New Hermie Owner - HELP

[jbaker]

Hi there! Welcome to the HCA and also to the addicting world of crabbing!

A few things I wanted to mention: Number one - hermit crabs should have a minimum of 5 gallons per crab if they are purple pinchers. If they are Es (Ecuadorian) Crabs IMO they need a minimum of 10 gallons per crab.

IMO Substrate should be 6 inches or 3 times the height of your largest crab (whichever is deeper). IF your crabs are Es - Substrate should be a minimum of 10-12". It should also be mixed with dechlorinated marine saltwater or dechlorinated freshwater to make the substrate sandcastle consistency.

Hermit crab saltwater is not good. Unfortunately most products marketed for hermit crabs are not safe. As far as salt, you need marine salt, to mimic the ocean. A lot of us use a product called Instant Ocean which is what aquarium hobbyists use to make saltwater aquariums. It has the essential trace elements that hermit crabs need. You also need a dechlorinator that removes chlorine, and chloramine as well as neutralizes ammonia and heavy metals. A lot of us use a product called Prime. You have to use the dechlorinator for both freshwater and marine saltwater. Both pools should be deep enough for them to fully submerge in and safe enough for them to get out of.

Hermit crabs can eat a lot of the things that we do. Make sure you cover all aspects of food pyramid Foods should be organic when possible. Hermit crabs are sensitive to pesticides and fertilizers.
Safe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92557
Unsafe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92556
Food pyramid: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554
Make sure you provide them with lots of calcium sources as well. Egg shells, cuttlebone, shrimp exo are good examples.

Please check out our guides! We are here for you!

Edit: I see you just posted emergency template:

You need to know what the humidity and the temperature is for your crabs. You can buy an Acurite guage from Walmart if you are interested They are $8, digital, run on batteries, and tell you temp and humidity currently as well as low and high for last 24 hours. You can find them in the home improvement section by the air filters. Minimum heat and humidity should be 80/80. Hermit crabs have modified gills and need the humidity to breathe.
Hygrometer on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/AcuRite-00325- ... 184&sr=8-2

As far as your lid, you can cover the metal with press n seal or by taping ziplock bags to keep moisture in.

To heat the air in your tank, you can most of us use ultratherms. They are great heaters. www.reptilebasics.com or www.beanfarm.com sells them. We put them on the back of our tanks above the substrate to heat the air.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the info. I will definitely buy a Acurite gauge tomorrow. I don't know what kind of heater I bought - but there was no way of attaching it to anything and it seems too hot to sit on top of the tank. So I am kind of confused how it should work. Should the heater be on all the time?

Also when you say to cover the top with press and seal or a zip lock baggie - I am confused with that too. I would think it would suffocate the crab?

Let me know your thoughts and THANK YOU SO MUCH! Julie

[GotButterflies]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the info. I will definitely buy a Acurite gauge tomorrow. I don't know what kind of heater I bought - but there was no way of attaching it to anything and it seems too hot to sit on top of the tank. So I am kind of confused how it should work. Should the heater be on all the time?

Also when you say to cover the top with press and seal or a zip lock baggie - I am confused with that too. I would think it would suffocate the crab?

Let me know your thoughts and THANK YOU SO MUCH! Julie

My pleasure Julie! The heaters we use (Ultratherms) need to be attached using packaging tape or reflectix tape to hang it. We want to heat their air.

Hermit crabs have modified gills so they need humidity to breathe. By covering the top with the press-n-seal or by cutting open ziploc baggies and using packaging tape you help close the mesh top to keep humidity in. You will not suffocate them. I personally use glass tops - they are a little pricey - but they help keep humidity in.

Please let us know if you have any more questions. That is what we are here for!