HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Thanks for all the helpful information and ideas! He/she seems to be doing better now, eating and staying more in shell. I haven't wanted to move her/him much. Last time this happened with another crab, I think the rinsing and handling may have been too much as our crabs are not handled regularly, a...

Thanks for the responses; he's still hanging out of his shell almost completely, but responds by moving a little when I mist the crabitat. No other crabs are up right now, but I will isolate him with some pb and honey. I've got some moss I can put around him for a little more protection and humidity.

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give ...

P.S. Thanks for the help and clarification re abdominal uncurling! <3<3<3

Crabby is still in the large shell but is very limp, with some legs sticking out slightly. Does not smell bad and did move slightly when I touched the legs. Perhaps this is just a surface molt? I made a little cave in a sand bowl with shells and moist moss for a roof. I'll add a soda bottle top when...

Thanks, Wodesorel! Things are looking up--he/she has moved into a new shell. Fingers crossed it works for a while and all's well. Wish I'd gotten a better look to determine whether male or female while I had the chance!

Update: I've rinsed her/him and shell with fresh crabitat water, gently uncurled ab and attempted to reintroduce to shell but crab was too upset and squirmed away. Now ab is partially in a larger shell, with three more available, including old shell. Will fill out form later.

Hi all, We have a recently emerged jumbo naked PP that seems to be confused and not getting into the shells I've been offering. Another jumbo has gotten interested and the naked crab seems to be nervous, so I moved the other away. Do I need to separate them? And what else? We have a good range of sh...

Ah, good to know about how to attach. Will a 6-inch wide X 48-inch long strip effectively heat a 55-gallon tank by itself?

Ok, going with an Ultratherm. Would a 6" strip the length of the tank work? I'm assuming I'd want to keep it above the level of the substrate...

We have just adopted four crabs and are switching to a 55-gallon tank to accommodate everyone comfortably. I have a 6"x8" Zoo Med Repti Therm UTH that was attached to one end of my 10-gallon tank. Can I use this on one end of the 55-gallon, with another at the other end, and keep it warm enough? Day...

And another successful adoption through the HCA. We just received Oscar and Aqua, two sweet crabbies from our neighbors in San Antonio. They will soon be joining Hermie, our resident PP, in a 55-gallon tank. For now they are relaxing in their 10-gallon home.

Thanks, LJJ and Wodesorel, for fascinating and helpful information. I am very happy with the amazing assortment I recently purchased from Wodesorel and am inspired to make some of my own mixes. Thanks for thinking and writing about this, I really appreciate it! I might have to get my hands on Edney ...

Sorry, I thought GotButterflies meant that Whole Foods and TJ's had organically grown prepared hermit crab food, because that's what I meant when I said it was difficult/impossible to find products labeled organically grown. As I said, we eat organic and localy produced foods as much as possible. So...

Thanks, GotButterfiles! Good to know that Whole Foods and Trader Joe's carry organically grown hermit crab food--I had no idea! We try to stick to organic and locally grown for the produce and other groceries we buy, and we're lucky to have lots of options in the Austin area.