Ready to Go "Home!"

Spring Break has come to a close!

The hermit crabs' week-long vacation to the Derringers' home is wrapping up: they have been packed into their travel tote, their supplies were all loaded in the car, and they were tucked away in their cozy little bakers rack for the last night. The Derringer kids are sad to see them go- they have gotten quite used to peering into the tank every time they pass by, hoping to catch a glimpse of our little crabby friends!

Here are a few highlights from the happy hermies' week:

• Mr. Crabs got a new shell
• Ranger took over the shell Mr. Crabs originally lived in when we first met him
• Home Run still has his baseball-themed shell
• The crabs tried pineapple, and seemed to like it
• Strawberries were also introduced, and they seemed to eat a bit of these berries
• The hermit crabs had a chance to eat red grapes, but they ignored the grapes
• Bath time was a big hit, especially with Ranger!
• Mrs. Derringer visited the pet store a total of seven times for "emergency" supplies, like blue plants that match the colors in her classroom...she MAY have also bought color-coordinated fabric to make the hermies a curtain...

In other words, Mrs. Derringer is now obsessed with hermit crabs!  :)

Bath Day!

Mr. Crabs, Ranger, and Home Run had their first bath today!

Mrs. D. noticed that the crabs were looking quite messy: the substrate in their vacation home is orange sand mixed with coconut fiber, and the orange sand seems to be tinting everything it touches...including the crabs and their shells! Also, since the crabs love to burrow in the substrate, they seem to have accumulated a build up of sand on their chelipeds, walking legs, and shells. Mrs. D. decided to tidy everyone up a bit!

How does one bathe a hermit crab, you ask? Sources differ on methods, but the number one consideration to take into account is to make sure you don't drown your crabs! Yikes! To avoid any drowning scares, a shallow paper plate was used as the hermie bathtub. Mrs. D. added enough saltwater glub to the plate to make a little pool, and then carefully placed each crab in the bath. Each crab reacted differently!

Home Run seemed to enjoy his bath! He came right out of his shell and started moving around, exploring with his antennae. He scooted around in the water, and seemed to like having a little water poured right on his shell- it was like a little hermit crab shower! He was active and busy when he returned to the crabitat after his bath.

Mr. Crabs did not seem to be a fan of the bath. He didn't come out of his shell at all when he was placed in the water; in fact, he used his big left cheliped to "close his door," and just sat there in the water. Mrs. D. started to get a little nervous that he might be just quietly drowning in there, so he was removed at once! After he was returned to his tank, though, he was very active for about ten minutes; he crawled to the food bowl, under the log, onto the branch, and finally burrowed down under the piece of driftwood. Perhaps he found the bath invigorating after all!

Ranger was out of his shell trying to do a belly flop (or abdomen flop?) before he even hit the bath. As soon as he was set down, he took off scuttling for the edge of the plate. He had to be returned to the middle of the bath several times, as he kept trying to escape. He didn't seem to dislike the bath; he just seemed to have a plan in mind that involved crawling across the kitchen counter (which was NOT part of Mrs. D.'s plans!).

Overall, the crabs seemed tolerant of their first bath, and they were active and fun to watch afterwards. For future baths, it will be a good idea to use a larger bathing area with higher walls (less chance of escape). It might be a good idea to make the bath just a tad deeper to help get some of the sand out of their shells. We have learned from our read-aloud book that the hermies use their reduced legs to clean out their shells, but one would think that the little bits of sand that get back in there might be annoying. Have you ever had sand in your shoe? Yuck- if I were a hermit crab, it wouldn't want to have scratchy, tickly sand in my shell all the time, would you? Also, more research is needed to determine what type of water is best for the bath time experience: treated fresh water or saltwater glub?

How to Serve Pineapple to Hermit Crabs

 So you've learned that hermit crabs enjoy a varied diet beyond the store-bought hermit crab pellets, and you decide to go buy a pineapple to see if they like it...now what?

Have you ever cut up a pineapple before?

No?

So I'm not the ONLY one? Good!

Once you buy a ripe pineapple, it's pretty simple. How do you tell if a pineapple is ripe? Grab one of the middle leaves, and pull it straight up. If it pops off easily, it's ripe! If it doesn't, it's not ripe.

To cut and serve your pineapple to hermies (or humans!), follow these six steps:

1. Lay the pineapple on its side.
2. Grasp the leaves firmly, and twist-they should pop right off.
3. Next, carefully cut off the bottom inch or two of the pineapple.
4. Cut off the top inch or two of the pineapple.
5. Stand the pineapple up on its base. Using a downward cutting motion, cut off the "skin/bark" of the pineapple, being careful to cut deep enough to include the little brown nubs.
6. Lay the skinned pineapple on its side, and cut slices. You can also cut out the middle of each slice if you want to make rings.

Once you have your pineapple sliced, it's ready to serve! Try giving your hermies a peeled piece and a piece that still includes part of the peel. Do they prefer one way over the other? Do they avoid it altogether, regardless of how you serve it? Be sure to keep track of your hermit crabs' likes and dislikes in a hermit crab journal, or "Crabble," as we like to call it!  ;)

Ranger Rents a New Home!

