Hermit Crab lost 2 legs

[22pony22]

I’m hoping they dig down then. I will be gone Friday to Friday. So, roughly, 8 days.








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[Hermiesguardian]

I’m hoping they dig down then. I will be gone Friday to Friday. So, roughly, 8 days.


Leave them only dry food and plenty extra. Make sure the pools are filled. Make sure heat/humidity is stable. Do you have cameras?





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[22pony22]

No


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[curlysister]

Many of us have done what HG suggests, fill up the water bowls and give dry food only the morning that you leave. The food will be moldy when you get back, but that's okay. 8 nights is the most I have left my crabs, but others have left them for a bit longer.

[22pony22]

Ok, I’ll definitely do that, food dish can definitely hold the extra food. I’ve got repti rock water dishes size small. They are filled right to the top now. How often would they normally need to be changed? Hoping I get non insanely messy hermit crabs if that’s even a thing. My plan is to feed the same mixture of food that I fed to this one. But also try the canned bugs, baby food and fresh foods. How long did it take your crab to get use to it? I tried to feed that Hermy couple days after I bought him. and he literally shoved it to the side

In the past, I’ve left my single Betta fish male for a week. I fed him the day we left and got back. I’ve never used those Betta feeding blocks and probably won’t with this guy cause he’s super picky.




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[22pony22]

I was just reading other people's questions on the food board:

1) Can the dog/cat treats that contain only one ingredient (ex- Pure-Bites, Benny Bully) be given to hermit crabs? I buy the beef liver ones for my dog and was wondering if hermit crabs can eat those. Any particular ones that are okay to feed/ would the cat fishy ones be better? Or best to just buy the dog ones only for my dog.

2) Top Fin Alage thins-I bought them for my snail when it was alive--because snail was eating frog food before the frog. I bought the larger sized bag and the snail hated it. Can hermit crabs eat that? (would not be the only thing in the dish) How much to feed if it can be given?

I'm just about to head to the PetStore today to get more zilla varieties--I've already got the fruit mix. I think I'm going to get the veggie/fruit mix (has a bird on package) and the omnivore mix.

Decided that I would get some storage bins with locking lids to store the bag of instant ocean in and I found a two bins in one at Homedepot website. Crossing my fingers I can find them in store!

[aussieJJDude]

1. Yes, the single ingredients can.

2. A little tricky. I think its better to pass, a lot of the cheaper fish foods contain plenty of fillers. (I give my crabs some New Life Spectrum here and there, as well as frozen foods)


The locking bin is a good idea. When its in constant avcess to the air, it absorbs moisture and begins to all become one big chunk- and very time consuming to break apart. I have mind in a locking bucket (got a bucket worth of marine salt, enough to do 150g) and found it so much easier to do rhe saltwater once I manage to pry the lid off..
Its like sand.

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[22pony22]

I had quite a successful shopping trip today. I bought two 14L bins that lock--one for salt and the other for my coco fibre. I bought a smaller one for my boxes of moss. At the PetSmart I bought a Hydrometer (from Fluvial Company) for mixing up the instant ocean because my math skills suck. 2 shells--I examined every shell at the store and these were the only two that I liked. If the crab hates my shell buying skills not big deal they weren't overly expensive. I bought Zilla Small animal mix and Zilla Omnivore mix--made a complete mess of the shelves looking for the best expire date. Also bought Fluker freeze dried grasshoppers--again made huge mess of store shelves looking for the best one. And even after doing all that-- managed to get to the hot drink shop to meet my friend for hot chocolate on time. Now just to re-type my hermit crab quick reference sheet and figure out their menu.

Any particular freeze dried dog/cat treats I should look at?

