Found crab, should I buy it a friend?

LB Hermie · Post by **LB Hermie** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:27 pm

Crazy (and true) story. We found a shell at the beach awhile ago and it has been in my son's room. He would notice it in random locations but never thought anything of it until one day he saw a crab pop out. We didn't believe him and I put it in the bathroom sink with bit of water and YES there was a hermit crab who had been living in my son's room for who knows how long. We let it drink water, gave it some turkey and then put it outside. We spotted in around the yard for a few days then hermie was gone. Well this weekend what do we see in our garage??? HERMIE!!! We took it as a sign and kept it. I have been using this site for research and to help get its tank set up correctly, etc. (it has been very helpful)

So now to my question, should I buy him a friend? He's pretty big and I have no idea how long he has been living on his own. Thanks in advance for your help!!

Post by **JoeHermits** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:36 pm

A vast majority of crabs found on the beach are marine due to terrestrial hermits’ limited ranges.

A marine hermit crab is going to be slimmer than their stockier cousins and many have same-sized claws, as opposed to the terrestrials having one big one to block the shell opening.

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doth · Post by **doth** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:44 pm

can you show some pictures of him? that way we know if your cutie is land or marine

definitely offer him some dechlorinated marine salt water & fresh water as soon as you can, I bet he's itching for some proper hydration! what a little trooper!

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crabbycasey · Post by **crabbycasey** » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:30 am

What a crazy story! I can only imagine what it was like thinking it was just a shell and then it keeps ending up in different places! Lol

Would love to see a pic too!

You’ll get great advice here...I owe my happy crabs to the HCA and all the info here. You should check out the care sheets if you haven’t already!

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LB Hermie · Post by **LB Hermie** » Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:48 pm

Here are pics, I set up his home yesterday and he quickly found his food bowl and ate some hermit crab food and romaine. He hasn’t visited either water bowl yet and he’s basically stayed in one place all day. I’m a little worried but I’ve seen him moving and digging a bit. I was trying not to pick him up so he felt safe in his new home but should I place him in the salt water?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Pics:
https://ibb.co/FsTcrQs
https://ibb.co/HKpQ2r5

Post by **JoeHermits** » Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:56 pm

Interesting... this one’s terrestrial. In that case, refer to our care guides for advice.

As for getting him friends, that’s up to you. They are found in colonies in the wild but that’s more to do with resource exploitation than social gathering. In captivity many of the longest living crabs are alone or in pairs.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association