HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Since I have told people this repeatedly and mentioned an article where I read it. I'm going to provide the link to the article so that you can all read it.

ARTICLE

I adopted 2 caribbeans last Sunday. The larger one obviously seemed to be in premolt. Friday very early in the morning he was submerged in the salt water pool. Last night before bed he was still in there. This morning he is hovering near the fresh water pool. I'm now 100% certain he/she is preparing to molt.

Good luck on the molt Daethian!!!!

Angela

Thanks!
This guy was back in the salt water all day Sunday. I really hope that he has a good molt. If he's been away from salt water too long he may not make it. I've never seen a PP soak in the ocean water so long.

Me neither.. none of my PPs ever go near the saltwater. I think it's the brand I use.

my pp's seem to enjoy the SW more than my ruggies do...

I thought pp's didn't require it, but they enjoy it. Am I wrong?

Tomtru if you read that article you will see that its part of the molt process. Helps them do what they need to do.

I've seen my PP's drinking the ocean water before...but spending extended days soaking? Never. He's still in there tonight and quite alive... now stretching out of his shell....maybe to replenish shell water or flush it out.

Good luck!

I spent WEEKs making a pond area in my new 90 gallon setup. the stupid thing leaked the first few times I siliconed it.

It's about 4 inches deep of water, with the substrate reaching the lip of the ramp. Ive seen the smaller guys dash into the water and explore the bottom. The larger ones.. seem to just lap up the droplets splashed on the nearby rocks.

And yes the SW as much as the fresh. sometimes i wonder if they even notice which one they are drinking from

Thanks for the link Daethian! I've always suspected this was true - glad to see more evidence.
One thing I've wondered about - even if PPs go pretty far inland compared to other species, isn't there some salt content in the rain that falls near the ocean as well? Therefore wouldn't they gain some salt from the puddles they drink from? Just a thought - I've only seen an ocean once in my life, so I have little knowledge of the environment there.

Wow Dae! I hope he does well!

My first hermie that molted, and it was the first time I had even HEARD about hermies having salt water (2 years ago) hadnt had salt water since I had gotten her, which was almost a year later. She molted fine, a little deformed on a leg tip but can definitely be attributed to the ditch she dug and molted upside down pressed up against the glass

So as soon as I heard they need saltwater I went and got them some, made it up and gave them a dish. Well, Sprint, my molter, spent 8 hours in it, the other 5 that I had spent a good deal of time in the dish too. THen she went to the fresh for a bit and went right back to the salt. Definitely replenishing and regulating her shellwater/body salt content.

They definitely NEED salt water!!!

Sprinty is still alive and well today at almost 3 years!!!

This is a very vital info. Thanks Dae!

I see that salt is essential for the molting process for every crab, but can't they get some of the salt from their diet (if any)? I'd expect some (if not all) of those commercial hermit crab meals to contain some salt.

I think we'd have to quiz Julia Crab about that. I occasionally put sea salt in their food too.

Best of luck to you and your crabbie Dae! My PP Shelly was the first crab I got and she is responsible for starting this addiction We won her at a fair and brought her home knowing absolutely nothing about hermit crabs. Luckily we found hermit-crabs.com and this site right away, and it has been a life-saver! I don't remember exactly when we got her the salt water mix ... (I have to dig out my old notes hehe), but I'm sure it was within the first week or two at the most. She was usually a pretty shy crab, and would hide especially if someone came around her tank. But when I put the salt water in her tank in a dish with a sponge, she just laid ALL sprawled out on the sponge for a good portion of the next two days. I was amazed!! She would leave it to eat and such but would then go back and spent SO much time on there ... and would even stay on it when we walked by the tank! The good news is that she is still with us 14 months and 3 molts later ... and has grown like a little weed (a sweet little weed ) Best wishes to you!

I am 90% sure that I have 2 PP's. They are only going to the salt water, as far as I can tell. I never see them over at the fresh water anymore. Maybe they are going to it during the wee morning hours???