HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I’m going to fill out the emergency care form

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

I USE ALL ECO EARTH , IT IS ABOUT 3-4 INCHES WICH IS 4x DEEPER THEN MY LARGEST CRAB.

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?

I HAVE BOTH BUT THEY ARE THE HERMIT CRAB CHEAP ONES , I HAVE THEM ON THE BACK WALL OF THE TANK BUT INSIDE THE TANK , THEY USUALLY READ 73 FOR THE TEMP AND 80 FOR THE HUMIDITY

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I HAVE A SMALL UTH ITS ON THE SIDE OF MY TANK BUT IM AFRIAD ITS NOT ENOUGH

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)?

MY CRAB RARLEY GOES IN THE WATER BUT MY OTHER CRABS DO , I USE THE SALTWATER PREMIXED WATER FROM WALMART AND dechlorinated WATER from Walmart . I was getting tired of all caps sorry

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I feed them dried vegetables and nuts with eggshell sometimes and I change it out every other day unless I have fresh food

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

I have all pp and I’ve had this crab for about 3-4 months now maybe more

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

Yes , she has molted and it was for about a month and a half . It was about a month ago when she came back up

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I don’t have a lid I just have plastic wrapped taped down with a towel over it but it’s a 10 gallon glass tank


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

My largest crab is an inch and 2/8 and my smallest crab is 3/8 and the other two are in between both of that . Sandy ( sick one ) is the in between

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

I have 4 extra shells per crab

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

Maybe air refresher however it was on the other side of the room

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I clean my tank every week and I skim through the top of the substrate and throw us away then add a little more to balance it, I wipe off the sides of the tank with a paper towel that damp . I spray the tank everyday with dechlorinated water .

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

Nope

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

Yes , I added new rock corner water dishes and I put new food in from zoo med for reptiles about a week ago .

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.)?

She’s been chirping a lot .i don’t know what it meant but I thought something was wrong . I did check for mites but I didn’t see any .

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

So, My crab has been setting in the same position for about 3 to 4 days now and wouldn’t eat drink or anything , I started to get worried so I picked her up and she was still alive and moving but very gently to I kind had a feeling something was wrong . Also , I forgot to mention that she has been chirping very very loudly for the past month and I could never figure out what was wrong but even then she was still going out every night and being active . So I picked her up again today bc I was getting scared and when I did , my crab wasn’t moving at all, drooping out of her shell like she would be molting but not underground . This has happened before and that one died so I’m scared that this is the same case . I think it might be from the low temperature even tho the others don’t seem to be effected by it . I’ve been trying to get a new one but I haven’t quite gotten enough money for it yet and wasn’t sure how much I really needed it bc it usually stays at 72 but again , I don’t have a digital thermometer so this entire thing is most likely my fault but I need to know what to do. So far , I have put her in a separate bowl with substrate , dry food , and a bunch of shells but I put that bowl in the tank .idk if I should have did that either but I don’t have a separate heater for it so I didn’t think I had a choice .


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Ok so first thing you should do is try to give her some healing foods in the tank, maybe set up an isolation tank for her if she doesn't get better soon so the other crabs won't kill her. You can purchase an accurite thermometer and hygrometer at and hardware store for cheap (I just bought mine at Walmart.) If you have 4 crabs in a 10 gallon tank then you may want to invest in a 20 gallon for them all to have adequate room. They are just about always on sale for $20 at Petco. Even though your crabs are quite small for now they might still fight for dominance. Try not to use anything scented around your crabs, I'm not certain that air freshener would have that bad of an effect on your crab to make her act that sick but better not use it unless you must just to be safe. Maybe just try not to stress her out to much and just observe her often.

Hopefully this helps until someone who has had this happen before help you out.

Still not moving

It’s been 5 days , my hermit crab still isn’t moving . She looks really pale and I can’t tell rather the tank smells different bc the substrate already has a distinct sent to it . She’s still limp like seriously my crab had mold on her!!!! I’m really starting to think she’s dead if so can someone please just tell me so I can take her out . Also I have another question but still need guidance on the other crab. Sooo, I upgraded to a 20 long tank and as I was switching out my hermit crabs I noticed only three were there . I use plastic wrap as a lid until I can get a glass lid and there was a hole in it so I was freaking out and I thought my hermit crab escaped , I started digging through the substrate . You probably know where this is going but I kept digging and I found her at the very bottom of the tank with a half exoskeleton beside here I stopped digging after I saw that and put a little bit of dirt back on top just enough to not kill her I PRAY AND HOPE I left her in the old tank with a heater. This was all last night so there’s no telling how long it will take until she’s done and I’m afraid I killed her . I’ve been so stressed out lately of everything happening bc their tank wasn’t getting enough heat so this and my crab being limp is just the frosting on the cake for me . So please someone help

If the crab is limp and moldy, it is most likely dead.