[22pony22]

Does anyone know anything about “thrive pillow moss”? I’ve been using zoo med frog moss which is a type of pillow moss

What about “thrive fruit mix” it’s a new product but I think is like zilla fruit mix. All the zilla fruit mixes are marked down/ on clearance because they are expiring/ have expired. Don’t want to buy clearance markdown since there’s no way they will be able to eat it that fast

I emailed Florida marine research wondering why they sell round wire cages and tiny tote boxes for apparently two crabs to live in. Hoping they respond to my email.

Also hoping that the hermit crab patch gets those shell packages back in stock soon. Definitely going to order them when they do.

My Petsmart got new shipment of crabs in on Wednesday and they are going fast. I’m crossing my fingers that they get more crabs in for March. Going to call and ask them cause customer service people that answer emails are idiots they never answer your actual question they just apologize.

Can the pink repti-cal be used as calcium for hermit crabs? I’ve been using a different type and bottles are tiny. they are the same price as the crab itself which is hilarious. The manufactures of repti-calcium (zoo med) told me they never tested their calcium supplement with hermit crabs. Does anyone here use that?

I’m still just doing tons of research so everything will be perfect when I get my new crabs in March. I’ve still got Hermy in the tank but I still don’t know if he’s alive or dead . Hasn’t done anything since December 20-24th.






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[22pony22]

One more question- I’ve been using repti safe water conditioner in my misting bottle. I was wondering if tetra’s aqua safe plus can be used as well? Just trying to use up a couple of bottles I have left over from my frog tank. I’ve been using little bit here and there in my Betta tank but I still have one bottle that is unopened. Could I use it in my misting bottle which is the same thing I take water from when I’m doing anything with my sub.


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[Scarletfire]

I had quite a successful shopping trip today. I bought two 14L bins that lock--one for salt and the other for my coco fibre. I bought a smaller one for my boxes of moss. At the PetSmart I bought a Hydrometer (from Fluvial Company) for mixing up the instant ocean because my math skills suck. 2 shells--I examined every shell at the store and these were the only two that I liked. If the crab hates my shell buying skills not big deal they weren't overly expensive. I bought Zilla Small animal mix and Zilla Omnivore mix--made a complete mess of the shelves looking for the best expire date. Also bought Fluker freeze dried grasshoppers--again made huge mess of store shelves looking for the best one. And even after doing all that-- managed to get to the hot drink shop to meet my friend for hot chocolate on time. Now just to re-type my hermit crab quick reference sheet and figure out their menu.

Any particular freeze dried dog/cat treats I should look at?

If it is a plastic hydrometer, it is extremely inaccurate. If you haven't opened it yet, I suggest returning that and purchasing a refractometer instead. Alternatively, you could go for a kitchen balance to measure the amount of salt you need as per directions for instant ocean. I see that you're in southern Ontario. We have some pretty limiting choices for shells, so the best shells are typically purchased from Florida (i.e. Naples or Shell Store) and we get killed on shipping. Smaller green turbo shell sizes (up to 1/2") can usually be found in a shell gift bag / beach related crafting stores. What size shell opening do you need?

Food, you need to read the label to see if they added any preservatives. If they do, chuck it. Because crabs are invertebrates, any preservatives are like poison and is harmful to them. Freeze dried anything is typically okay as that process doesn't have additives. I have two small bags of freeze dried dog treats (turkey and salmon). Dog food typically has less fat than cat food due to their different diets and metabolism.

Does anyone know anything about “thrive pillow moss”? I’ve been using zoo med frog moss which is a type of pillow moss

What about “thrive fruit mix” it’s a new product but I think is like zilla fruit mix. All the zilla fruit mixes are marked down/ on clearance because they are expiring/ have expired. Don’t want to buy clearance markdown since there’s no way they will be able to eat it that fast

I emailed Florida marine research wondering why they sell round wire cages and tiny tote boxes for apparently two crabs to live in. Hoping they respond to my email.

Also hoping that the hermit crab patch gets those shell packages back in stock soon. Definitely going to order them when they do.

My Petsmart got new shipment of crabs in on Wednesday and they are going fast. I’m crossing my fingers that they get more crabs in for March. Going to call and ask them cause customer service people that answer emails are idiots they never answer your actual question they just apologize.

