HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi, everyone, final update and a happy ending: Dempsey is in WONDERFUL shape, and he is back to normal with his beautiful, big claw. (He still needs to take a larger shell, though.) Nutcracker is back also, and he is now clearly a little smaller than the other medium, Phoenix. None of them seem to w...

Hi, everyone, I've been wanting to thank everyone for your great posts! I eventually settled on $30 for the near 3 weeks that we were away, but $15 - $20 would probably have been okay under typical circumstances in our area. I increased the amount partly because my largest crab resurfaced in a large...

So that I can avoid taking advantage of a nice friend ... How much would 2 weeks of care for 3 med-large hermit crabs be worth, with a variable amount of mess-making that needs cleaning up? I'm taking an average of "mess" because right now, I have 2 med-lg crabs and 1 tiny/small who are up/active in...

Just a quick update that everything is going well with this former emergency. Dempsey, our seriously injured large/jumbo, ate a lot and buried himself nearly a month ago, to recover. I was DELIGHTED when Nutcracker came up within one or two days of Dempsey's digging under! Nutcracker is just fine, s...

Dempsey is still doing very well. Sorry for delayed updates: Work is insanely busy this week, and kids have been in testing for days. I couldn't get the template filled out yet. Yesterday, Dempsey changed from his somewhat squashed 2.75-inch shell into a round turbo 2.75-inch shell. He cannot fit ba...

Hi, there, Thank you for reaching out with immediate replies and advice. Sorry for the late answer, after a couple of busy days. I can fill out the template here shortly, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things first. Dempsey is actually in the main tank, but because Nutcracker and Button are bur...

I TRIED POSTING THIS HOURS AGO , but it went to Drafts and I didn't know how to post it. Please review it soon. The injured crab seems okay for now (move this to a forum on "fighting" or the like?). Hi, all, Our largest hermie has 2 injuries, 1 serious: he's missing his large claw (the growth nub i...

Last night, I wrote, "The smell is still mild to moderate, but certainly unique to me." I am sorry to say that be of our hermies has died. I found him under one of the water bowls. His greatest companion was chirping and talking more this week than I've ever heard him do. RIP, dear friend.

Dead crabs can smell like rotten fish. A faint slight fishy odor probably isn't one. Maybe food or possibly a molting smell - though that's usually described as chemical-like, a few crabbers have described it as fishy. I would carefully check the surface for hidden food but otherwise wait it out. C...

This is my helpful tip of the month: If you decide to breed isopods, put a vaseline ring around the top of whatever you house them in, and freeze all incoming leaf litter and chunks of wood you find for them. Soilentgringa, would you put the vaseline around the isopod breeding tank lid only, or on t...

Hi, thanks for replying. If you haven't got fresh, I say go for canned - just check it isn't salted & that it has hasn't got any other ingredients, except maybe water. Preservatives are sketchy & prevalent in long-shelf-life-ed food. Some pet stores have dried single-ingredient fish skin treats for ...

I just lost my whole message and details for the group by scrolling down too far in preview mode (frustrated), but ... Happy news! Nutcracker resurfaced with all of his legs and a new claw today! He was walking around, climbing, eating food, drinking and setting himself in the water, and more. His n...

You can add 1 inch of substrate every 24 hours, just do not pack it down. Excellent advice. That's much better than waiting until they are all up and trying to squeeze in a major tank redo in a tightly scheduled life! Humidity should never dip below the minimum of 80. Hermit crabs have modified gil...

Hi, LJJ, thank you or your terrific responses. I'm late in replying and will have to be brief now until I can reply better later. To your main questions: - The main tank is 35 gallons. (I need to double the substrate but I don't want to overburden a buried crab.) - The iso tank is 5 gallons. - I wil...

Hi, all, Nutcracker is in some trouble again, but he's doing what he should to heal. I'm wondering how long his current molt might need to be. He was in a fight and lost his big claw and the two walking legs immediately behind the big claw. Shocking! I have pictures but don't know how to post them. ...