Crawdad molt

[TrikkyMakk]

My crawdad just had the first molt since I have had him.

Is anything special to do with him?

How long to keep the exoskeleton in the tank?

He only had one big claw when I got him and the new one is way bigger than I thought it would be.

I am assuming a molt means he is healthy.

 

[Yabbadoo]

Good one.......

Leave the old shell in there for at least a few days. You'll probably find it eaten by then anyways. You can also add a few egg shells to help replace the calcium...

DON'T, handle or stress the cray for a few days either.....very soft & weak.....

 

[sour_girl]

Yup.. he will probably eat the shell.. and will molt again soon.. it will take a bit for the claws to get back to the same size though..

 

[TrikkyMakk]

Good one.......

Leave the old shell in there for at least a few days. You'll probably find it eaten by then anyways. You can also add a few egg shells to help replace the calcium...

DON'T, handle or stress the cray for a few days either.....very soft & weak.....

You mention handling. Is it normal to handle these creatures? I never handle mine anyways but I figure it could be dangerous for them.

 

[TrikkyMakk]

Yup.. he will probably eat the shell.. and will molt again soon.. it will take a bit for the claws to get back to the same size though..

Do they normally molt a couple of times at a time?

 

[Yabbadoo]

You mention handling. Is it normal to handle these creatures? I never handle mine anyways but I figure it could be dangerous for them.

lol......When their shell hardens up. You have to handle them now & again.

eg: Finding out what sex they are.....

 

[Danger_Chicken]

I've heard of using egg shells but don't know the details behind it. Do they eat them/disolve? Should they be crushed/ground? In the filter/tank. Taken out at some point? My marble motled last night.

Thanks

 

[Yabbadoo]

Crack the egg. Make an omelette with it. Wash the shells & throw em in ya tank.
Some people boil the shells first. Doesn't really matter if you crush them or leave in halfs. I'd go the half shell as they'll be easier to remove if you need to.
They'll most probably eat them before you have to take them out.

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Never really thought about the egg shell thing, thanks yabba.

I'm too afraid to handle my adult cray now, even when she was my first cray and just a little fella i was afraid to pick her up.

Just recently i had to wrangle up me some 40 odd young(about 4 hid to good to be caught, they stayed behind for me to discover i created a hybrid with potental) to send off the the lfs, and i had fun manning-up to them. at the end of the day i was sticking my hand in the bucket and scooping out about 7 of them at a time

 

[Yabbadoo]

You can also use those Cuttlefish doodads.....
The things that you put in your bird cage.....Good source of Calcium.