I have never been so happy to be wrong. Ulysses is alive and well!
I realize that yes, I am a dork, but I cried my way through the workday today. After work I made a trip to a mom-and-pop pet store I passed last week in an attempt to get some more life in the Disco. I wasn’t trying to replace Ulysses –that would be impossible– but instead to make the tank seem not so empty without him. I spent about half an hour getting to know the hermit crabs there, and after suffering a nice pinch on my middle finger, I left with two new crabs (yet to be named).
As I was moving things around to grab Hector for a bath (I wanted to bathe H and the new guys together to reduce the chance of further cannibalism) I found Ulysses’ shell in the rock hidey right next to where Hector was encamped. At first I was even more upset, because not only did Hector EAT Ulysses, now he had to go and drag his shell around too…
…until I went to move U’s shell out of the way and thought I felt a vibration. I put the shell to my ear and I thought I heard a chirp. My husband confirmed that he thought he heard something too, so I put the shell down on a paper plate, and after a few minutes, Ulysses came out completely whole, healthy, and freshly molted with his teeny black toenails. Apparently I had unearthed the remains of Ulysses’ exoskeleton, and he is able to retreat so far into his shell that I didn’t even see him this morning. But now he’s been out and about, and has been making friends with the two new guys, and I think the worst of the worry may be over. I’m going to watch him for a few days to make sure he’s energetic enough, but I think I can count this as the day Ulysses came back from the dead.
Yay, zombie crab!
Now if Ajax would only come up from his molt I will be perfectly happy . . . .
yay! I am glad that there was no death at the disco!