My new hermit crab died, what did I do wrong?

If your tank conditions are optimal and you have followed all the instructions on providing proper climate and care to your crab, then most likely you did nothing wrong.

Land Hermit Crabs endure a great amount of stress before reaching the pet store.  The harvesting and shipping of crabs is a very inhumane process and the crabs suffer because of it.  They then arrive in pet stores, who in most cases, don’t know how to properly care for them.  They arrived stressed out, dehydrated and hungry.  Then you purchase them and take them home.  Often it takes a period of time for the stress and dehydration to catch up with them but it does and the crab dies.  Sometimes it’s a week, or a month but it could take longer.  Gill damage from dry air (lack of humidity) can be a slow painful death for a hermit crab.

There are some ways to give your new crab the best possible chance at survival.  When you bring home a new crab, place it in an isolation tank.  Leave the crab alone as if it were molting.  This will allow the crab to relax, destress and get enough to eat and drink.  Often the crab will dig under the substrate to be alone.  This is normal.  If you buy more than one crab, it is okay to place them in the same isolation tank together.  It’s a good idea to bathe the crabs before placing them in your main tank.  This way if the crabs have mites (parasites) you will be able to keep them quarantined until the mites are gone without exposing your other hermit crabs.