Is this normal for fiddlers?

[buggirl1990]

He is always hiding either in his artificial burrow or behind the water dish.but a little bit of food is gone everyday. I gave him some shredded ham to the point it was very tiny and chopped up a prekilled/chopped up mealworm and a tiny bit of organic peanut butter the amount just enough to cover the tip of the toothpick I used to put it in his food dish (A tiny scallop shell with barnicals on it) but only all his ham was gone. Is he full or is this not normal?

 

[Jacob Ma]

I would advise against giving crabs very "fatty" foods or just processed foods like ham in general. Try sticking with fruits and vegetables like small pieces of banana and lettuce, or commercial fish foods and even crab & other crustacean foods can be found at most pet stores (my red claws I used to have ate bloodworms, tubifex worms, and algae pellets). Crabs rely mainly on their sense of smell to find various foods, so you would expect them to go for the stronger smelling choices.

 

[MWAInverts]

What does his enclosure look like? Is it sand and water or just terrestrial with a bowl? Inverts tend to be shy if not provided with an adequate environment. Try using fish flakes as food since it'll break down on the sand and the crab can filter it out when feeding.

 

[Jacob Ma]

What does his enclosure look like? Is it sand and water or just terrestrial with a bowl? Inverts tend to be shy if not provided with an adequate environment. Try using fish flakes as food since it'll break down on the sand and the crab can filter it out when feeding.

Orrrr, the crab is a recent addition and needs some "getting-used-to" for its new environment. @buggirl1990 You shouldn't really expect an animal that has until recently been living in the wild to immediately get used to its new home. It takes over a week to even a few weeks for most animals to start showing themselves some more.

 

[Tenodera]

Crabs tend to eat small amounts at a time, and a generalist scavenger like a fiddler will be used to feeding on small bits of food at a time, throughout the day. Both the posters above me have had good advice; a variety of healthy and odorous foods will help stimulate him to eat, and he'll still likely be adjusting to the enclosure. If he doesn't already have it, give him a few different hides to choose from, a patch of bare sand to dig and sift through, and some salt and fresh water to immerse himself in.

 

[Toxoderidae]

*Cracks Crab Knuckles*

Alright, so we need pictures. Pictures of the enclosure. Something tells me the setup is wrong. If your crab doesn't have one massive claw, it's a female.

Don't feed them processed foods as said. I give my ghost crabs (O. quadrata, closest relatives to fiddlers) ham and cookie bits as a treat extremely rarely. Otherwise, it's calcium supplements and simple, good petstore (actually aquaria store) crab food. Is the crab living alone? If so, again, need pictures. The crab may be stressed, as fiddlers are extremely social crabs. (What species of crab is it?) Where did you purchase the crab from?

Are you keeping the crab in freshwater, saltwater, or brackish? Are you using waterdishes or a tidal setup If it's purely freshwater, or purely saltwater (unlike Ocypode quadrata, which is pure saltwater) It may be dying due to lack of appropriate hydration/oxygen. That is why I always recommend a brackish mixture if possible. We need more information before we can really say much. Crabs are some of the most intelligent arthropods.

@Jacob Ma Crabs, especially Uca (if this is a fiddler) settle in incredibly well. The only crabs I've ever kept that settled in faster than an Uca sp. in the right environment was any species of swimming crab, especially blue crabs.

Always remember, pictures do more help than you can think. They can be lifesavers for some animals.

EDIT: Just looked at your "What species thread"

Change out that entire enclosure ASAP. that is an adult male, Uca minax. Look up some care please, and try to find some images of a good enclosure, or ask a member like @MWAInverts , who gave me a lot of good advice for Uca. I sadly don't keep my Uca colony anymore, returned them to SC's tidal flats. But that is not a proper enclosure for the crab, and it is likely very stressed.

 

[buggirl1990]

I have wardly shrimp pellets and we are gonna feed him that is the brand ok? I looked at your last bit of the comment and I will and I will catch more for some little buddys

 

[Bazaar tooheys]

Can anyone please identify

 

[Toxoderidae]

Can anyone please identify View attachment 215200

Dude, make your own thread for this. This is a scorpion in that picture, not a crab.

 

[Toxoderidae]

I have wardly shrimp pellets and we are gonna feed him that is the brand ok? I looked at your last bit of the comment and I will and I will catch more for some little buddys

Shrimp pellets should be fine. Try to add some veggies in too.