HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello! I'm fairly new to owning hermit crabs (it's been about three months), and I have a couple of questions for all of the more experienced hermit crab owners! First off, I currently own three PP's in the sizes of tiny, small, and smallish-medium. They are all in a 10 gallon aquarium, I tried to add a second floor to give them more space. I also have all the necessities, and everything has been going well so far! I originally only planned to have two hermit crabs, but a family friend decided it would be a good idea to give me/pawn off their hermit crab after discovering it had mites (which spread to my other two, it was a mess to clean up!). Originally, my plan was to have two PP's and one E, but that didn't work out. Then about a week ago, at a local store, I saw a tank of hermit crabs for sale, they were in bad condition and I just wanted to scoop them up and take them home! Not to mention they were all E crabs.

So, I'm faced with two important questions. First one being, my concern is that my largest hermit crab doesn't have enough space in its current home. I've been seriously considering re-homing her because I feel I cannot take care of her needs (even though I love her to death). What would you do? Any advice?

Secondly, how many hermit crabs do you think could fit in my 10 gallon aquarium? Do you think I could fit a small E crab? Are there any special requirements for owning two different species of crabs?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

Hello

Okay, imo you are already overcrowded. I personally think small crabs need a minimum of 5 gallons each. Large hermits need 10 gallons. Jumbo need a 75 gallon tank. E's need 10 gallons EACH. By following this rule of thumb, as well as fulfilling adequate substrate depth, you will avoid issues. You can purchase used tanks off of Craigslist, Offerup, Letgo...and you can usually find them for dirt cheap. Search reptile, tank, aquarium, terrarium...

Substrate...PPs: 6" or three times the height of your largest crab (whichever is deeper wins)
Es: 10-12 or 3 times the height of your largest crab (whichever is deeper wins)

I recommend a minimum of 2 proteins a day for Es. (This is my personal preference for Es)

Also - Never only buy 1 of any species. They need species buddies.

Hope that helps answer your questions

I agree with the previous post.

I will add that, if you were thinking of rehoming your biggest right now, then you probably already know that you're over crowded. The next step is to upgrade your enclosure for the crabs that remain, rather than to buy new ones.

Especially when they are small, they will molt frequently and grow quickly. The crabs that look like they might not need that much space, now, will very quickly grow and need more space.

Let us know how we can help you as you take care of the crabs that you have, rather than add new ones to the mix.

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Check around on your local Craigslist or letgo for a cheap larger tank. people get rid of them all the time for decent prices and u may even get a super deal on a leaky former fish tank. Cuz it doesn't need to be water tight for land crabs

Agreed with the above posts!

It's nice to see your enthusiasm. But, unfortunately, 10 gallon tanks hardly last long enough to be adequate in space. Smaller crabs grow so quickly.

I'd recommend an upgrade. Maybe to a 29 gallon.. Any chance you could swing that?

Then you could add a few more crabs!

Jeff

Well, if you upgrade, don't necessarily buy more crabs. This leads to overcrowding and the crabs being unhappy. I experienced this firsthand with buying a five gallon for one, then then two, then three crabs and then I moved to my 10gal tank which I have now.