HCA: Hermit Crab Association

HI I am a new crab owner and I’m trying to find the best substrate to use for them. One (Ecuadorian) was found abandoned in hotel by my dad and the other (purple Pinchers) was bought from Petsmart.
I have them in a new 20 gal and am working on getting the rest of their bowls and things but can’t really decide on substrate. I’m using a 5/1 quickrete playsand and Eco Earth (8 inches) but I keep reading that silica is bad for hermits.
I’m also unsure of getting the substrate to right dampness, my room is always at 85% humidity because I also have a snapping turtle, but actually dampening the substrate kind of worries me because I don’t want to wet it too much.

Sounds like a lucky Krabby to be found. Your play sand Eco Earth ratio sounds right. Play sand is what I use it's inexpensive and it's about the best you can do for the little buggers I believe. Substrate level must be three times the height of your largest crab generally. Lots of people go with a solid 6 or 8 in. E'S I believe are more active and also enjoy a deeper substrate so your 8 may be spot on. Temperature should be 75 to 85 degrees. Humidity should be basically the same 75 to 85 % Higher is okay but may increase mold growth or fog in the tank. The sand needs to be damp enough to build a sandcastle with but not wet or Gloppy. Just be sure you are not overzealous when we dampening the substrate. Spray conservatively until you figure your tank out. Got butterflies recommends 5 gallons per crab so you are ahead of the game in that respect and have room for your happy Crabby's to grow.
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Thnx having a turtle before this helped a lot with understanding their needs, they are a lot like reptiles :p is it alright if the sand is sticking to the crab it’s not going to hurt him right ?

Naw. Just make sure you have temperature and humidity you'll be golden. A nice diverse organic diet is great too. I think the number one thing you can remember is to be very very patient and don't worry too much about your little buddies with the proper climate they tend to take care of themselves.

Thanks im gonna try to feed them different things every day I found that one of his favorites is plum

Hello Great job on the rescue! E's require a little more care than PPs. They need a minimum of 10-12" substrate, 10 gallons per crab, and I personally recommend a minimum of 2 proteins a day for these guys. They also like different shells than PPs. Please also know that we do recommend that each hermit crab have a species buddy when possible. (So one E have another E, One PP have another PP) I don't recommend you do this until you are able to get a larger tank though. Please let us know if we can be of any further help