HCA: Hermit Crab Association

"Blanch and shock" is a mantra for cooking vegetables, but I've never blanched anything prior to dehydrating it. Granted, I mostly dehydrate herbs and make kale chips.

I would get him/her two new buddies and put them all into the new tank at the same time--that way no one is dominant (territorial). Move them all into their new home as soon as you get the temperature up--so whenever the heater comes, put it on and let the temp rise and put your crab plus new buddie...

Take it out, quick! Lol. I remember when one of mine switched from her painted shell and I just kept watching, fascinated...I had never seen that before. And then, before I knew it, she was changing back into her painted one! It, of course, took her another few weeks to change out of it again, litt...

It's funny how much things have changed since I started keeping crabs. This is a good thing! One reason I dusted off this ol' account and became active again was to learn new stuff. Mostly what I've learned is that many long held "facts" and "musts" have changed. The next time my snake sheds, I'm go...

Do you have access to a tile saw? I've made my geckos natural stone tile hides, and they can be made to accommodate any size opening. I would suggest slate or marble, the back side of travertine sort of disintegrates in humidity. It doesn't cost much either, maybe $5 to $10 per hide depending on th...

I'm sorry your crabs are giving you more anxiety than pleasure. Please take care of yourself.

Where are you at in Texas? I live in Austin and could give them a good home--if that's what you want to do.

Glad you found this forum and very glad you are taking the time to learn about their correct care! Have you checked out the care guides in this forum? They contain so much information that it can be over-whelming, but it's all good stuff. A few things I want to point out: -Our crabby friends (assumi...

Stay the course! If they are okay and you dig; you could harm them. If they aren't okay and you dig; you're not going to be able to save them.

No good comes from digging! Patience is the key. Meanwhile, enjoy your tank of pet sand!!

My biggest crabs stay down for over a year at a time.

Here is a simple food chart that I like. I don't know where it came from so I can't credit the original user: Hermit Crab Food Groups Animal Protein (7 days/week) Foods of the animal protein group include: crab, egg whites, freeze-dried bloodworm, freeze-dried plankton, earthworm, freeze-dried shrim...

I see powdered peanut butter (i.e. PB2 and similar brands) mentioned on here quite frequently. When it first came out in retail stores was about the time I started keeping crabs--2008-ish. Most brands were just dehydrated peanut butter. Some has additives such as salt. I asked on here if it was safe...

Mine do not prefer fresh foods or freshly cooked foods with the exception of finely minced leaf lettuce--that they devour. Even super enticing and super healthy foods that are "wet" go ignored (i.e. honey, peanut butter, oils, blackstrap molasses, banana, etc.). Unless they devour it overnight, I us...

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm also sorry that your journey with crab-keeping caused you such stress.

Please reach out to a trusted adult and ask them for help in processing your feelings.

Gentle hugs.

I made the mistake of buying the "wrong" sand (calci sand, which is very similar to what you bought). Unfortunately that type of sand is bad for crabs to live on. It can stick to them and cause abrasions and it can form cement like tunnels that can trap them and suffocate them. If you can access Eco...

What is "approved hermit crab sand?" I made the mistake early on of buying calci sand before I knew it was the wrong kind of sand. Since I already mixed it into my sub and didn't want to waste, I "diluted" it with several more bags of play sand and several bricks of Eco Earth. I didn't lose any crabs.

Most often embroidery floss is made of 6 strands of dyed cotton. Sometimes it can be made of silk, linen, or rayon--all of which would be dyed to the desired color. Rayon is a man-made fiber made from mostly bamboo cellulose.

I think the natural fibers would be okay, but I'm unsure of the dyes.