Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Before You Buy That Hermit Crab ....

...I just thought I'd share.

We took in Panama City Beach last October and came home with a crab for each child.  I'll admit that the lady in the store did give us a bit more information than if we'd bought them at, say, a surf shop.  She told us to get beach sand, make it thick enough to bury them in, and have spare shells.

Lucy chose a tiny crab in a yellow painted shell, Clyde chose a large crab in a dinosaur painted shell, and Iris chose a medium crab in a pink painted shell.  There names were Daffodil, Hermie, & Tarzan.

We brought our new, "easy" pets home.  We did some light research and assembled a home.  Plenty of sand to bury and molt in, stuff to climb on, some new shells.  Here, you see that Tarzan has already moved from his tiny pink shell to a roomy, shiny, white one.

You can see how tiny his old shell was...here it is next to the yellow one inthe above pic...

They ate, they drank, they socialized.  But we wondered...they seemed, maybe, lethargic. And we wondered, why didn't they climb?  Hermit crabs are supposed to love to climb.  But, we figured, they're nocturnal, they're probably coming alive at night.

Enter, new character.  We were given an additional crab, by some friends of ours.  We brought him home and decided he was a family crab.  Stephen named him, "Nod."  However, if a child's crab were to perish, Nod would become that child's crab and he/she could rename him.

So we released Nod into our stellar crab-environment and excitedly watched for him to give us his approval.  He liked it at first.  But then he started trying to take Tarzan's shell.

We panicked and started to measure him so we could order him a new shell.  We felt sorry for him as we put him back in isolation.  As I was researching the proper way to measure him and order shells, I started learning important hermit crab info...I got hooked and researched for days.

The product of my research was this...

Hermies MUST have damp substrate.  Ours is 5 parts salt-water-dampened sand with 1 part coconut fiber 7 inches deep in our tank.  Hermit crabs cannot bury themselves in dry sand and will die if they molt above ground.  We now had 2 water dishes, one for salt water and one for fresh.  Hermit crabs cannot crack off their exoskeleton and molt, if they don't have access to salt water.  But they will dehydrate and die without fresh water.  They will also die if they cannot molt.  Another new addition was our thermometer/humidity meter and a tank heater

Tarzan stayed in his new saltwater dish for 48!!! hours, people!

We also bought many new, natural, unpainted shells, sized to fit our crabs, because the clear lacquer on painted shells is toxic to them.  The shells at pet stores are mostly unfit for hermit crabs.  We ordered a batch from an online hermit crab co. and they all immediately changed to new shells.  Here they are in their new shells, but BEFORE they molted...

Hermie,

Tarzan (name now changed to Tenable)

Daffodil (she had a traumatic time in the store and we brought her home with the tips of couple legs missing and half of her small claw ripped off),

Nod,

They have each now survived their first molt!  Daffodil has, in fact, survived two molts.  After her first one, we noticed that she now possessed the tips of all her legs and a complete large and small claw! 

Daffodil showing off her new-post-molt leg tips and her complete claws!

We, now, feel like somewhat seasoned hermit crab owners and wanted to warn unsuspecting beach tourists.  Most people I know who have owned them have had them die fairly quickly and have not had a successful molt.  But hermit crabs ARE easy pets!.... just not as easy as the beach stores would like you to believe! 

Partying with the King

We had a combo Joshua's 1st b-day/Papa's father's day party.

When I asked what Joshua was into so I could decorate his cake, the response I got was...Elvis!

Well, Iris was pretty pumped!  She loves Elvis (or the 3 songs of his she knows ;)  So she wore her special Elvis shirt (Thanks, Mrs. Amy) in honor of Joshua.

Here's Joshua's cake...

Joshua "blowing" out the candles  (He got stitches!! the day before!)

Joshua and Co. playing with the stacker Sherry got him....

Papa with the kids reading their Father's Day cards...

Papa with his new cane from everyone...

Group pic....

And later Papa forwarded a pic of Joshua wearing one of the Elvis onesies I got him!

Father's Day

This is a mega late Father's Day post.  I've been flooded with projects and light-headedness...soo....

Anyway.

