HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Yes, don't be too hard on yourself. We have all been there at one point or another in life (there's so many industries out there) the important thing is that you are doing right researching, getting the right set up, and teaching your daughter about all of it! The crabs are active at night, so that'...

Hi Allie! Tank looks good so far! I agree you will want to add more things for climbing! You can go to a dollar store and usually find some more fake plants really cheap, just be sure to rinse them off well before putting in the tank. Plastic butter containers rinsed out with cut out doors upside do...

Hi Metfan, The fluctuating humidity may be contributing to your crabs' level of activity. I would try to cover the whole top of the cage with plexi (if you have a drillbit at home, you can drill small holes in it for ventilation) or just use saran wrap from the kitchen. Lift the cover and let some f...

Hi Allie, welcome to the HCA! You are doing all the right things getting your set up first, researching and asking questions before bringing your new crabs home. Small dishes, one for fresh and one for salt water will be fine for your 10 gallon until you have a bigger tank to upgrade to. I find that...

Hi Metfan! Can you give us some more detailed specs of your tank? Such as: type of sand substrate, temperature/humidity, and how many extra shells are offered? Regarding shell changing, always boil new shells and let them cool off before offering. I find dipping them in a saltwater mix before offeri...

Awesome, thanks for the tips! I will be buying the ultratherm. It will also be more aesthetically pleasing, and I won't have to worry about hot dome lamps !

This is fantastic and answered my question to a new post I just created! So if you are ditching your bulbs and lamp housing, what kind of lighting are you now using in conjunction with the ultratherm? Just hood with fluorescent for aesthetics? Or some sort of uva/uvb?

Hi all, I am preparing to buy new supplies for my new 55 gallon tank. I am wondering what wattage I should be buying for bulbs, and how many? Also, do you use the ultratherm heat mat or the uth rainforest (I forget the brand name)? I'm also wondering if you have insulated the back side of your large...

I ordered from them a couple years ago. They shipped promptly during the summer.

I would email or call them to see what's up, it's starting to get risky to ship crabs now in the northeastern states!

Oh and my crabs range in size from small to large. One is about an extra large now. My Ecuadorian are also large now (they were tiny when I got them five years ago, they grow a lot faster than the pps)

Thanks so much sweetp! My ecuadorians used the built in pools I used to have before upgrading to their current 40 gallon breeder tank. Right now they just have deep Tupperware dishes with air stones. I have not started the setup on their new 55 gallon tank yet, but I like what you have done so might...

Agree with above post, more details! Especially the temp and humidity. You want to keep the isolation set up consistent with the main tanks temp and humidity to reduce further environmental stress. The crab would be limp and rolling out of shell if dead. If not, try offering a toothpick between ante...

In regards to intelligence, I have studied animal behavior (mostly ABA applied to captive parrots) but my mentor, Dr. Susan Friedman has referred to a study one of her past doctoral students conducted using land hermit crabs. The result of this student's behavior study was that she was successfully ...

Thanks! I am thinking of doing either a 2.5 or 5 gal pool, so the dimensions would be 12x6x8" or the larger option would be 16x8x10. I'm likely leaning towards the larger size pool so I have room to do some sort of ramp that's not too steep. I have 14 crabs total right now assuming the ones that are...

Hi all, I am upgrading to a 55gal tank for my crabs. I am debating whether or not to silicone in DIY built-in pools, or just get 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon mini aquariums to sit within the 55. Thoughts/suggestions? Anyone with experience using the sit-in mini aquariums? I've done built-in pools before i...