HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello,
I’m sure there is already another thread like this but I wanted to start a new one with updated information.

I have been trying to find one strawberry and one Indo for a few months now, preferably small/babies. I have been in contact with one seller but he never followed through. My crab needs friends.

Ps. I know hermit crabs are social creatures but is it best to start with one and get the hang of it before adding to the family? (Maybe wait a couple months).

Welcome to the HCA! I saw that on your other post about Cora that you are new to keeping hermit crabs. Exotic species are really cool but they have a lot of special care needs for their tanks. They also don't handle stress from not having ideal conditions very well. They require a good bit of research and general knowledge about hermit crabs in general.

I appologize for sounding harsh or rude, I don't mean it that way at all. I just believe that you should have a very good understanding of Purple Pinchers first. Most importantly to save the crab an avoidable death, and also you the money since they can be expensive.

To get you started I always point new members to our care guides. They are an excellent place to start learning about hermit crabs.
viewforum.php?f=120

Also if you have any questions feel free to ask! Everyone here is happy to help! Welcome again.

Hey, I understand where you are coming from completely. Thank you for pointing me to the right resource. I am trying to learn as much as I can so I will def check out those links. Also, I bought the book “Hermit Crabs For Dummies” lol :roll:

Indonesians have not been imported to the states in many years.

Strawberries show up in pet stores once in a while but there’s no good way of knowing where.


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I am not necessarily looking for an Indonesian hermit crab per say. What I am looking for is a hermit crab that has that purple/indigo/blue sometimes vivid violet coloring. I have seen some of those being sold as “indo’s” on certain reptile sellers websites. I guess the sellers are being dishonest. On other sites I have seen them sold as “blueberries”. I know petco sometimes sells what one would describe as “purple” crabs so they can’t be that hard to find.

A few sellers I was looking into:
-livehermitcrabs.com- although they seem to be having issues with their site. As other members have reported, there are issues at the check out...the checkout page is under construction.

-Reptilecityinc.-Although he is unreliable and doesn’t want to be bothered.

And a new site I just found out about which has bad reviews on the Better Busibess Bureau-Yourfishstore.com. They also have bad reviews elsewhere.

I was leaning more toward yourfishstore.com because that was the only place in the country that currently had what I wanted in stock without website issues.

Yourfishstore seems a little “fishy” to me, pardon the pun I don’t think I would buy from a place with bad reviews like that. Has anyone had any experience with the sites I have mentioned?

Pardon the double post...I am still trying to figure out the site, and I couldn’t figure out how to delete the first reply. Maybe a moderator can help me figure out how delete the duplicate reply.

Petco sells purple pinchers. Purple pinchers can occasionally have extremely strong blue and purple colouring.

Hi there! I’m not sure where you are located, but The Spoiled Pet in North Myrtle Beach gets Ecuadorian and Strawberry crabs in all the time. You just have to check with them because they sell out so fast. They don’t really like to ship them but they might depending on where you are. Also, Yourfishstore.com is another place that sells Strawberries. Hope this helps and best of luck

I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that myrtle beach is in sc.

Thanks for the replies all!

Babyhermies wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 16, 2020 3:48 am

I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that myrtle beach is in sc.

Ah, I love Myrtle Beach! If I visit again I'll be sure to visit them and check them out (NO BUYING, NO BUYING-- I must keep telling myself that though ). Are they, by chance, one of the local pet places that cares for their crabs correctly?

This is a recent FB post from The Spoiled Pet in Myrtle Beach. They are at least offering them fresh water and not just a damp sponge but still disheartened to see the painted shells. I have no idea what the rest of the conditions would be.

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Ok, so I found an earlier post, they all have natural shells (yay!) but no sand. I don't know what to think now.

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In hindsight, I should have kept scrolling before hitting send. This was posted at the end of April 2020. The crabs seem to be in a big open bin in the middle of what I'm guessing is an air conditioned store, with no substrate, nothing to climb, very little area to hide, and in another picture there were large bins filled with painted shells. Plus, there's nothing preventing anyone and everyone from picking them up, dropping them, etc.

Last summer there was a souvenir shop on the OCMD boardwalk that did a better job, imo. The cage was spacious, located at the front, outside of the AC, so the humidity was high. They had fresh fruits and vegetables along with some commercial food and fresh water. They also had heat lamps, lots of coconut huts and fake plants for hiding places, extra shells, and the owner was very careful handling them. It wasn't perfect, but it was the last week of summer and every other store and shop had stopped caring for the crabs. I saw cages with no food, no water and multiple dead and dying crabs. Sunsations on 140th st in OCMD was the worst. I don't know if there was a single live crab in the cage. I won't buy anything from them anymore.

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