HCA: Hermit Crab Association

First of all, sorry I've been inactive! My life is a crazy mess right now with moving and school and some other personal stuff like grieving. I am not sure if I have asked this before. If I have, I apologize.

I don't currently have this setup for my crabs, but I do have it for some arboreal (social) geckos I keep. I really like it, and was wondering if anyone thinks it would be suitable for two PPs? I think it has approximately the same ground area as a 10g, maybe more. I was reading more into PPs specifically and apparently they really like to climb. I figured they would appreciate the vertical space.

The tank opens from the front, and could be modified to hold a deeper level of sub. They're sold at PetSmart, and are hexagonal and taller than they are wide. If I did this, I would also make a custom background to cover 3 sides of it but cutting it off at the substrate level, thus allowing for burrowing under the background, though I also read they burrow less than other species, and from what I've experienced with mine, they don't seem to burrow much aside from molting. There would still be room for water dishes and such, and if needed I could find a way to make the freshwater one up high (idk, mimic a mountain pond or a deep puddle or something lol).

Has anyone done this or does anyone think it's a good idea? I could get an even bigger one. I am thinking a cube setup/tall and long type enclosure is best for PPs since it allows for climbing, but am curious if a more vertical setup (with plenty of room to travel on the floor still) would be better to allow for more natural climbing behaviors. I have seen the topper tanks, and would do that, except it looks like a nightmare for access to the bottom tank.

My current setup is just the classic, horizontal setup. If not the 20g tall hex, maybe a bigger setup like this?

TL;DR: wondering if a 20g vertical hex is good for PPs since they like to climb more. There is enough room on the ground for "regular scooting around."

Did you ever end up making them this setup? Can you post a picture?


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Ermigrejo wrote: ↑

Thu May 27, 2021 11:06 am

Did you ever end up making them this setup? Can you post a picture?


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Not yet, when I do, I will definitely update! I calculated the terrestrial area it would give them to walk on the actual ground and it's slightly larger than a 10g. But they could have a ton of climbing space and I could add a wheel. I am in the middle of a move, so will do it in like a month or two lol

In the hermit world, molting space is more important than climbing space. Hermit crabs love to dig as much as they love to climb.

GotButterflies wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 01, 2021 2:42 pm

In the hermit world, molting space is more important than climbing space. Hermit crabs love to dig as much as they love to climb.

Definitely! I was going to add a glass extension at the bottom (it's front opening) so that the sub could be deep enough

Mine dig at least as much as they climb; and as they get bigger, they will spend more and more time underground (Major Tom has been down molting for almost 2 years now; last time it was 18 months). Remember that the volume of molting space is crucial, because if one crab digs down and encounters another that is already in a vulnerable stage of molting, the molting crab is a great free meal for the other. If you only have 2 and are determined never to add more to the set-up (good for you! if so), and you already have this hexagonal tank, then you can do as you said and modify it so that you have have deep substrate, as well as some climbing room. But eventually, as they grow, you will probably still want to expand to a tank with a much larger footprint. Not sure how big your crabs are now, but if they are small or small/medium, then this footprint might do fine as long as the substrate is good and deep.

DragonsFly wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:20 pm

Mine dig at least as much as they climb; and as they get bigger, they will spend more and more time underground (Major Tom has been down molting for almost 2 years now; last time it was 18 months). Remember that the volume of molting space is crucial, because if one crab digs down and encounters another that is already in a vulnerable stage of molting, the molting crab is a great free meal for the other. If you only have 2 and are determined never to add more to the set-up (good for you! if so), and you already have this hexagonal tank, then you can do as you said and modify it so that you have have deep substrate, as well as some climbing room. But eventually, as they grow, you will probably still want to expand to a tank with a much larger footprint. Not sure how big your crabs are now, but if they are small or small/medium, then this footprint might do fine as long as the substrate is good and deep.

Yeah I haven't gotten it yet. I'm realizing the cheapest option is to look on FB marketplace/Craigslist for the largest tank I can find instead of just upgrading over and over lol. I think if I ever got more I would adopt them, but honestly I think 2 is already a lot to manage. You're right about the molting. Think it's best to just get a huge tank lol

I agree that two is a good number to go on with. My two are jumbos now and I have them in a 120g high tank, which still is a tiny little box for these animals, considering all they are designed to have in their natural environment.

About "getting a huge tank": I did not buy my huge tank outright; to end up with this tank, I looked on online "flea market" type boards; I found two 30 gallon tanks (one with a good solid wooden stand), being sold all together for $20 because the tanks had been left to stand, full of water, in an abandoned rental house, so they were absolutely encrusted with nasty, nasty crusted-on algae. So I bought those tanks and stand, scoured the tanks clean, then sold the one tank for $15 and the tank-and-stand for $40. Then, I had $55; bought a 30 gallon bowfront and another 30 gallon bowfront with a stand, sold the one bowfront and traded the bowfront and stand for a larger "leaker" tank; sold that one to someone with a small snake and bought a tall tank and stand where the tank again was filthy so they sold it cheap; etc., etc. I just kept wheeling and dealing and trading, etc., all the way up to the 120g high.

All together, I figured out that I ended up spending about $100 for my current set-up, which includes a 120g high tank with a big solid wooden cabinet stand, all substrate, a fun climbable castle (that came with one of the aquariums I acquired and cleaned out), water sources, air pumps, etc. All told, it took me about 5 months to work up from the first two filthy 30g's to the 120g high set-up. So you can do this without having to pay thousands for your set-up, if you are willing to kind of hustle about it, not afraid to get your hands dirty, and patient enough to put in the time and wait for the right opportunities. Best wishes!