 Ranger found a new home too...he took over the shell that Mr. Crabs abandoned last night!


Mrs. D. and her crew were out running errands after church today (ahem ahem, yes, we MAY have been at Petsmart buying cool new artificial plants for the crabbies...they are SO spoiled!).


After checking the crabs, we found Ranger's painted shell laying off to the side of the crabitat with NO Ranger inside!


Again, the log ended up being the secret hiding space for the new homeowner! Mrs. D. started to wonder if she was going crazy..."Wait, is this just Mr. Crabs in his own shell? Did he really move? What's going on?"


But as soon as he was picked up, Ranger came climbing right out to say hello- yep, this is Ranger, all right! It's so interesting to watch how different each of the crabs is as far as how they react when handled: clearly, Mr. Crabs is not a fan of hanging out in people's hands. Home Run still pulls back into his shell and "closes his door" with his purple pincher. But Ranger is always hanging out all over the place when he is handled!

Here you can see the proof: Ranger's empty shell! Mrs. D. is having a bit of a conundrum: should we leave the painted shell in the crabitat or remove it? Some research sources indicate that painted shells are not the most healthy choice for hermit crabs. In fact, some sites claim that hermit crabs may be forcibly removed from their natural shells and forced into painted shells in order to make them more marketable. This is extremely disturbing, since we know from our nonfiction readers and from our read aloud book, Hermit Crabs as Pets by Charles Sure, hermit crabs' abdomens are extremely vulnerable, and they should never be forcibly removed from their shells- this can injure or kill them!

This is something that did not come up during our research during our writing project. Another negative aspect of painted shells is the fact that the paint may flake off and be harmful to the crabs. Yikes! We should research this more! In the meantime, perhaps the best idea will be to remove the painted shell and replace it with a natural shell of about the same size.

A New House for Mr. Crabs!

Spring Break has been exciting for the hermit crabs! Mrs. D. woke up on Sunday morning, walked through the kitchen to get her kids ready for church, and stopped dead in her tracks: the shell that used to belong to Mr. Crabs was laying there empty! Oh no!

After she searched frantically for poor Mr. Crabs, Mrs. D. found him under the log...in a brand new shell! His new shell is almost twice the size of his old shell...perhaps that's why he was so crabby? He just needed a bigger home- he was feeling cramped!

His old shell was striped, as you can see to the right here in the picture, and the new shell he chose is also striped. Coincidence?

Mr. Crabs seems HUGE now in his new shell! Even though his body hasn't changed, the bigger shell just makes him seem to tower over his little buddies in the tank.

(Side note: Mrs. D. thought it was ONLY good manners to give Mr. Crabs a peanut butter treat...as a housewarming gift, you know...hee hee!)

Spring Break: Road Trip to the Derringer House!

Our hermies had their first big vacation adventure on Spring Break! They rode away from the school in style on Saturday in the front seat of Mrs. D.'s car.

 When they arrived at their vacation destination, Mrs. D.'s house, they got to hang out in a cool green tub while their crabitat was cleaned and freshened up a bit by the housekeeping staff (Mrs. D.).

 The hang out featured a super cool Lego climber, which each of the crabs hesitantly explored. Ranger was brave enough to climb up onto the little Lego staircase, but he climbed right back off again.

 Perhaps we need to persuade them that Legos are amazing...the Derringer crew has big plans for building a Lego hideaway in the not-too-distant-future...

Our hermies settled into their new crabby condominium: Mrs. D.'s bakers rack! The bakers rack is located right between the kitchen and the dining area, and this is where Mrs. D. keeps all of her Bibles, small group study materials, devotionals, and Bible study materials...along with some of her crafting supplies! What a WONDERFUL place to spend a vacation: surrounded by scripture, sewing supplies, and hot glue guns! Ahhhh! The bakers rack truly made a perfect vacation hotspot for the hermit crabs for three reasons:

1. Safety: The crabitat could be safely tucked away from the cats, and, let's face it...from Henry too. Nobody wants to spend their vacation getting batted around by curious cats or poked and prodded by over-excited toddlers- hermit crabs included!
2. Temperature: Since hermit crabs prefer to relax in the 70-80 degree range, the bakers rack is close enough to the warm kitchen, yet far enough away from the drafty patio door to keep them nice and cozy.
3. Social Scene: Their spot on the bakers rack is at eye-level for the Derringer kids, and the family passes by this location often. This will help the crabs learn to live with activity, since the classroom environment is always bustling!

The crabitat was refreshed with several new empty shells of varying sizes. The new, bright blue crawling branch that was donated was repositioned, and the food bowl was relocated. Hermit crabs LOVE companionship and variety: since their native habitat is the beach, they are accustomed to living in groups and scavenging for food and interesting things to do.  As we learned from our new nonfiction read-aloud, Hermit Crabs as Pets by Charles Sure, "The fastest way to have an unhappy, unhealthy hermit crab is to ask him to be a hermit! Hermies do not like to live alone and they absolutely have to have intellectual stimulation" (p. 14-15).

