HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I got my 1st crabbie almost 2 weeks ago. I got him settled into a 10 gallon aquarium and was very happy to see him walking around, getting in the salt water tub, and eating. at one point he climbed into a large shell and stayed there all day. the last 4 days he is hiding and burying a little. it doesn't look like his food has been touched. should i be concerned or is he probably molting? should he be eating during this process? he is small...maybe 1.5 inches. how many new homes should i provide?

10/16 do i just leave him be and hope he isn't dying?

he may be destressing since he is new, or preparing to molt!

when I got my crabs they spent a couple weeks digging before they actually molted. I rarely saw them but I would see signs of digging. most food seemed to go untouched except their honey dish. then suddenly I stopped seeing new tunnels and they were down (molting) for 6 weeks! they are much more active now. so I wonder if yours is going through the same kind of destressing/pre-molt thing that mine did.

if he is preparing to molt I'd suggest leaving out some raw honey as it is nutritious and takes a lot longer to mold than fresh food. you can also smooth the substrate down so that if he *is* coming up when you're not around you'll be able to tell.

it's good to provide as many shells as possible either way! you never know what they're going to end up liking. I put in shells the same size as theirs, a little smaller, a little bigger, and much bigger, and my one crab ended up picking the biggest one! so I was glad I put in a good variety cause I would never have guessed at their choices.

good luck if/when he does molt!

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I'll just add the shell guide link - it saved me from buying a lot of shells my crabs wouldn't have used:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92552

I would only add that animal protein is important too.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:I'll just add the shell guide link - it saved me from buying a lot of shells my crabs wouldn't have used:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92552

I would only add that animal protein is important too.

And proteins can be hit and miss I thought mine would be suckers for fish but they actually prefer beef. Perhaps they will be shrimp crazy next week