The Four Fiddlers! Crabs, that is!

A few weeks ago the teachers send a note home to parents to see if we would want to take home any dwarf frogs or fiddler crabs. My first thought: "Um, no thanks." Then the kids starting asking. Begging! Pleading! Don't they know the last thing I want are smelly live creatures in my home? We have a dog, is that not enough?

When I was in junior high, in spite of our 3 cats, my mom allowed me to get 2 gerbils. (And does that not sound like a bad combination?) Let me tell you - the first night they came home I regretted it. They scratched on their plastic cage all night long. And it smelled. They actually nibbled on the edge of the plastic tube. Their names were Midnight and Jerry. 

Well, Midnight and Jerry should have stopped scratching to get out because months later they eventually did and met their own fate with the cat. While I felt sad for their torturous death, I was relieved that the nighttime noises and the smell would end. Never again did I want a caged animal.

But I have 2 daughters begging me to bring something home. As selfish as I would LIKE to be, I keep thinking, aren't these the things that are just part of being kids? You don't have to say no EVERY time, but you have to say yes SOME of the time. Yes, we have a dog, but she is old and in their minds is quite boring. Since I won't indulge them in a new furry friend right now, perhaps I should concede on the crabs. 

Meet Little Man, Dee Dee, Chickapow, and Crabby!

Here is habitat remodel #1. Well they weren't eating and after I looked things up on the internet wasn't satisfied. 

I decided water needed to be in the "tank," not the little bowl, so we ended up pouring water into the tank and created remodel #2. The crabs were so happy! And we noticed, because we had brought home sand from the beach, that once the water mixed in, they were digging through the sand and eating microscopic stuff. Yay! Success. Until the water slowly was turning the sand, even the sand at the top, to sludge.

Back to the pet shop, some temporary crab displacement, and lots of ingenuity, we now have habitat #3. What fine work it was! 

Except in spite of my engineering efforts (and yes there are plastic barriers under there), the water continues to seep through and is making its way to the top of the sand again. And now it's starting to smell. While they love the habitat set up this way, now I am wondering what to do because I have no filter and cannot change the water properly. I informed the kids it is perhaps time for another remodel.

Poor crabs. I actually think they're a bit fascinating to watch. Just sad that the school sends home these instructions on what is needed and the truth is it's really not enough. To successfully give the crabs a proper home you need a bit more investment. 

Did I mention that all the 3rd grade classes across the entire school district had these crabs to take home and the pet stores were completely out of the smaller sized sea salt for the water? I was not about to invest in a box the size of laundry detergent, for crabs that will doubtfully live long. Luckily ONE of the stores (the THIRD one I went to) had pre-treated water that was cheaper than the giant box so I decided to get it. You had to have all this in place to even pick up the crabs.

So we will see how long they last. I'm trying to give them a good home. I'm not a BIG animal lover (as evidenced by my relief in the death of my gerbils), but I also greatly enjoy living creatures and honestly care about providing them a proper place to live and not speeding up their death. So we will see how it goes. I am thinking when they go that maybe we can get a couple hermit crabs and get the right stuff. Apparently hermit crabs are much easier. 

Until then, feeling Crabby anyone?