HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Like it says in the title I'm curios about Handling/playing with your hermit crabs, if you do handle your crabs how long do you do it for, what do you do, and how often??? I only hold my crabs in an emergency or if I just want to say hi for a second. So... Yea comment away please!

I probably pick up my crabs once every other week. I'd probably do it more but 1) I've heard it stresses them out and 2) unlike a lot of people whose crabs hide in their shells when they're picked up, mine come out as far as they can and try to pinch the crap out of me. So I just try to stick with watching them from afar.

I don't do mine much anymore, but I used to let them outside in the grass in the summer (Making sure it was fine heat and humidity) but atm, I let them be. Mine have become very friendly and crawl all over my arms n such when I do, but they say its stressful so I only do it once a week or so.

I don't handle mine unless I need to. I have very brave crabs who come out almost immediately after being picked up (except for one, Guppy, named because he's such a 'guppy') so I don't like to handle them often. I have never been pinched but I don't want to give them the opportunity either. I have also noticed the less I handle them and only go in the tank if necessary, the more they come out and I see more of them when I do want to watch them.

Okay sweet. Mine have gotten really used to me, because when I was a really new crabber I handled them A WHOLE BUNCH whenever they were out so now when I'm by the tank or fixing the tank they don't really care. But I didn't know it stressed them out until like three months after I got them. So I'm just hoping that when I come to check on them they will get to the point where they Run up to the glass and say hello.

I handle mine minimally - just to move them if they're in my way while I'm cleaning or rearranging, or to take pics if they just came up and I need to ID them/measure their shell opening. I have a bunch of smalls who would love the opportunity to clamp onto my finger, and they're totally fearless. My wimpy shy ones are the ones I handle the least since I think they get more stressed. One of my mediums used to snap back into his shell and roll backwards if I made any movement near the tank, but now if I pick him up he pops right out to say hi - and that's the result of minimal handling.

My jumbo loves to crawl on my shoulder and when he was a small, he'd crawl all over my hands and run around on my desk while I studied. He gets let out every week or so now, maybe a bit more as his tank is mega too small for him and I can't set up his sixty til they finish the floors in the kitchen. So to keep him from going nuts, yeah. But it's honestly up to the crab. If they're scared, I wouldn't. He's been with me a very long time, so I'd like to say I can tell what he's feeling.

Drakezilla wrote:My jumbo loves to crawl on my shoulder and when he was a small, he'd crawl all over my hands and run around on my desk while I studied. He gets let out every week or so now, maybe a bit more as his tank is mega too small for him and I can't set up his sixty til they finish the floors in the kitchen. So to keep him from going nuts, yeah. But it's honestly up to the crab. If they're scared, I wouldn't. He's been with me a very long time, so I'd like to say I can tell what he's feeling.

That is a little scary to me. Lol I think I'd be a bit worried about having one on my shoulder.

KellyCrabbieLove wrote: That is a little scary to me. Lol I think I'd be a bit worried about having one on my shoulder.

Lol! It'd be scary to me too if I hadn't had him as a baby. He's been riding around on my shoulders for years. ( when the weather is right ) He's a total puppy, you can even pet his back without bothering him at all.

ETA: I do want to add though that since he's huge now, I've found its easier on him and I to use a hand towel. I don't have to worry about his sharp nails and if he feels secure, and he seems to really like the texture. Idk, it's just since he's gotten so daggone big that some barrier to better hold him seems to soothe him. He will either climb it or play with the towel or just sit in it with his feelers everywhere watching.

kadynadair16 wrote:Like it says in the title I'm curios about Handling/playing with your hermit crabs, if you do handle your crabs how long do you do it for, what do you do, and how often??? I only hold my crabs in an emergency or if I just want to say hi for a second. So... Yea comment away please!

Hello,i often play with them for 15-45min because i live in a humid and tropical country so they don't mind the air!I usually put them on the table and supervise them,i occasionally let them play with my lego models,they love to climb all over it see



I also use my hand as a treadmill for them to exercise i guess!


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I used to let my crabs on my lego sets!
I also (since im homeschooled) Used to take out Snickers, or Tiger and let them run around in a KK with a bunch of climbing things while I did my school work. XD Kinda difficult now though, all 18 are usually up so... yea. Once a month or so, I will take all of them that are up, put them in a empty fruit box with drift wood while I clean and rearrange the tank... Don't do it much anymore though.

Snickers wrote:I used to let my crabs on my lego sets!
I also (since im homeschooled) Used to take out Snickers, or Tiger and let them run around in a KK with a bunch of climbing things while I did my school work. XD Kinda difficult now though, all 18 are usually up so... yea. Once a month or so, I will take all of them that are up, put them in a empty fruit box with drift wood while I clean and rearrange the tank... Don't do it much anymore though.

How did you get all of them to be out and about??

I rarely if ever handle my crabs, besides picking them up to check on them. In my opinion hermit crabs are not made for frequent handling. I also stray away fom handling crabs because of that claw! Some people say they're crabs are always eager to come out and play. I own 10 crabs and I've never seen any of my crabs "wanting" to leave they're crabitat to be in my palm.

Some reptiles kept as pets get stressed out easily due to handling, so I don't see how this couldn't apply to hermit crabs too. In the archives here or at LHC, I saw a thread about someone who after not handling his crabs for awhile noticed the death rates of his crabs to go down. There seems to be no benefit for the crab if you choose to handle them, besides maybe the exersice they're getting from it and many benefits for the crabs when not being frequently handled. That's why I choose not to handle my crabs.

hermitcrab101 wrote: I also stray away fom handling crabs because of that claw! Some people say they're crabs are always eager to come out and play. I own 10 crabs and I've never seen any of my crabs "wanting" to leave they're crabitat to be in my palm.

Interesting! My crabs will crawl right onto my hand if I put it on the sand gently. It actually gets annoying when I try to spot clean.

kadynadair16 wrote:
How did you get all of them to be out and about??

I have no clue what so ever. I only have 1-3 down at a tome, so I usually have ATLEAST 12 up at a time. I have mostly mediums, so... I don't know.