HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello everyone,one of my classmates purchased a jumbo crab yesterday,he showed it to me today,there is a hole on the back of the turbo,where its abdomen can be seen from,he needs some tips on what he can do.Here are a 2 pics

Really all he can do is provide a good variety of shells for him to check out. Making sure they're all clean and maybe leaving a tiny bit of water in them should catch his attention. Hopefully he'll change soon.

Be sure he has FW and SW pools that he can submerge in, so he can clean and moisten his body as needed. 2x as deep as his height is recommended as a minimum.


Crabbers unite!!!

How do you make the water 2x his height with him to be able to get in ? (Just wondering .)

citiliviey wrote:How do you make the water 2x his height with him to be able to get in ? (Just wondering .)

You can get a container that is deep enough for 2 times his height and make a sturdy ramp for him to get in and out of it. Many use plastic canvases(found in craft departments in stores) and cut them to size and attach them to the water pools. Some use fake plants and other objects in combination with the canvas to provide additional ways out.

Okay . Before I do that, I will post a picture . I worry that they will drown .

citiliviey wrote:Okay . Before I do that, I will post a picture . I worry that they will drown .

As long as you provide something they can use easily to climb in and out, they'll be fine.

Keep in mind they can stay under for quite some time. I've witnessed a crab stay under for over 30 minutes and I've read other crabbers have seen much, much longer.

CallaLily wrote: As long as you provide something they can use easily to climb in and out, they'll be fine.

Keep in mind they can stay under for quite some time. I've witnessed a crab stay under for over 30 minutes and I've read other crabbers have seen much, much longer.

I just wanted to direct you to this topic: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=102772
YYWW had a crab down for a matter of hours.

That's the first time I'm seeing a 2x height on water dishes! They just need to be able to fully submerge in whatever is being used for their water. Plastic containers often work best for jumbo crabs because of their size, and depending on what size the other crabs in the tank are and how deep the container is you may not have to use anything to help them get back out since they are so large they can reach up and grab the ledge when they're ready.

Buy some shells that the type of crab prefers, leave a bit of saltwater in the bottom,then see if he switches. He is a beautiful crab btw!

The shell your classmate's crab is in looks like an apple land snail shell (not to be confused with Apple murex) usually grey or green, found in swamps and sold super cheap here in the U.S.. If he is a jumbo FYI finding Apple snail shells his size may be hard even though they can fit larger crabs easily, Jumbos are a bit more than just "on the larger side". My A. LSS (personalize abbreviation for my notes) are about 1.5 inches and can get bigger I'm not sure about 2"+ though.


Mommy of 11 PP babies - Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Freckles, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

Well,thanks!But I'm sorry to say that my classmates' crab(Was named Junkie)passed on a month ago