HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone!
I’m going to be moving and re-doing my entire hermit crab tank very soon, but I just had a crab dig into the sand (last night) and one that is still growing it’s exoskeleton.
This tank needs to be moved but what what do for the hermit crabs underground?


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When you have to move a tank with crabs down, you need to ISO (isolate) moulters.

Before you go looking for them, set up as many small containers as you will need to place crabs in. Topside crabs don't really need individual iso. Decent sized tupperware works. Damp moss will keep them moist, and a dark hide is a good idea for any moulters. If room temps are below 75, I'd wrap all crabby carriers in warm towels/ blankets, or stick 'em in a box with handwarmers while you're moving the tank.

If you were to dig for the one that just went down today I'd bet they hadn't begun moulting just yet, but iso & keep an eye on them for a while to make sure they won't start surface moulting.

When you do dig, go slow. Do one section at a time, gently removing sand as you go. It can take a long time to come across the crabs you know are down there, so just be patient.

Do you think we could move the tank it’s self? With the hermit crabs under? It’s a 37 gallon tall, so if we were able to just pick it up and move it with the hermit crabs still in it, it would be much easier.


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SonnyRayTWH wrote:Do you think we could move the tank it’s self? With the hermit crabs under? It’s a 37 gallon tall, so if we were able to just pick it up and move it with the hermit crabs still in it, it would be much easier.


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No. Their caves will collapse and if your tank has the appropriate amount of substrate in it for the size, it would be very heavy, at least 150-200 lbs. You run the risk of breaking the tank by moving it like this as well.

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^ ditto above. Moving tanks with sub in 'em is how you get cracked bottoms.

I agree that if he only went down today, you can probably safely dig him up. He will probably re-bury immediately in the new tank.

Thank you all! It’s a couple days later, I haven’t been home, would it still be safe to unbury him? And there’s another one in the ground that is growing it’s exo back, what about that one?

Or, Do you think we can move the tank by moving it and the stand? Like we slid the stand across the floor?


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SonnyRayTWH wrote:Thank you all! It’s a couple days later, I haven’t been home, would it still be safe to unbury him? And there’s another one in the ground that is growing it’s exo back, what about that one?

Or, Do you think we can move the tank by moving it and the stand? Like we slid the stand across the floor?


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If the tank only needs to slide a short distance on the stand it might be okay. Just work slowly, and if you have to resort to any jerky movements & cant keep the motion very smooth, I'd have digging and isolating as a plan b. It takes longer to safely remove the sub, but you're not going to have a crab recoving I from its moult, and therefore still weak, trapped by a collapsed cave. That would be likely to kill the crab.

I would be really cautious doing this. You are likely to collapse tunnels. I recommend digging up your molters and setting up individual iso's for them. You can accomplish this by using tupperware containers.

How far are you moving?

There are a lot of threads regarding moving tanks if you search for them. You can find very valuable info there

I'll admit 1st I'm not an expert. I've only had crabs since June 2017. I recently moved almost 900 miles. I had 1 crab up and 2 that had been down for about a month. We, as carefully as possible, carried the 50 gal tank, put it in the back of our SUV, and drove 2 days to our new home. I checked the temp/humidity often and refilled water and freshened the food along the trip. Everyone and everything is fine. I'll also admit I prayed for them more than once thru it all.