HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So cute.

I'm mad I had to miss it because of my surgery. >: (

Hopefully next year...

Post here with all the info: https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... .php?f=112

We need location and any extra info (supplies, etc.).

Lethargy is a sign of stress and molting. And with him being new it could be both. He could be trying to molt and is too weak, which may kill him. He could be low on calcium as well, which may be a partial cause for the dent - the dent could also be due to molting. Molting is a very stressful proced...

You can only provide shells for it and hope it goes into one. But if limbs are falling off, that sort of sounds dead. Though always wait to be sure. I'd go to the Emergency section and fill out the questionnaire for more in depth help to see if anything cause the death and if it can be prevented in ...

1.) The vast majority are going to have the same recommendations. From what I've read there is only one legal species in Australia (I'm US so I can't confirm, just reading on the internet). And reading up on it the recommendations are the same. 2.) It's a minimum of two crabs, but the more the merri...

It's harmless like said.

If your hermit crabs love to climb on it they're going to drag food and also crap on it, which will create mold.

You can also add isopods to help with clean up.

He could just be getting ready to molt. They tend to get lethargic, and sometimes pick smaller shells when they're getting ready to molt.

Are you able to get pictures?

It sounds like you're doing the best to your ability. How big is the tank? We could probably predict how many bags you need.

I'm not entirely sure if a sealant works. I know with shells the paint is toxic and the hermit crabs will eat shells for calcium, so the paint restricts that. But maybe aquarium safe sealants will work?

Honestly buy your sand at a hardware store, Amazon charges A LOT in shipping because of the weight of the shipment so you can't get big bags. And mix some Eco Earth in to help retain moisture. And yeah, aquarium sand is bad because you can get some pretty nasty bacterial blooms from it, it's designe...

How deep is the sub and what kind of sub is it? I wouldn't really dig her up, if it's a 5g it doesn't sound like it's going to be that deep. So not much might shift.

Naw, it's fine. Did you give them seeds or anything with seeds? It's just that plant germinating. Surprised your hermit crabs didn't garden it themselves, they love to shred plants.

You can buy plexiglass for really cheap for a more permanent fix over saranwrap. But saranwrap works really well though if a crab can reach it they may tear it up.

85F is considered the max "safe" temperature. After that you could be risking them, so just keep an eye on the temperature. I would say if it starts nearing 90 you'll want to move them somewhere cooler til your power comes back or it gets cooler. Make sure they have plenty of water access and that s...

You can relocate them immediately. They may borrow to de-stress, but if no one is down molting this is prime time to get them moved before you have another molter on your hands.