HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions by coping and pasting this list into a New Topic. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. Thanks!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

6-8" of all EE, no sand currently

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

Yes, middle. 75* 75% humidity

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

Yes, uth pad on the back

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

Yes, salt and fresh. All living things declorinator and saltwater treatments.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Cooked shrimp, eggshells, pellet food, veggies, dried fruit salad every 24-48 hrs

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

4mo PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

Unknown

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

29 gal glass terrarium. Mesh lid with plastic wrap on it.


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

5 PP all in shells under 1.5"

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

14 all different sizes currently

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Every 3 or 4 days. Scoop out any mold or fecies I can see. Also remove any dragged off food I can find.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

A climbing structure made of boiled/cleaned cholla, lizard lounger twine climbing net. A moss pit made from a plastic corner shelf, and I use zoo med terrarium moss.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Came home to crab out of shell walking around the tank. I put more shells near it. Hasnt really looked at any new shells. Hid in coconut hide after I opened the tank.

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1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

6-8" of all EE, no sand currently

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

Yes, middle. 75* 75% humidity

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

Yes, uth pad on the back

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

Yes, salt and fresh. All living things declorinator and saltwater treatments.
Curly - I don't think those are correct. See the 'water' care sheet for the proper dechlorinator and marine salt brands:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=92553
Pools/ dishes need to be deep enough that crabs can fully submerge, but also have a way to climb out.


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Cooked shrimp, eggshells, pellet food, veggies, dried fruit salad every 24-48 hrs
Curly - Commercial pellet food is not safe, even though it is marketed for crabs. Crabs require a variety of foods in order to get all the nutrients the need. Variety is key. Check out the 'food' care sheet for info on proper nutrition, and the safe/ unsafe foods list. They can eat many of the same things as we do, as long as it is organic and does not contain preservatives/ additives. Crabs need protein and calcium daily.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

4mo PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

Unknown
Curly - Have you noticed that he disappeared under the sub for a while? Or has he always been above ground?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

29 gal glass terrarium. Mesh lid with plastic wrap on it.


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

5 PP all in shells under 1.5"

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

14 all different sizes currently
Curly - HCA recommends 3 to 5 extra shells per crab. There are proper and improper shells to buy, be sure to check the 'shells' care sheet.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Every 3 or 4 days. Scoop out any mold or fecies I can see. Also remove any dragged off food I can find.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

A climbing structure made of boiled/cleaned cholla, lizard lounger twine climbing net. A moss pit made from a plastic corner shelf, and I use zoo med terrarium moss.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Came home to crab out of shell walking around the tank. I put more shells near it. Hasnt really looked at any new shells. Hid in coconut hide after I opened the tank.
Curly - A crab will go naked if it is too weak to carry it's shell. A naked crab will die and needs to be re-shelled asap. Put the crab into a bowl with a mm or two of fresh water, and three or four appropriate sized shells. Cover the bowl for an hour and see if he has gone into a shell on his own. If not, you will need to very gently rinse the crab and manually put him into a shell. He should be isolated from the other crabs, because they can hurt or kill him in his weakened state. You can iso him in the main tank, using a cut down 2L pop bottle, or margarine container with air holes cut in (that way he's still in the proper conditions, but safe from the other crabs). He will need healing foods, protein, and calcium.

Now that I have upgraded from a 5 gallon to 10 to finally 20 long... I agree with @curlysister ... I'm not sure if you have an iso tank available with adequate heat/humidity/sub, but crab out of shell isn't a good sign (you know this or wouldn't be posting in emergency forum).

I'm not familiar with all living things fresh and saltwater. Your crabs should have dechlorinated freshwater and dechlor water with a marine saltwater (1/2 cup Instant Ocean per gallon). I have a gallon of each freshwater and saltwater and is likely more cost effective than what you are using at the moment.

As for food, get rid of any commercial pellets and be sure to always offer protein and calcium along with variety. I purchased a few dry goods for convenience and weekend aways from the hermit crab patch.

Is your sub moistened to sandcastle consistency? Figured I'd ask. I've had my first successful molt in all EE moistened with Aquafina (this was a temp setup). I wasn't sure if my molter was a PP or E so have all kinds of shells, some heavier to carry than others. Now that I am certain all are PPs, I ordered 16 turbos from Naples. Lighter to cary around if crab is weak and a preference for the species.

