HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I would check Herman once a day or once every other day. Once the exo gets down to leg tips and the BP it'll be time to pop the bottle off and offer access to food and water. Hopefully Hellboy is molting so that when it comes time to let Hermin loose there won't be any problems. It would also be a ...

Right; I was pretty much thinking put some water in a small container, maybe a tad of food (but it sounds like maybe it's better not to offer any food as long as there is still exo) and then leave him alone until he starts to stir significantly on his own. I just worried that he might not have much...

It takes them several days to get through their exo and some won't even start crunching away for two or three days after shedding. It'll be best to leave him with just the exo until he mostly finishes it - they won't eat or drink while molting and he's got to eat his old skin for him to have the be...

He won't want to move around very much until he has finished his exo and had time for his new exo to harden. It will be a few days, though, so he does need water. Okay, I'll get on that. He doesn't seem to be really eating anything, and I can see the claw under him. He's sort of just sitting there ...

If you didn't throw it away, he would appreciate being able to eat that claw exo also. He also needs water in his bottle iso area, and some supplemental food (organic peanut butter and organic honey are frequently recommended for molters) in there. I didn't throw away the claw, because I figured it...

Does the claw have "meat" in it, or is it just empty? It isn't likely he grew a new big claw back that quickly. . . it is probably the big claw part of his exo. I didn't really investigate because both of my crabs seemed pretty upset, but it felt really light so I think it was empty. When I look at...

I think I have a problem after all! I lifted the shelter and found Hellboy over Hermin's overturned shell, with the little guy hiding as far into it as he could be. I picked Hermin up to get him away from Hellboy, and underneath him I found a big claw in the sand and it felt like what is probably hi...

Note that if Hellboy wants to get into the shelter he will just dig down and go underneath. That said, if Hermin is under the substrate he should be fine. I seem to remember you saying that Hermin did not fully dig down. Can you see him? If so, is he in a location where you can use the half soda bo...

I have news! Not sure if it's good or bad. Hellboy surfaced, and ate and drank(as far as I can tell). He's now trying to get into the shelter that Hermin is. Should I try to keep him away from Hermin? I don't have an isolation tank. Update: Hellboy's shell is too big to fit through the entrance to t...

If the crab who is down has a shell that is 2 to 3 inches, he could be down for 2-3 months. Out of curiosity, can you help me understand about the time line? So you got Hermin, who had been ALONE and living with a friend, right? Then you got Hellboy. THEN Hermin dug down for a couple of days, and d...

<<<Once I got him and his buddy settled into a good environment, he dug down for a couple days and when he resurfaced he ate a lot and climbed all over everything. He's the vocal type and chirped a lot, which I'm assuming was in joy because he wasn't in danger and had everything he needed. >>> The ...

I have two hermit crabs, Hellboy and Hermin, and I'm worried about both of them. I'm probably overreacting, though. I got Hermin on the 17th of January, 4 weeks ago, and he had been in the possession of a friend for about 6 months before I got him. He was in a painted shell way too small for him, an...