HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi all. Long time lurker, but now I have a possible emergency.

I've had hermits for about 4 years now. I have a few from a pet store that I have been able to nurture through multiple molts. It made me sad that they are taken from the wild, so I stopped buying but I'm willing to rescue hermits that need a home.

My stepson contacted me last night that his boss had gotten some hermits while at the beach and realized he couldn't care for them. So he had contacted my stepson since he knows that we will help put on these kinds of situations. Crabs got home today.

I had assumed that they were purchased from a pet store. When I saw their shells, I realized that these weren't pet store crabs. Turns out they were picked up on the beach! Sepson's boss was collecting shells on the beach in NC and realized later that he found these guys.

They look a lot like Ecuardorians from the photos. But I'm not sure. It is possibly blew that they are local land crabs or got swept up here in the recent storms. Their pincher claws are evenly sized. Their color is greenish and striped. I can't get a photo because they are shy.

Any ideas of if they are land crabs or water crabs? We set up a new hermit tank this afternoon for them but my stepson can put them in a salt tank if they should be there instead.

I'm glad to answer any questions if you think that would help us to put them in the right place. Thank you!

Could you get a photo even if they tucked into their shells. To me, it sounds like a marine hermit since land hermit crabs arent striped.

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CaptainTheDog wrote:Hi all. Long time lurker, but now I have a possible emergency.

I've had hermits for about 4 years now. I have a few from a pet store that I have been able to nurture through multiple molts. It made me sad that they are taken from the wild, so I stopped buying but I'm willing to rescue hermits that need a home.

My stepson contacted me last night that his boss had gotten some hermits while at the beach and realized he couldn't care for them. So he had contacted my stepson since he knows that we will help put on these kinds of situations. Crabs got home today.

I had assumed that they were purchased from a pet store. When I saw their shells, I realized that these weren't pet store crabs. Turns out they were picked up on the beach! Sepson's boss was collecting shells on the beach in NC and realized later that he found these guys.

They look a lot like Ecuardorians from the photos. But I'm not sure. It is possibly blew that they are local land crabs or got swept up here in the recent storms. Their pincher claws are evenly sized. Their color is greenish and striped. I can't get a photo because they are shy.

Any ideas of if they are land crabs or water crabs? We set up a new hermit tank this afternoon for them but my stepson can put them in a salt tank if they should be there instead.

I'm glad to answer any questions if you think that would help us to put them in the right place. Thank you!

They're marine crabs. Sounds like thin stripes. They need to go back to the ocean or into a cycled, setup marine aquarium that is large enough to house multiple marine hermits.

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soilentgringa wrote:

CaptainTheDog wrote:Hi all. Long time lurker, but now I have a possible emergency.

I've had hermits for about 4 years now. I have a few from a pet store that I have been able to nurture through multiple molts. It made me sad that they are taken from the wild, so I stopped buying but I'm willing to rescue hermits that need a home.

My stepson contacted me last night that his boss had gotten some hermits while at the beach and realized he couldn't care for them. So he had contacted my stepson since he knows that we will help put on these kinds of situations. Crabs got home today.

I had assumed that they were purchased from a pet store. When I saw their shells, I realized that these weren't pet store crabs. Turns out they were picked up on the beach! Sepson's boss was collecting shells on the beach in NC and realized later that he found these guys.

They look a lot like Ecuardorians from the photos. But I'm not sure. It is possibly blew that they are local land crabs or got swept up here in the recent storms. Their pincher claws are evenly sized. Their color is greenish and striped. I can't get a photo because they are shy.

Any ideas of if they are land crabs or water crabs? We set up a new hermit tank this afternoon for them but my stepson can put them in a salt tank if they should be there instead.

I'm glad to answer any questions if you think that would help us to put them in the right place. Thank you!

They're marine crabs. Sounds like thin stripes. They need to go back to the ocean or into a cycled, setup marine aquarium that is large enough to house multiple marine hermits.

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They are thin stripes. Just saw the photos.

If you use Instant Ocean and an extra tank, even a 5 or 10 gallon, mix up a few gallons of saltwater and put them in that. They will survive for a few days until they can be returned to the ocean or have homes found.

I have 2 of them that I rescued. They are fully aquatic and will die if left on land.

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Thank you. I had put them in a traditional land crab tank last night. I will put them in some salt water for today, then my stepson will put them in his established salt tank tonight. I feel sorry for them and I don't know how long they've been out of the water. So hopefully we can get them settled and safe today.

We once had someone find a pair of crabs in their backyard and it took nearly a month to line up a home for them. To the adopter's surprise, they were thin striped! So long as they have good humidity levels and good food they can hang in there for a long time. (In a stroke of luck the adopter had a saltwater tank so it worked out perfectly and the crabs were okay!)

Thanks again for the advice.

I put both crabs in a salt water pool for the day. I don't have filtration but I used some rocks so they could climb up just in case. Turns out that they been out of the water for a few days already. They were picked out of a tidal pool. Their finder had checked for crabs but didn't find them in there. So they may have been dry for a few days already.

Unfortunately, only one made it through the day. The good news is that my stepson picked him up tonight and could see that he is definitely a salt water crab. Stepson already has a few in his tank and will properly move him there. So fingers crossed that he makes it!

Your help was really appreciated.

I'm glad your son has them in a good home. I was just in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago, and people were finding all kinds of hermit crabs, mostly marine. Of course it was during Tropical Storm Maria, but they were putting them back. Keep us updated on how the survivor is doing! BTW what beach? I live in NC and am curious so I can keep a look out next trip next year!