Smasher stopped smashing

GailHM

New member
My green peacock moulted about three weeks ago. Since then he hasn't smashed anything open. He is hungry and will eat if I give him a cracked mussel . I thought by now his shell would have hardened up enough to allow him to smash away as usual. ANyone know how long this takes?
 
It depends on the size of the O.scyllarus. A large 6 inch animal may take two or three weeks to start taking hard p
 
Oh phew! Thanks! he is a good five inches. So I guess I should just keep giving him "mussel on the half shell" til he is able to open things on his own? Is there anything else I can do to help him out? I must say he is definitely the coolest critter we have, and we have lots!
 
O. scyllarus can be picky eaters and often stick with one item. It can take days or even weeks to get them to switch diets. When given food that is easy to open like clams or raw shrimp, that's what they will chose. At this point, unless there is a physical problem with the raptorial appendages, the animal should be able to strike weakly. They way it will get stronger is through exercise, so I would give it harder prey. It isn't going to starve to death in a couple of weeks. Stomatopods are like my cat. It holds out for tuna, but after awhile it gives in and eats dried cat chow.

Roy
 
OK. I'll do the tough love thing. He actually had been easy to feed and ate wild caught periwinkles and mussels until the molt. The appendages OK, and when I gave him a periwinkle yesterday he played with it for awhile but I never heard any smashing going on. I'll let him get hungry for a few days before I try again.

Thanks!
By the way- my ten year old son loved your job title and went to school telling the kids that he was going to be a stomatopodiatrist when he grew up. ;-)
 
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