HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I want to give an update- the ant traps worked SO well! I used 2 out of a 6 pack of Terro ant baits from Home Depot; I put the baits near where the ants were hanging out and the colony died within days. I must have caught the colony in time when it was still pretty small. Yipee!

Thank you so much! I just put some petroleum jelly on the tank.
I'm planning on using Terro as well, so hopefully these little buggers (literally!) can all...you know, die off soon.
Thanks for the advice!

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 as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information...

Hi Hermiecaptain, Despite the information you provided, you didn't fill out the emergency form...meaning I don't know the extent of your tank conditions, tank size, food, water, amount of shells, type of shells, etc. I understand this is a scary situation, but providing us with a filled-out emergenc...

Okay! Pellets are not recommended for hermit crabs. They have little nutritional value and can contain harmful preservatives. A crab's diet needs to consist of protein, calcium, fruits, veggies, sea veggies/aquatic leaf litter and fats. I'd recommend looking at these resources: https://www.hermitcra...

One thing I want to ask- what are you feeding your crabs? What's the humidity? Water situation? This will help me be able to help you.

Hello, Today I was taking my crabs/some decor out of their tank to do a little rearranging. One of my crabs was holding onto a barnacle bundle, and when lifting the barnacle (and crab) out of the tank, she let go and landed on her shell onto the wooden floor, probably 2-3 feet down. She seems okay. ...

Well, that depends. Not exactly. But you're most likely- and I'm meaning 99% likely- to start off with purple pinchers. I've had my crabs for three years now and I haven't been able to get an exotic species yet.

Sand doesn't need to be sanitized. My tank upgrade was set up in March 2022 and I haven't changed the substrate yet, and don't plan to. In actuality, it builds up good bacteria and makes it almost into a little ecosystem (I am definitely not explaining this correctly, lol). The only reason you'd nee...

You can easily spot clean your tank. Just carefully skim off debris, poop ect. off the surface, without disrupting the entirety of the sub (meaning, not digging).

Just want to put my two cents in: My OG crab, Pine, was purchased a little over three years ago. She's successfully molted many, many times and is given excellent care, including a great diet with plenty of added nutrients ( worm castings, chlorella, lots of calcium ) but she just doesn't grow. Whil...

Not sure if this is good news or not but this Friday last Hermie buried himself then came out in the open and now he's been buried in the play sand the rest of the time and I haven't seen him since. Is this a good thing or should I try to find where he's at? He's most likely molting or de-stressing...

Pet stores probably won't take your crab. You can put together a rehoming post under HCA's "crabs needing a home" page. Also, perhaps try OfferUp or Craigslist.

No, if my knowledge is correct, that could shatter/crack the glass (with the intense high heat). If I were you, I'd consider trying to rehome your crab. It deserves the best life possible, and it seems you might not be able to provide for it. (Again- NOT hating on you or bullying you. Just making a ...

That's the problem with using heat lamps. They zap your humidity. I'd recommend an ultratherm heat mat, placed on the back wall of your tank (not under it!)