. oh, and did I mention I have an event going on at 11?? I have a feeling this is going to be a long day.
apologizes for the blurry photos 😅
