HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So he stayed in the water for about 8 and a half hours and just climbed out without assistance.

Seems to be just fine.

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Have you had this crab and this setup for some time? I would think as long as he has access in/out, all is well and it looks like you've got plastic mesh for that. It's hard to tell from the pic, but I'd try to avoid having the plastic mesh flat against the pool wall. I try to keep them set like ra...

Right now one of my crabs is just sitting in the Salt water pool, completely submerged. I've never seen that before. Should I be concerned? He's moving a bit but not really struggling or anything. Edit picture added Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/85172...

OK, that does sound like fungus gnats. I had an invasion last year when I brought plants in for the winter. They do hang out in the moss. I managed them by cleaning out moss regularly. You can eliminate them, by getting beneficial nematodes. Crabs disappearing for a while is part of game. It's not u...

In all likelihood the crab is molting or otherwise de-stressing under the substrate. It's nerve-wracking at first, but you get used to it. Are the bugs generally hovering around or do the they spend most of the time running on surfaces, even when startled? There probably fungus gnats. Not harmful, j...

The biggest problem I have heard about water features is even well made one's will splash a tiny amount and that will eventually flood the substrate. The false bottoms used in some terrariums doesn't really work for crabitats because the substrate needs to be so deep. A water feature would need to b...

I am drying a bunch of flowers from around the garden so I have a supply in the winter.

Anyone know if coneflower is safe or unsafe?

It's not on the lists. I'll always err on the side of caution, but wanted to see if anyone has information.


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Neat. I've seen the video of crabs on the wild doing that. You're lucky to have seen it in person.

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I've given my crabs shagbark history leaves without issue. The isopods seemed to like them too. I didn't have any problems, but I'll keep the above post mind I think.

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We call them wild raspberries around here. I have some growing in the back of my yard. I've given them to my crabs along with some leaves.

As long as you're sure they weren't sprayed with pesticides I assumed they are fine, just like regular raspberries.

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Competition for resources can be very intense in a captive situation. These are wild animals used to wandering for miles every night; being confined in a small space with other crabs creates intense competition. Especially if you don't have a lot of other possible places to hide, that coco hut is a...

My biggest crab is being a big bully. I just watched him roll both my other two crabs out of a coconut hide.

Jerk.

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I was wandering around pet smart today and saw this food intended for rabbit and Guinea pigs, etc. https://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/food-treats-and-hay/treats/kaytee-food-from-the-wild-rabbit-and-guinea-pig-natural-snacks-63827.html Ingredients: Dehydrated Carrot, Dried Pot Marigold, Dried Rose P...

Wow. How are you planning to maintain the water sources? Will you take them out and clean them and change water regularly, or are you going to try to keep them balanced in situ? In the fresh water, I am doing regular water changes by siphoning 2/3 or so of the water off and adding fresh. I am tryin...

curlysister wrote:Marigolds are safe! My crabs like them! Just be sure there haven't been pesticides used on them.

Thank you. They are currently in my vegetable garden which is all organic. I did by them as seedlings, but all the flowers are now new growth.


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