Motivated Motion

(I am going to opt out of Green Thumb Sunday for a couple of weeks. That way I hopefully will have some garden stuff to show. Crappy cold April weather!)

I Get Creative While Crusty Goes Shell Shopping!

Remember a few weeks back I announced "We Got Crabs". Well things have been going pretty well in the ole crabby habitat.
I did not name them Beany and Seacil.
I named them Crusty, and Crabby Jack.
Unfortunately when I got the hermit crabs it was looking like they would need larger shells soon.
It took me a couple of weeks to find suitable shells. The first ones were too big.
As soon as I put the shells in the habit, Crabby Jack made a bee line for the shells and flipity-flop Crabby Jack had a new house.

Crabby Jack's old house was really small. An almost spherical dark brown shell with a white spot.
For some reason, Crusty spied Jack's shell and decided to grab it for himself. Always wants what he can't have. But Crusty had a larger oblong shell for his house, and the dumb dumb flipped his house for a smaller model. Thus, Crusty got stuck!

For three days he tried and tried to get his body out of his new, too small shell house.
Sunday is the third day I have watched Crusty try to get out of his shell. He took little sticks and pushed with them to get leverage, he wedged his shell in a branch and pulled with all his might to get out.
I was worried.
I went on the net and googled hermit crab stuck in shell. I got some links. One was explaining how you can cut the shell off.
So I got my jewelery wire shears and decided to snip some off.

I was scared for sure. I didn't want to hurt Crusty. But I figured after three days at this, Crusty could die on me if he didn't get a more suitable house.
(On Friday I found lots of suitable shells. I washed them all in boiling salt water and put a bunch in the habitat. This is when I realized Crusty was in trouble.)

Crusty's cracked off bit of shell

I moistened some paper towel and sat it in the bottom of a plastic container. I put a bunch of cool shells in there for Crusty to go Shell Shopping.
Crusty stretched out of his shell and pulled all his big legs out. There behind the big ones were these smaller ones, 1/8th the length of the other legs. I guess those are the holder legs. It was the first time I could see them. I also noticed Crusty's body is quite large!
Crusty wandered around the shell pile turning shells and crawling around measuring each opening with his feelers and his big shovel claw.
He was really lively! More lively than I have seen him since I got him.
He was mulling around there for hours just playing.
So while I was waiting I was inspired to create a piece of jewelery to celebrate Crusty's freedom.

Crusty Shell Shopping (he's camera shy) and the beginning of my Crusty Shell
Crusty's legs are sticking out of the dark round shell on the left

While Crusty was still shell shopping I finished the Crusty Shell Pendant.
I added a seed Amethyst to it.
You can see the pendant here with my wire wrap rings.

On the left is a sterling and Goldstone ring size 7.
The Crusty Shell Pendant is sterling silver spring wrapped wire with a seed Amethyst stone.
On the right is a sterling (name coming) in size 5.
This jewellery will be available to purchase soon.
All the wire-wrapped jewellery I make is of sterling silver or gold wire.
I use different guages of wire depending on what I make.

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-am-going-to-opt-out-of-green-thumb.html