Can the pink repti-cal be used as calcium for hermit crabs? I’ve been using a different type and bottles are tiny. they are the same price as the crab itself which is hilarious. The manufactures of repti-calcium (zoo med) told me they never tested their calcium supplement with hermit crabs. Does anyone here use that?

I’m still just doing tons of research so everything will be perfect when I get my new crabs in March. I’ve still got Hermy in the tank but I still don’t know if he’s alive or dead . Hasn’t done anything since December 20-24th.

Thrive pillow moss looks like green Sphagnum moss which is expensive. I'm not sure how it retains the green as any dried moss becomes brown. You'll need to look into whether it's artificial sphagnum moss, or if it's actually real moss but dried. If you want sphagnum moss, Northern Gecko (located in Scarborough), was the place with least expensive and highest quantity I found.

Food, similar to above, look for preservatives on the bottle. Don't buy anything that has additives as they are harmful. If you want to get food, go to bulk barn, and $4 got me a huge variety. Some prep work required.

Florida marine research is not a R&D facility; they are like any other pet store that sells everything wrong related to crabs including improper enclosures and painted shells. They cater to businesses that sells crabs in poor conditions. Try to avoid stores like this as they are supporting crabs taken from the wild.

Hermit crab patch is based in the US; Canadian Chubby Crab is out of Brampton. You order any mix you want and they get made per order, which usually takes 1-2 weeks to make depending on how busy she is. Shipping would then be domestic and no extra time required to cross the border. Just another option for you.


It looks like reptical is made of powdered oyster shells with added calcium and vit. D. I'm not sure if that's okay for crabs or not.

Monitor ads in Kijiji for hermit crabs. They're typically brought back from vacation because people realize they're not that active, or kept in poor conditions that leads to them being very inactive. This way, it will avoid supporting the capture of wild hermit crabs.

One more question- I’ve been using repti safe water conditioner in my misting bottle. I was wondering if tetra’s aqua safe plus can be used as well? Just trying to use up a couple of bottles I have left over from my frog tank. I’ve been using little bit here and there in my Betta tank but I still have one bottle that is unopened. Could I use it in my misting bottle which is the same thing I take water from when I’m doing anything with my sub.


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Aqua safe plus neutralizes Chlorine/Chloramine and Heavy Metals and provides a Slime Coat, but does not neutralize ammonia. ReptiSafe neutralizes Chlorine/Chloramine, Ammonia, and provides Slime Coat. Finishing those bottles up should be okay. When you're ready to buy more, I would highly suggest purchasing the smallest bottle of Seachem Prime you can find. When you finish using it, go to Menagerie in Toronto, and they will refill prime for free.

[DevilNDisguise]

One more question- I’ve been using repti safe water conditioner in my misting bottle. I was wondering if tetra’s aqua safe plus can be used as well? Just trying to use up a couple of bottles I have left over from my frog tank. I’ve been using little bit here and there in my Betta tank but I still have one bottle that is unopened. Could I use it in my misting bottle which is the same thing I take water from when I’m doing anything with my sub.


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Repti-Safe doesn't remove heavy metals, and TetraPlus doesn't neutralize ammonia.
If the TetraPlus is used in water just for misting, I don't know if the lack of ammonia being neutralized matters, so I'll let someone else chime in on that.

There's a list of safe water conditioners and what they do for the water further down this post: viewtopic.php?f=127&t=92553

As for your question in the other post about the Repti-Cal calcium, I use that in my hermit crab enclosure for their calcium dish. It's just calcium and vitamin d. I have it on hand for my beardie, so it works out.

[22pony22]

Plastic Hydrometer: I haven't opened it yet cause I'm still doing research on how much salt I need to mix up. I bought it because I was going to check my salt mixing ratio because my math skills aren't the greatest. How inaccurate is it? where to you get a refractometer from? How much?

