#carson crab

[mesacollie]

I deep cleaned their tank last night and now they're sitting in the shell shop together, possibly plotting a mutiny for having their evening disrupted by The Giant Hands.

[mesacollie]

Meet the Critters

Pinning this post with some basic introductions.

Mesa

Mesa is a border collie, born in Nov 2021. He is by BGCH Echowyn Cruze n 4A Bruze N RN TKI CGCA FDC IT “Cruze” out of Echowyn Cascade of Color “Spektra.”  I flew out to New Mexico to pick him up from the breeder and named him after the mesas of the Southwest. But it turned out to be a double-meaning with the original Spanish meaning, as his favorite place to hang out as a puppy was inside my coffee table. 'Table' in a table!

He's my wonderful hiking and camping partner. When not in the wilds with me, he is a very opinionated and vocal boy who loves watching nature documentaries and howling at any song with a brass section. We've dabbled in agility and he has done a little sheep herding, too. Mesa is a super snuggler and absolutely lives for belly rubs and cuddles. He's the first dog I've ever raised from a puppy, having always adopted adult dogs in the past. It was a challenge, but worth it. I love him so much.

Tag: #mesa collie

Copper

Copper is an 18 year old (probably foaled around 2007-2008) grade mare. I leased her for several months, then eventually purchased her in late 2024.

She's a bit prickly with other horses, very much the boss mare in her group. Under saddle, she got used a little hard before I got her and running speed events left her a little brain-fried. But after a year or so of work, including branching her out into some dressage to improve her balance and collection, she's made a lot of progress. She no longer gets agitated when ridden close to barrels or poles. And she's settled in a lot and is now pretty reliable in the arena (although sometimes she still gets jiggy and unwilling to just WALK). Trail riding, however, is another story. She's extremely barn sour and it's been a long road trying to get her trail safe. Over a year of work and we're still not there yet. We had made some progress, but then had some nasty regression. I haven't fully given up on it, though. But I did take a step back once I got Sierra.

Tag: #copper

Sierra

Sierra is the latest addition to the herd. She's a 6 y/o (foaled summer 2020) Arab/Quarter Horse cross standing around 14.2hh. Her sire is CLK Marshal Cooper, an Arabian stallion from a mix of mostly Polish and American lines. Her dam is Leas Calboy Magic, a quarter horse mare from cowhorse lines, including Smart Little Lena and Peppy San Badger.

She was pretty green when I brought her home in Nov 2025, but she's making good progress. I bought her as an endurance and ranch riding prospect. She's the sweetest, most people-oriented horse I've ever seen and has all the kids at the barn wrapped around her hoof. She's always excited to see me and will RUN across the turnout to meet me at the gate. She's smart and agile has a ton of speed, but can also settle into a wonderful little western jog. She can also have a bit of a temper, though, and still has plenty of baby-antics as she pushes boundaries. For a young horse, she's pretty bold and her first trail ride she was way out in front of the group and had no fear of leading the way. I think she's got a bright future ahead of her!

Tag: #sierra

The Crab Girls

Not featured as often, but I also have a tank of Caribbean Purple Pincher hermit crabs. I've had them around a decade and they're quite large now. Unfortunately, we lost Amelia (the one in the green shell) in 2025, when she didn't come up from a molt. But the other two are still with us: Beebe (top, more purplish color) and Carson (right, pinkish). Both are female and they were around the size of a nickle when I got them, now they're huge. Bigger than golf ball sized.

Tags: #beebe crab and #carson crab

[jadewolf-writes]

Shy girl. Carson is the most skittish of my crabs. Also the one most likely to pinch. (She's been trying to get her claws on my fingers for more than six years now, but hasn't succeeded yet!)

[jadewolf-writes]

Group portrait!

[jadewolf-writes]

And lastly, here's Miss Carson.

She's the shyest one now and the smallest of my three ladies. I worry about her, sometimes. She has very irregular molts and I hold my breath each time, wondering if she's not coming back. But she's still doing well and growing!

[jadewolf-writes]

I gave the girls some of the trimmings from the tri tip.  And they are LOVING it.

Amelia grabbed her share and found a quiet hidey hole (which I can’t get a photo of) to enjoy hers.  Beebe grabbed that huge piece and just dragged it up to the top of Cork Rock (which they dislodged the shell shop bin from in their latest tank-wrecking party).  And Carson (who is the lowest in the tank hierarchy) managed to sneak in and grab one of the other big pieces and is hastily chowing down right at the bowl. 

[jadewolf-writes]

Girls’ night!

[jadewolf-writes]

Carson has returned!

This was Miss Carson’s longest molt ever, at 85 days.  And this was after her longest molt interval ever of 306 days!  And, to be honest, between the excessive time between molts and the length of time she was down, I was a little worried she wasn’t coming back.  I was preparing myself for bad news.  But then last night, I thought I heard her banging against the glass and when I did this morning’s check, there she was!

Since the tank has been empty up top this past month (all three crabs were down molting), I had to hurry this morning to fill their water bowls and food back up.  But now everything is set out for her and she’s good to go.  Did a quick post-molt health check and she looks good, too.  No missing segments or any other visible molt issues that I could spot.

Was trying to get a decent picture of her, too, but between the dog biting my ankles and Carson trying VERY hard to pinch my hand, this was the best I could get. XD