Below
is an email on StressCoat from Crablover Don, Don Drenning,
also known as CLD. This is another from an archive of messages
Don sent me back in 1999 that I will be sharing with you all.
Don was the first person to use StressCoat with hermit crabs
and I feel it was a breakthrough in hermit crab health care.
I offer it here with Don's blessing and it can also be found
at a site dedicated to his wealth of hermie knowledge, at http://geocities.com/CLD_on
"My name is... Crablover Don. Cerissa (CrabMania)
shared your letter with me about the salt baths and your interest
in my research and interest in using the DECHLORINIZER With
the Stress Coat (Aloe Vera) properties. I have around two hundred
and forty little guys here at Kritterlandusa... We have PP's,
Reds and about a third of my guys are Ecuadorians. I have been
'Crabbin' since February '97.
The reason for my interest in trying this
particular dechlorinizer was because of the new water guidelines
put forth from FMR. and the fact that I was unable to stabilize
my "E's" for longer than a month or two... I believe
these guys are very similar to the fellas you are accustomed
to in Australian. Most water conditions here in the US have
so many minerals and chemicals that I have used dechlorinizers
for some time to to prevent blisters and other maladies related
to using regular tap water... Since FMR believes that water
suitable to fish life is suitable to use with hermit crabs,
I sought out a way to 'help' my little fellas...
Vanessa, to clarify the situation, I have
often stated that hermit crabs do not REQUIRE the stress coat
formula but it does aid in the healthy maintenance of the gill
function necessary for their breathing. It is true that the
crabs do not have the exact 'slime coat' as fish, but they do
have a protectant factor similar to the 'slime factor' in fish.
This 'factor' is necessary to keep the hermit crabs gills moist
and functioning well. As noted in the posts..."E's"
require a trace of 'seasalt' in their drinking water and the
saline is known to 'strip' away some of this protectant....
I checked with FMR and other fish and crab experts to verify
my thought that aloe vera would not harm my guys. This was verified.
Noting FMR's statement about water conditioning,(
as noted on the care sheet that any water good enough for fish
is good for your hermit crabs.) I asked several aquatic experts
around here to see what products they used for their fish care.
Each used stress coat formulas... only differing by brand names
sold by their store! We tried and researched several of these
products before I even thought about posting about them! I wanted
and needed help in seeing my"E's" could survive. I
personally feel prevention is better than sitting back and doing
nothing to help them stay healthier. Before I even started using
this formula I discussed it with Kathy at FMR. In fact she posted
a follow up on the HWO board concerning it.(It is under Water
Questions... around April 3 or 4th...)
Vanessa, I have a personal commitment to myself
to never recommend or suggest anything that I really don't believe
in or that I have not researched/used myself. The opinion, of
course is mine, but the option is that of anyone who wishes
to try its use. From my experiences, the stress coat formula
has been very beneficial in seeing my Ecuadorians successfully
molt...in the past, my "E's" (Until my use of the
aloe vera base, I never had a successful "E" molt...
we now have the 14th guy ready to rumble!) Many of us have have
had a history of our larger reds and pp's not making it through
molts...along with myself, several others have used the s.c.
and had successful molts of our larger guys.. I have had a jumbo
complete a successful molt without incident and to date several
other larger guys have molted without problems. I stick by the
results that I have had with my own experience."
©Copyright
1999-2002 CrabLoverDon, dearly departed friend
and co-moderator of the Hermies
Yahoo!Groups Community
I
have been using Stress Coat since CLD sent me a sample back
in December 1999 and I have found it to be beneficial to my
hermit crabs. My moulting success percentage has risen from
50% to 90% since using it. All you
need is a drop of Stress Coat into a Litre(Quart) of lukewarm*
water and pour some of this water into the 'bath' and allow
your hermit crabs to wade around and do some 'leg kicking' to
dislodge foodstuffs and feces from within their seashells. If
the water becomes dirty then tip out the water and refresh with
the rest of the mixture. It is a good idea to have a 'drying
off' area for your hermit crabs to spend some time in while
they drip dry. If you place them into a tank where sand or Calcisand
is the substrate, you will find that it will stick to their
legs and they will spend the next half an hour removing it with
great care.
After
a Stress Coat bath you can notice the conditioned cuticle of
the exoskeleton but it is important not to overdo it. Stress
Coat should not be added to the drinking water, but it may be
added to the mister bottle on occasion, especially if you have
a pre-moulter and they need a 'helping hand' to slip out of
that exo.
