New to this

Please post here if you are a new crab owner and someone will be along shortly to welcome you to the HCA! This is also the place to welcome new crabbies to your clan!
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Topic author
For love of crabs
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Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:28 am

I'm a new crabby mom! I got my crabs 3 weeks ago on vacation. I didn't know at the time all the stress they go through. I went to petsmart to ask them if the crab hotel that I bought when I got them was ok and they do not know anything about hermit crabs. They told me it should be fine to put bark substrate and spray it down. So I went home and did some research about my little ones. Since then I have bought them a new tank[which I think I should have gone bigger]. I know they dig down in their substrate and that it should be at least 6 in. I also know sometimes they stay down to destress. But my question is how long is it ok for them to stay hidden because they have been under their substrate for two days and haven't eaten or drunk anything since. Please help! I want them to be happy little guys!

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New to this

Post by Hermiesguardian » Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:39 am

Welcome! They may be coming up at night to eat. They are mostly nocturnal. What size tank are they in now, with what kind and how deep substrate? It's important that they have deep enough, minimum 6 inches or 3x the height of your largest crab, whichever is deeper. If not, one crab may eat a molting crab.
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi


Topic author
For love of crabs
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

Re: New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:24 am

My tank is a 10g. My biggest crab is in between a medium-to-large. I have built my tank that half of it is almost 7in substrate going down to 3in that's where they have either water dishes and food dish. I know for a fact that one of them have not moved in two days and the other in one because they are in the same spot as you can see where they are at the very bottom of the tank. I'm only using coconut fiber no sand. Their water dish is clean no substrate in it in the morning. I cant figure out how to add a photo of my tank

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New to this

Post by Hermiesguardian » Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:00 pm

For love of crabs wrote:
Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:24 am
My tank is a 10g. My biggest crab is in between a medium-to-large. I have built my tank that half of it is almost 7in substrate going down to 3in that's where they have either water dishes and food dish. I know for a fact that one of them have not moved in two days and the other in one because they are in the same spot as you can see where they are at the very bottom of the tank. I'm only using coconut fiber no sand. Their water dish is clean no substrate in it in the morning. I cant figure out how to add a photo of my tank
10 gal tank is too small for 3 crabs especially if one is large. They really need enough molting space so the minimum 6 inches has to be across the whole tank, then if you want to add more on one side then slope it down you can. Their water dishes have to be deep enough for them to fully submerge with a safe way in and out. You can post pics with the app Tapatalk.
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi


Topic author
For love of crabs
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

Re: New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:54 pm

The larger of three is about a inch. The middle one is about half a inch. Then the littlest is probably under 1/4 inch. The two that are under the substrate are about 6 in under. Do you think they are molting? They are not out of their shells. They have not changed shells either.


Topic author
For love of crabs
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

Re: New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:57 pm

Should I change cabbitat if they are bury in substrate. Because I found a 30g tank at a good deal but I dont know if it ok to move them


Scarletfire
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Re: New to this

Post by Scarletfire » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:57 pm

Set up your bigger tank first. Move the crabs over when they surface. I adopted some crabbies and their entire tank; there's still 2 of 5under from 2.5 months ago (which is normal).

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New to this

Post by Hermiesguardian » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:49 pm

For love of crabs wrote:
Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:54 pm
The larger of three is about a inch. The middle one is about half a inch. Then the littlest is probably under 1/4 inch. The two that are under the substrate are about 6 in under. Do you think they are molting? They are not out of their shells. They have not changed shells either.
They don't leave their shells when they molt.
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi


Topic author
For love of crabs
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

Re: New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:57 am

Update they have moved and ate last night!!! Now to get the bigger tank and set up a new crabitat. New question though now I know their not molting is it ok to dig for them to move them?

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New to this

Post by Hermiesguardian » Thu Sep 12, 2019 8:49 am

For love of crabs wrote:
Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:57 am
Update they have moved and ate last night!!! Now to get the bigger tank and set up a new crabitat. New question though now I know their not molting is it ok to dig for them to move them?
As scarletfire said, set up your new tank, heat/humidity, then as you see the crabs, usually in the late evening, move them over.
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi


Topic author
For love of crabs
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:36 am

Re: New to this

Post by For love of crabs » Thu Sep 12, 2019 9:53 am

Thanks to both of you 😊

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Hermiesguardian
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Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:41 pm

Re: New to this

Post by Hermiesguardian » Thu Sep 12, 2019 10:00 am

For love of crabs wrote:
Thu Sep 12, 2019 9:53 am
Thanks to both of you 😊
YW!
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi

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ROSIEonFIRE
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Location: Upstate NY

Re: New to this

Post by ROSIEonFIRE » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:43 am

Hi FLOCs! Welcome to the hobby. When I first got my crabs I used to worry about them all the time, but what I have learned after a few years of crab ownership is that the crabs are very good at taking care if themselves, once your conditions are right. It is not uncommon for people to barely see their hermit crabs for MONTHS at a time, especially in the beginning. This is called 'pet sand'. When I got my first batch of adoptees I barely saw them at all for a few months. Then they started to come out more readily. Now it is not uncommon for me to see 1-4 crabs moving around at any time of day. Of course there are the quiet periods when they are 'down', presumably for molting. Probably rule #1 of crab ownership is never dig, (unless ur tank is flooded or has an active ant infestation). Rule #2 should be dont worry about your crabs!

I second everyone else's advice on here. Definitely go ahead and buy the bigger tank, get it set up, and when your crabs surface again move them over. You might want to think about adding a little playsand to the mix in ur new tat, lots of ppl keep cocofiber only but sand is really nice for them, I think it holds its shape better than just cocofiber alone. Let us know how it goes and send us pics!

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