I'd fix some of the things that are fixable for your other guys. As for the emergency crab, I'd put in iso tank with adequate substrate, offer healing foods, proper sized and also proper type of shell. Also, whatever shell this crab was in should be offered back as well if that's where the crab has been comfortable for this long.

Their abdomens are sensitive and your crab is now susceptible to any attacks from others. There are many posts RE crabs out of shell which may help. Just trying to figure out why your crab would go out of shell to begin with. Now that he's out, offer what you have available that's appropriate and keep away from the others.

While I'm fairly new, await advice from those more experienced, but wanted to offer what I could and what I'd do given the circumstances. Best of luck!

It was too late, it didnt make it through the night. Although, there is no evidence the other crabs went near it.

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I'm so sorry for your loss.

Sorry. Anything you were able to pinpoint as a possible issue? Lots of good people here with great advice. Sometimes these things are just not avoidable though.

No, it certainly came on really sudden but I'm suspicious our crabs are not coming out at all. Even for food, water... I'm putting out some cooked shrimp for them tonight. Its solid white and if any touch it I'll be able to see substrate on it by tomorow. Ive done everything Ive read about except switch to a complete organic diet which I'm not really able to do with my schedule. I rarely eat organic myself.

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I hear ya with scheduling. It only cost me like $20 or so to get some dry foods from the hermit crab patch (base food, protein, calcium). Between my work schedule and traveling on weekends, the dry food is great to have. They all love the basic hermit crab food and the surf and turf.

Anyway, if everything is good per HCA care guides, I don't see the need to go all organic. They are scavengers in the wild. Think a variety might help. The shrimp sounds like a good idea as you'd think the smell would help. Don't pull it out too soon either. They won't mind if it's been sitting for a day. I'd pull it after that though.

Right now I have some of the dry food in there with some carrots, plain grilled chicken, and 1/4 boiled egg with shell. Can't always do that so was glad to find some quality dry foods.

Guessing you aren't seeing any substrate in the fresh or saltwater either? Def give us an update when you can! Once I received the dry food, along with being able to share my own food, they've really enjoyed the variety. Good luck with the others!

Cottman26 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 18, 2019 9:25 pm

No, it certainly came on really sudden but I'm suspicious our crabs are not coming out at all. Even for food, water... I'm putting out some cooked shrimp for them tonight. Its solid white and if any touch it I'll be able to see substrate on it by tomorow. Ive done everything Ive read about except switch to a complete organic diet which I'm not really able to do with my schedule. I rarely eat organic myself.

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As I stated, you need to get rid of the pellet food.
Also you need to have proper dechlorinated fresh and salt water.

curlysister wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:25 pm

As I stated, you need to get rid of the pellet food.
Also you need to have proper dechlorinated fresh and salt water.

Agreed the food and water are high priority. Pretty much goes for most living things lol. I believe it has been mentioned, but stop at the pet store and buy seachem prime dechlorinator and Instant Ocean marine salt. I have a 1 gallon freshwater container and a 1 gallon saltwater container. Both were dechlor with prime with the Instant Ocean added after to the gallon saltwater on standby (1/2 cup). It's relatively cheap stuff and will last a LONG time.

As for the food, please read what I've written in my previous post. I do not do Etsy, so went with the hermit crab patch and am extremely happy. I was sent a free sample of worm castings with the hermit crab basic diet, surf and turf (protein), and crushed oyster shells (calcium). For the amount I received, this was also relatively inexpensive. Think I only put 20 bucks on my card for the food and now have all of the above. The pellets need to go ASAP even with some supplementing with 'real' food. The small amounts I purchased seem like they will last a long while as well.

In reality, once you have everything you need... the expenses are very minimum. Even starting with the basics; still relatively cheap to get what you need for the crabs to thrive rather than struggle just to survive which is an all to unfortunate reality for these guys. Glad you found this forum. Full of great information and experiences!

Keep us posted if you can!

Edit: Besides the few things mentioned, it seems you have most of the correct setup complete. It's late and thought I was replying to a different poster, but will leave it all as it may help ya out and the extra may help out others lurking.