We had a great weekend at Dad's for Father's Day.  We played outside, played inside, ate together, watched Dad's favorite commercial a few hundred times (since Janet recorded it for him.)  It was awesome.  We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday and went to church with Dad and Janet Sunday.  Dad and I played along with the music during the worship service.  We had a jolly time.

Stephen teaching Lucy to safely use a knife...

Clyde and Iris playing badminton (Sherry gave Iris this for losing a tooth and it has gotten much use!)

Stephen and Lucy formed musical pipes from the cane growing in Dad's yard...

Clyde looking like a panda?  or a monkey? in all the cane...

Stephen and Lucy...

Stephen and Clyde...

Stephen and Iris...

Stephen and kids!  They went in together and got him a wallet.

Dad and Lucy...

Dad and Clyde...

Dad and Iris...

The kids picked a hat out for him :)  I thought they did a nice job....

 Dad doesn't like to intentionally look at the camera and smile.  So I have to go candid.  *cough cough*

Stephen teaching the kids how to do the cup routine for the "cup song"

Somehow we didn't get a pic of Dad with Sherry and I this year!!  Ugh.  Oh well...there's always next year!

Happy Father's Day!!  (late)  And in celebration of my awesome Dad, I now graciously bestow on you the coveted opportunity to watch his favorite commercial...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBhP0EQ1lA

Monday, July 1, 2013

Museum & Zoo Time Again!

We just can't get enough of these local favorites!  My mom hangs out with us most Thursdays, because that's the day she gets to work from home.  She tries to get done early enough to spend a good chunk of the day frolicking with us.  One week we went to the zoo, where she renewed our pass! And another week we went to the local children's museum.

Since I posted recent zoo photos, I better not go crazy, but here were some highlights...

Clyde wanted a pic w/ the parrots...

Iris and Nena w/ the tortoises.  We always spend a lot of time with the tortoises.  This time the kids all drew them in their notebooks...

I loved this tamarin watching Lucy draw his portrait... "Are you drawing my good side?"

Mom and 3 grandkids looking at some Asian monkeys...

At the museum, Iris made a friend named....lets call her "Addie."  Addie followed us around the whole museum and the two of them did everything together.  They literally started off at the first exhibit together and stayed attached at the hip until we left.  I really should have asked her mom for a playdate!

Here they are painting a chalkboard w/ water...

Lucy learning about stop-action movies (hers was really cute)...

Clyde starting his wacky computer collage...

Nena and Clyde playing Shut-the-Box...

Iris, the pilgrim, making cornmeal...

Clyde experiencing a (happy version of a) Civil War Red Cross tent.  They all bandaged, used splints, washed wounds, and tried out slings and crutches...

Iris driving an "injured" Addie in the Civil War ambulance...

Iris and Addie playing checkers...

Lucy made buddies with this toddler boy and made it her job to keep him happy...

Clyde taught the girls the knack to not popping the bubble...speed is key!

And as always, playtime with Nena rocked!

Family Fun

My group of 5 met Sherry & David, Dad & Janet, Dyan & Brent, and Bobby at a not quite central location (we were at an advantage, it was closest to us).  And we had SUCH fun!

Dyan, Brent & Bobby gave the kids surprise gifts while we were eating at the Golden Corral...

Here they are closing their eyes and waiting...

Here they are after having a few presents place in their hands...every time they thought they were done, a few more gifts landed in their hands....turbie twists, things to capture bugs (these have been used a TON), dinosaur skeletons to assemble, etc...  They've enjoyed them all!

The girls giving their Turbie Twists a whirl....and I think, if I'm not mistaken, that Grandmom co-sponsored the Turbie Twists....

We went to a playground...
Here's Dad and I...

My boy and I...

Bobby and kids kicking a soccer ball around...

Dad & Janet...

Iris kicking (captured expertly by Uncle David)...

It rained...

Lu tried to be a sheltered spectator, but the wind had different ideas...

Uncle David's version of keep-away...

Sherry & Lucy...

Dyan, Bobby and Brent...

A good way to make new friends is to kick a ball around and toss a frisbee...

Much fun was had by all!!
Much thanks to those who planned!