HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Where did everyone get live plants for their crabitats? I love growing plants but I'm so worried about pesticides and fertilizers that I've never put them in with the crabs before.

ShinyDragonfly wrote:Where did everyone get live plants for their crabitats? I love growing plants but I'm so worried about pesticides and fertilizers that I've never put them in with the crabs before.

I've been wondering the same thing! The only plants I have in my tank right now are some wandering jew cuttings that grew into big plants. I got them from my horticulture class, and they make their own compost for fertiliser there so i knew it would be safe. In theory, if you repotted a plant to a crab-safe soil and maybe even gave it a "bath" (wiping it with wet paper towel once a day to slowly scrub away anything it might be sorayed with) it should be crab safe in a month or 2. My best bet tho would be buying seeds from a garden shop or home depot and growing them yourself in organic soil mixed with worm castings.

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ShinyDragonfly wrote:Where did everyone get live plants for their crabitats? I love growing plants but I'm so worried about pesticides and fertilizers that I've never put them in with the crabs before.

No live plants for me. My guys tore my silk plants to shreds in less than 24 hours. Next step is solid plastic vines!

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For frog keepers, they recommend rinsing the entire plant off and as much of the old soil possible, and then replanting in safe soil. Even then last I checked it was recommended to wait 3 months before using them.

There are companies that sell completely organic houseplants, and those that cater to amphibian keepers, but you pay a premium and then there's shipping costs. I personally don't feel it's worth it - we had a member several years back who spent a fortune on plants and the crabs are everything in a few months.

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I have safe plants remove from whatever they are in, replant in organic soil, wait a minimum of 3 months before using any of it. During that time to promote growth, I use earthworm castings and bat guano to fertilize it to promote new growth.

JJAussieDude has mentioned before that you can use plants from the reptile department at the petstores also.

I'm in the process of growing rooted cuttings from wild plants or plants my mother has had for a long time. It's slow going - especially without rooting hormone & fertilizers designed especially to promote rapid growth.

It'll be pretty funny if the crabs trash them in under a week - but that's why I opted for tougher, woody vines like grape.

does anyone know if red edge dracaena is crab-safe? its fine if they won't eat it, as long as its not harmful. my horticulture teacher has one in a terrarium and it looks like a little palm tree, it would be a neat decoration in my crabs tank if its safe!

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Not sure about crab-safe, but it looks like an impractical plant size-wise. A tall shrub may not be well suited to most tanks. But I'll see if I can did anything up - there are far more plants than researchers, so often the answer is that no one knows.

Edit - I couldn't find anything... unsurprisingly, Wodesorrel has the most relevant input.

Dracaena is toxic to mammals and reptiles. It's probably harmless to hermits - I used it safely for hissing cockroaches - but it's untested.

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LadyJinglyJones wrote:I'm in the process of growing rooted cuttings from wild plants or plants my mother has had for a long time. It's slow going - especially without rooting hormone & fertilizers designed especially to promote rapid growth.

It'll be pretty funny if the crabs trash them in under a week - but that's why I opted for tougher, woody vines like grape.

Have you tried organic bat guano, organic earthworm castings? I use these in my organic garden and everything is growing great - even in this Florida heat. I have things growing that I shouldn't! LOL! I have a lot of growth on my plants. I do daily and weekly cuttings, and there is constant new growth, even in this Florida sun and hot heat. You should try it. I get mine from my local nursery, but you should be able to buy from Amazon. Organic fish emulsions works good too.

Yesh - I have worm poop and was looking into bat guano.

I also am trying to source greensand, a mineral rich ocean deposit-y stuff that's sold for gardening & is also touted as a good suplement for crabs... but up here in Cananada, I'm having difficulty locating a place near me that sells it, or finding a place I can order less than a gazillion pounds of it from online.

I'm jealous of you Americans because you can just order it on Amazon (or from the Crab Street Journal Shop too).

Yes, I have greensand, but I give that to my crabs. I wouldn't "waste" that on my plants! LOL


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When I get my new tank (hopefully soon) I want to do this thing that really has more of a background appeal rather than practicality. I have this plant with droopy vines and big leaves. (They are a common household plant that I don't know the name of) I want to set it on top of the habitat and let the vines curtain a corner of the habitat for some natural- looking privacy.

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Does anyone have a list of the best plants to grow in a crabitat? I'll make a separate post about this.

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Some plants that I know are safe off of the top of my head are Wandering Jew, Spider Plants, Aloe... however the plants need to have been grown organically

Edit: Bamboo (not lucky), palm fronds

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