Crabby Questions

[Jenny23]

Hi! I’m new to the group, but we have had Turbo going on 7 years now. He’s been very easy to take care of and a great friend to my boys, although I think I’m more attached than they are!
Anyway, I’m not a newbie crab owner but I do have a newbie question!
Turbo has been alone for several years now and seemingly has no issue with it. He eats well, digs deep, molts often enough and likes to climb and come out to play. I know they are social creatures and thought to get him a friend at one point. I don’t know if I was given accurate advice but was told that since he’s been on his own for some time now he’d not take kindly to a buddy. Then I read an article that the can die of loneliness!!
What to do, what to do!!??
Should Turbo have a buddy introduced to him or continue letting him be the only crab in town??

[mool]

So sorry no one got to your questions!

Crabs in the wild tend to stick together more for resource sharing than emotional support. In captivity, the resources are all readily available so they don't need teamwork to access anything.

He's probably fine without a buddy, but if you wanted to give him a friend--I would go with two or three friends. If he does decide to become territorial, he would have to disperse his aggression over three new interlopers instead of one poor soul.

Whenever I've added new crabs to an existing tank, I try to rearrange the surface decor--move things around a bit so that it seems new to all the crabs. Also, I temporarily remove the resident crab to a shallow tub of dechlorinated fresh water--just enough water to cover the shell. Let him stew in that for a minute or two and then add the buddies to the tub. The thought is that if they all smell the same there will be less aggression. The other thought is that a stressful moment is a bonding moment.

One other tip when acquiring new friends--make sure they are vastly different in size to the original. That way they wont compete for shells and hiding spots. Try to go several sizes bigger or smaller.