HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My PP Wehi just came up after a successful 60 day molt. I was so happy to see her but she was acting very sluggish and quickly reburied herself that evening after eating a little. Do I need to be concerned? I do have other crabs: one PP slightly larger then Wehi but keeps to herself, Two much smalle...

Post molting snack Take a piece of unsalted, unbuttered popcorn. Smear organic peanut butter on one side and organic honey on the other. Sprinkle ground up eggshell or cuttlebone on the honey and peanut butter. :banana: This should give a bit of needed calcium, energy and protein for those crabs who...

I currently have 2 crabs that have been down for about 4 weeks un what I'm guessing is their molt cycle however I am moving in 30 days and am not sure what to do if they are still down when I have to move. I have a 20 gallon tank with roughly 75 pounds of sand which is going to be impossible for me ...

I totally agree with everything Wodsorel said. A few other things that I would like to mention: The bottled saltwater is not efficient. Unfortunately a lot of things marketed for hermit crabs aren’t. You need Marine saltwater. Products like Instant Ocean and Red Sea mimic natural sea water. Please ...

I managed to get him back in his shell without much difficulty and he has stayed in it without a fuss and thankfully didn't pinch me. I added more substrate and made sure he is isolated. I did actually dig him up to move him to the new tank. He had been down for a little over a week. I had no idea h...

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Play sand 3 inches deep 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? I have 1 gauge in center of the tank. Temp is a cons...

Smaller crabs bounce back better, and with her size and color it sounds like she was done. Just make sure she is active and eating before allowing other crabs near her, if it's rushed she could end up attacked. I would also recommend a dunk in the water bowl before being reintroduced if she hasn't ...

Any container will work to keep her separated in case she is somewhere in the molt cycle. Even a sour cream container mostly filled with sand will work, kept in the tank so the temp stays right. I would suggest mixing up the sand well and making sure it gets back to the right consistency. Then you ...

Is the crab's exo hardened, or is she still soft? Was there any of her exo in the sand around her, or had she eaten it all? Is she moving around? Be sure that you have both salt and fresh water, as well as foods that are high in protein and calcium (many people give natural peanut butter, honey, et...

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Play sand 4 inches deep 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? I have 2 gauges in opposite corners of the tank. Tem...

Hiya - I hate to be 5he bearer of bad news, but you want to uncover her again & put her in isolation. .. crabs create air filled chambers to moult in & we can't replicate these. If she's too weak to dig , your crab could suffocate, unfortunately. Do you know how to set up isolation conditions? I do...

Here's one of my favorite recipes that my crabs seem to love. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees F Take a cup of cut up fresh fruit (can be a single kind or a mix) and put on a pan covered in wax paper but make sure the fruit isn't touching Put in oven for 2 and a half hours or until the fruit is dry....

So during the night my crab Maui went on a digging spree and uncovered my molting crab Kanani. I know she was still alive since I saw her legs move while she was still in her uncovered hole. I know it is a huge no no to dig up a molting crab so I covered her back up with sand so she could continue h...

I have had 3 hermit crabs for the past several months but it is beginning to get colder and the heating lamp is no longer heating the 10 gallon tank I have them in efficiently. Should I just get a second or a bigger heating lamp to solve this problem? Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but I'...

Crabs often dig to destress, and because they enjoy it. Sometimes they dig if the crabitat conditions are not quite right (they might dig to cool off or experience higher humidity, for example). I don't remember if you've told us what you keep your crabitat at (sorry!) but the general recommendatio...