HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and have owned hermit crabs for over a year now. I have 7 PP's in a 29 gallon tank with coco fiber/ play sand substrate ( 5 parts sand 1 part coco fiber ) that is 8 inches deep. I provide them with a variety of foods for their diet and have 2 water bowls etc. Temperature stays consistently at 75 and humidity stays at 75-85. I have had plenty of successful molts thus far but am concerned for my large hermit crab i purchased at Pet co back in November 2016. His name is Yoda and he was very friendly with the other crabs. Yoda stayed above surface for about 3 weeks and consumed a bunch of food and water prior to burying. He buried mid-december 2016 and it is now early may 2017. I remember seeing Yoda peep out the side of the glass right around Christmas time and he was at the very bottom of the tank. I have not seen Yoda since then and am very concerned. I have not seen him come up for food at night either (I frequently wake up around 2 am and when I do I check in the tank and see all of the other crabs being active but no sign of Yoda). If this is any help, Yoda's old shell opening was roughly 1 3/8th so Yoda is on the bigger end of "large" sized hermit crabs. I forgot to mention that the other crabs have not molted near Yoda. I highly doubt cannibalism is the issue here but I can't rule it out completely. As mentioned above I provide them a high variety diet with lots of protein and calcium, etc. I am very concerned for him and don't know what to do. Any advice you guys could give me? Also, what is the longest time your hermit crabs have buried for? Thanks for your help

You said he peeks out when? Christmas time?


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Temp and Humidity need to be a minimum of 80/80.
Honestly, don't worry. I know it's easier said than done. Is your substrate at least three times the size of your largest crab? If not, you can add 1" of substrate each 24 hours without packing it down. There is not a set time for hermit crabs. He could have first destressed and then molted. Be patient. It's worth it.

- He peeked a couple times around christmas time. He was staring at me through the glass haha but yeah I haven't seen him since then.

- GotButterflies: Thank you for the suggestions! I will raise the temp a few degrees and the humidity is currently at 82 As far as substrate depth goes, the substrate is roughly 5 times the size of my largest crab. My gf and I have been worried about Yoda but hopefully he will surprise us sometime soon.

Another Question for you guys : I know there is a strong fishy smell when a hermit crab passes for I owned two crabs 9 years ago when I was 10. Now, I have read that if the crab is buried deep enough the smell will never make it to the surface. When should I really be worried if Yoda is still alive or not? In other words, how much longer should I wait before I even consider digging for him? Again thank you guys so much for your input. All advice is appreciated.

Okay, so the general forum advice from experienced crabbers (of which I am not yet one, but I read the forum a lot): Don't go digging!!!!!!! Please, just don't do it!!!!!! The temptation is strong, you're worried about him - I've been there myself. And then I realized, is it worth risking my crab's life for me to know exactly where he is and what he's doing? That thought helped me talk myself out of it.

If your crab is very big, molting for up to a year or longer is not unheard of. It's also not unheard of for a large size crab to take 6-8 months, I believe. If he is alive, he is probably fine down there, and if you dig, it could stress him and cause him to die. If he is dead, there's nothing you can do but wish him well in the great crabitat in the sky. (We would all totally feel for you!) Also, some crabs just like to stay buried a lot - it sounds like he is one, so you may not know exactly when he changes over from digging to molting, which could make it seem like molting takes forever.

Sounds like you have a good depth of substrate, and you're really close to optimal on the conditions (if you're at 80F / 80% or higher RH now, that's great!!!). If it were my crab, I'd try and be patient and wait until he comes up on his own.

Best of luck!!!

Thank you very much for the reply! I noticed when I first picked Yoda from the pet store that he was really trying to dig in the little substrate that was available and when I brought him home he was digging like there was no tomorrow. I will definitely wait it out now! I will post an update when he surfaces!

You're welcome! Please do keep us posted. We always like to hear when a crabbie makes it. Best of luck!!!

Molting is the most stressful part of crabbing IMO. Mine always pop up when I feel like they must have passed.

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CrabDaddy722 wrote:Thank you very much for the reply! I noticed when I first picked Yoda from the pet store that he was really trying to dig in the little substrate that was available and when I brought him home he was digging like there was no tomorrow. I will definitely wait it out now! I will post an update when he surfaces!

These guys go through so much. They are captured from the wild, kept in overcrowded cages, forced from their natural shells, shipped, and put in stores. All of this is done in deplorable / sub par conditions. Sometimes without food, water, and recommended humidity and temperature. Sometimes these guys are barely surviving by the time we get them. Just be patient. The pointy tips and hairy legs are worth it Can't wait to hear the update when he comes up!

Hey guys it's been a month later now, still no sign of yoda. Had a small crab go down for a molt at the end of April and he came up today so that was good news! Yoda is the only one left in the 29g tank as I have moved everyone over to a 40g breeder. Like aforementioned I haven't seen yoda since December 2016. When do I start considering looking for him?