HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey Guys,

I've got a molter and my other two crabs keep trying to dig down to him. He has dug down next to the heating pad against the glass so I'm not sure if they're drawn to the heating pad but my tank is usually between 20 and 30 degrees C with humidity range above 80. The tank is 25.3 degrees C right now and he is having a good dig over the top of my molter.

I've moved their food bowl to the other side of the tank (as far away as possible from him) and the sand is 6 inch deep.

They don't show signs of molting so i don't think they're trying to dig to molt.

Not sure what else do, i'm getting a bit stressed about it because it's my first molt. Need advice! He is getting really close and i don't think ill be able to move him without a fuss with the sand and i don't want to destroy my molters tunnel or cave!!

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There’s not a whole lot you can do, but hermit crabs tend to tunnel away from their initial starting point so unless you have a visual the chances of the crabs meeting up underground are low.


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How big is your tank and how deep is your substrate?

10 gal and at the point where he decided to molt 6 inch but its deeper in other parts of the tank. I've just added another heating pad to the back so they've got more consistently warm areas to molt because the one that was digging has started showing signs that he is about to molt in the last day or two. I've upped the amount of calcium and protein in their food daily and they all seem pretty happy now.

I think I've sorted the problem.

I'm looking to upgrade their tank in the coming months, does anyone have any good tank recommendations (sort of going for 15-25 gal)?

thanks for all your help guys!!

With three crabs, go for as big as you can afford and have space for. I went straight from a 20 to a 55, but see many people who have 29 long tanks that look like they would be a good size for three crabs for a while.

okay I'll have a look around

Thanks for your help!