Ouch!

So, you know those chelipeds? Yeah...it turns out hermit crabs really DO use those as a defense mechanism when they feel threatened, nervous, stressed out, or afraid...and they pinch HARD!

Unfortunately, both Mrs. D. and the first student brave enough to handle the hermies found that out the hard way!

As a consolation prize, the student who was pinched received a Crab Master statue, along with an apology note from Mr. Crabs...according to him, he was very thankful that the student had not hurt him (even though what he did HURT!) and he shared that he was embarrassed of his actions...

What did we learn? Until our crabby crabs are comfortable in their new home, and with us, they should NOT be placed in the palms of our hands. When we need to handle them, we will be sure to grasp them firmly on the shell, keep them close to our cupped hand in case they fall but NOT on our skin, and we will quickly and gently place them down safely.

Also, Mrs. D. is on the hunt for some thick gloves...

Welcome to 4th Grade, Crabby Friends!

 It all started with a writing assignment...

As we kicked off our Opinion Writing unit in February, we discussed real-life reasons to write persuasively. One student threw out the idea of persuading Mr. D. to get a class pet...and for a brief moment, Mrs. D. looked off into the distance, imagining a snuggly, sweet little critter bouncing around...and in that moment, the 4th graders knew they had her hooked! She could be convinced! But which pet would be best?

After narrowing down the possible pets to just four (turtles, hermit crabs, bearded dragons, and hedgehogs), we were visited by one of each possible pet! Students fell in and out of love with pets in ways they hadn't imagined- and the research commenced in earnest!

After hours of writing, researching, teaching, learning, and practicing, the opinion papers were printed and turned in: the persuasion process had begun! The persuasive techniques used were effective, and it became difficult for Mrs. D. to maintain objectivity!

The decision on which pet to adopt really came down to this: based on our collective experiences with class visits, the research and evidence provided, and the persuasive techniques used in the essays: which pet would be best suited for our first foray into classroom critter care?

 The committee made the hard decision: hermit crabs! Because they are small, relatively low maintenance, yet active and interesting, Mrs. D. approved the plan to move forward with adding three "new students" to Room 603: Home Run, named for his baseball-painted shell; Mr. Crabs, named for his grouchy disposition and pinching; and Ranger, named for his adventurous and active spirit.

 Our 4th graders started keeping notes on our new friends in their hermit crab journals, or "Crabbles," and we shifted our nonfiction reading instruction to crab-based comprehension work!

These amazing students soaked up the new informative texts like sponges (get it- sponges?) and EVERYONE in the class aced their Hermit Crab Tests! That means that everyone in the 4th grade is now CRABBIFIED, or qualified to care for our crabbies.

Here are some of the things students learned in their nonfiction readers:

• Hermit crabs' homes are called crabitats: they must include a fresh water source and a salt water source in order to keep them hydrated and to keep their gills moist! Their crabitat must also include a hideout, a food dish, substrate (the stuff they crawl around in, like sand and coconut fiber), and toys- they are curious and industrious little creatures!
• Hermit crabs are not true crabs- they do not have shells of their own! Instead, they live in discarded snail shells. Hermit crabs switch shells often, so it's important to have extra shells in their crabitats.
• Hermit crabs are nocturnal, which means that they are most active at night. 
• Hermit crabs have 5 sets of legs: two sets are reduced legs, or tiny legs which hold the crab in the shell; one set serves as walking legs, which move the crab around; one set acts as a sensory organ and allows them to smell and taste; and the front pair, the chelipeds, is the pair we would think of as the pinchers.
• Hermit crabs have compound eyes, which means that they see the world as though they are looking through a kaleidoscope. Their eyes are on movable stalks!
• Hermit crabs molt their exoskeleton...and then eat it! Eeew!

Here's something we DIDN'T learn in our readers, but we couldn't help but observe: the hermit crab is just a fascinating testament to God's insight as the Great Designer! As we looked at their little legs, their intricate pattern and coloration is just beautiful. Even though they are small, hermit crabs have so many amazing little parts- legs that act as sense organs, feelers that smell and taste, their love of companionship and learning activities- what cool creations! And how cool is this: hermit crabs have very sesitive, delicate little abdomens that curl up like tiny little crescent rolls. They are not true crabs, so they cannot live on their own without protection. It JUST SO HAPPENS that a snail's shell is the PERFECT fit for the hermit crab's curved, curly abdomen, and his little reduced legs work perfectly to hold him into the shell. How cool is that? We sure do have a cool God...and if He cares so much for His little crabs to make them special, unique, beautiful, adaptable, industrious, and amazing...wow, how much He must care for US too!

 Students have learned MUCH, much more about these little guys and their place in God's big world...stay tuned for more fun facts and fascinating frolics from our crabby critters!