Shells: I managed to find two turbo shells at my local PetSmart last Wednesday. Label says they are "medium". Don't look medium but, they were the only 2 half decent looking shells at the store. All other shells are those neon zoo med shells, those fancy shells and really narrow turbo shells. Don't know what size of shell opening I will need yet because I have to wait till March to buy my 2 new crabs. My current crab not doing well (he's the crab that the first post was about-- I still have him in the tank because I'm having hard time figuring out if he has indeed died or what).

Food: The pellets I have been mainly using (I have been combining them with Fruit Mix, Meal worms, Crickets and Shrimp) These are the ingredients for the pellets: Fish Meal, Ground Corn, Herring Meal, Dried Whole Egg, Soybean Oil, Shrimp Meal, Fructooligosaccharides, Yeast, Yeast Extract, Artificial Flavors, Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (A Preservative), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate, Canthaxanthin. When I bought my crab initially, the food was branded under "All Living Things" and now it is called "Thrive". I had been feeding a half teaspoon of the pellets which I crush up. I buy my dog the beef liver treats and she just finished the turkey freeze dried.

Moss: I had been buying it from a store called "Pet Paradise" which I don't normally go to I have only ever been to that store twice. Both times I bought Zoo Med's Frog moss. The first time it was 13.99 and the second time it was 10.99. PetSmart has "Thrive-Frog Moss" for 9.99+ tax. The moss I have (zoo med) is brown and when you put it in water it gets all green again.

Florida Marine: I was just looking around on google and I saw picture of one of their hermit crab kits. So, I emailed them expressing my concerns for their horrible products--wire cages, and painted shells.

Hermit Crab Patch: They do ship to Canada. I am just waiting for their shells to go back in stock. I will look into the Canadian Chubby Crab.

Repti Cal: I will read the calcium care guides on here for more information on calcium. I just want to get a larger sized container that will hopefully, last longer when I get my new crabs. I currently have 4 bottles of the calcium powder that I have been using and even with just giving a half teaspoon scoop uses the bottle up fast.

I have been looking on Kijji for hermit crabs but they only really have ads for hermit crab stuff--food, tanks etc.

Aqua Safe Plus: I use different water conditioners for everything in the hopes of dragging it out and possibly getting more use out of it. In my Betta tank I use top fin betta conditioner now being mixed with tetra aqua safe plus and Safe start that I bought for a frog tank but now not keeping frogs anymore. In my hermit crab tank: I've got Repti safe conditioner for my misting bottle, I had been using All living things fresh and salt for water dishes as well as zoo med conditioners. My plan is to use them till they are gone and then use Prime for both and instant ocean for salt.

[Hermiesguardian]

The ingredients for the pellets is full of preservatives. Throw it out. In the long run it will harm your crabs. They eat much of the food we eat. Check out the safe/unsafe food list. Always feed organic if you can.

[22pony22]

If I store my hermit crab supplies (food, extra coco fibre, instant ocean and moss) in an airtight (locking bin) can it be stored on a shelf under my desk near my floor vent? Right now, I have my food bottles bagged in a tiny cupboard near my desk, and my extra coco fibre, instant ocean and moss in locking bins in my closet. I could try and store them under my window seat near my betta stuff but the boxes don't fit that well on the shelves and the shelf I am considering doesn't have doors it is just near my floor vent. Just trying to get my hermit crab stuff out of my closet (because it on the exact opposite side of my room from where the tank is and having to do make saltwater for my tank is going to be a pain with the salt bin in my closet.

** the shelf that the coco fibre (14 L bin) and the salt (14 L bin) is 10 cm above the floor and the food (in smaller bin) and moss (in smaller bin) would be on a shelf that is 36cm above the floor. Right now I have old textbooks and school notes there. If that would be ok for crab tank supply storage--the books would be going into the closet shelf and I'd finally be able to get rid of my moldel horse boxes that my parents are sick of looking at.