HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello! I recently rescued two small hermit crabs this past late august from the New Jersey shore boardwalk. Their names are Phil and Lill. In early November (around the 5th) I changed the substrate in the tank (eco earth and play sand mix), and about 4 days later Lill decided to go inside the cave and bury underground. It’s been 2 months now and I have not seen her… I’ve been patiently waiting, as I do not want to disturb her, but I recently purchased a home and I need to transport them soon! I read online that their caves can collapse if the tank is moved too much and I am too worried this will happen no matter how careful I am moving them… Should I try to find her, or leave her alone and move the tank? Worst case scenario I leave her at my parents house (where they are now) and make the trip back and forth to take care of them until she resurfaces…. Any help is appreciated!! Their tank is currently at 78-80 degrees and 80% humidity. Lill went underground when the tank got a little chilly (the temp in my state randomly plummeted towards the end of fall & I had to wait a couple of days for a larger heat pad to come in the mail… the temp was low 68-70 at that time). Thank you!!!

When I’ve moved in the past with buried crabs I’ve carefully dug them up and transported them in plastic food containers with damp moss. Crabs I had to dig up would not be released until they resumed normal activity. Some people have just picked up and moved the whole habitat but I was never keen for that kind of heavy-lifting and was afraid of over-jostling in the vehicle

There is a risk to this since there’s a small window where the crab is still soft after molting but after two months you are probably in the clear


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