HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My oldest and biggest jumbo crab (he/she is at least 25 years old and in a 3-inch plus shell) has been tunneling repeatedly for weeks now every night. Sometimes it stays under for a few days, resurfaces, and then tunnels again. Half of the six-foot-long tank is at least 10 inches deep, so they have ...

Curlysister, thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I will wait. You're right, he's either dead or doing what he needs to do. And if he is sick in some way, there is not much I can do for him if he is choosing to stay underground. Just have to wait and hope for the best.

I have a medium-sized crab named Dewey, who dug down in the main tank on December 15th, 2023. His cave was built against the window so I could see him but I never saw him molt. I covered the window to make sure he had plenty of darkness and peaked at him now and then through the window but it seemed...

Hi all, Thank you to whomever put my molting post to the emergency one. Some good news to report: As I mentioned above, he did go back into his shell and into an isolation tank with food and water. The next morning a lot of the food had been eaten (disturbed) and I could hear him digging. He is curr...

Thank you everyone for your kind informative responses. Unfortunately things are getting worse. I found my little guy out of his shell tonight. I gently bathed him in spring water and put him in an isolation tank with his old shell and new ones, plus food and water and a hiding place. Thankfully he ...

Tried to post a photo, but I couldn't. Again, thanks for all your help.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? I use play sand and it is anywhere from 5-8 inches deep. 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? I used to but they ...

I have been the proud owner of Hermit Crabs since 2002, and at least 3 of my originals are still with me. I mention this to give a bit of my background. I currently have 7 crabs, 4 of which I adopted last summer from a hermit crab kiosk that went out of business. One of those crabs came up from what...