The crab you dug up, do you remember where it is? Even just a little dirt can injure it if it’s still soft from a molt. A hide or half-bottle would be better than covering it back up.


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

I USE ALL ECO EARTH , IT IS ABOUT 3-4 INCHES WICH IS 4x DEEPER THEN MY LARGEST CRAB.
Curly - Your sub should be at lease 6 inches deep. Is it sand castle consistency? Many of us use a mixture of 5 parts play sand to 1 part EE.

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?

I HAVE BOTH BUT THEY ARE THE HERMIT CRAB CHEAP ONES , I HAVE THEM ON THE BACK WALL OF THE TANK BUT INSIDE THE TANK , THEY USUALLY READ 73 FOR THE TEMP AND 80 FOR THE HUMIDITY
Curly - Are you able to purchase a digital one? The Acurite aren't very expensive (even here is Canada I got one for less than ten bucks). Digital are more accurate than analog. The care sheets also detail how to calibrate a hygrometer to ensure it is accurate.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I HAVE A SMALL UTH ITS ON THE SIDE OF MY TANK BUT IM AFRIAD ITS NOT ENOUGH
Curly - Your temp is a bit low. 75-80 would be ideal. Could you get another small one? In my situation (room temps vary greatly between seasons), I have four UTH's - one on each side and two on the back. I can plug/ unplug them to keep the heat in the right range. Some UTH's can be insulated over top (the ones that are not sticky), but others can not (if they have a sticky side that holds them to the tank). You can insulate the sides that the sticky ones are not on, and around the heater on that side.

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)?

MY CRAB RARLEY GOES IN THE WATER BUT MY OTHER CRABS DO , I USE THE SALTWATER PREMIXED WATER FROM WALMART AND dechlorinated WATER from Walmart . I was getting tired of all caps sorry
Curly - These are not appropriate waters. You should use a dechlorinator such as Prime (there are other good brands, see the 'water' care sheet); it can be used with tap water or bottled water (distilled bottled water is okay, but spring water needs to be treated). Then you need to use some of that dechlorinated water to mix with Marine salt, such as Instant Ocean (again, there are other brands too, listed on the 'water' care sheet). Even though many products are marketed for hermit crabs, they are not safe.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I feed them dried vegetables and nuts with eggshell sometimes and I change it out every other day unless I have fresh food
Curly - Hermit crabs need a varied diet. Check out the care sheets in the Food section. The need a source of protein and calcium daily. There are safe and unsafe food sheets in the care sheets, as well as the nutrition sheet.

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

I have all pp and I’ve had this crab for about 3-4 months now maybe more

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

Yes , she has molted and it was for about a month and a half . It was about a month ago when she came back up

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I don’t have a lid I just have plastic wrapped taped down with a towel over it but it’s a 10 gallon glass tank


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

My largest crab is an inch and 2/8 and my smallest crab is 3/8 and the other two are in between both of that . Sandy ( sick one ) is the in between
Curly - A ten gallon is okay as long as they are tiny, but you will soon need to upgrade to a larger tank.


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

I have 4 extra shells per crab

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

Maybe air refresher however it was on the other side of the room

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I clean my tank every week and I skim through the top of the substrate and throw us away then add a little more to balance it, I wipe off the sides of the tank with a paper towel that damp . I spray the tank everyday with dechlorinated water .

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

Nope

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

Yes , I added new rock corner water dishes and I put new food in from zoo med for reptiles about a week ago .

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.)?

She’s been chirping a lot .i don’t know what it meant but I thought something was wrong . I did check for mites but I didn’t see any .

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

So, My crab has been setting in the same position for about 3 to 4 days now and wouldn’t eat drink or anything , I started to get worried so I picked her up and she was still alive and moving but very gently to I kind had a feeling something was wrong . Also , I forgot to mention that she has been chirping very very loudly for the past month and I could never figure out what was wrong but even then she was still going out every night and being active . So I picked her up again today bc I was getting scared and when I did , my crab wasn’t moving at all, drooping out of her shell like she would be molting but not underground . This has happened before and that one died so I’m scared that this is the same case . I think it might be from the low temperature even tho the others don’t seem to be effected by it . I’ve been trying to get a new one but I haven’t quite gotten enough money for it yet and wasn’t sure how much I really needed it bc it usually stays at 72 but again , I don’t have a digital thermometer so this entire thing is most likely my fault but I need to know what to do. So far , I have put her in a separate bowl with substrate , dry food , and a bunch of shells but I put that bowl in the tank .idk if I should have did that either but I don’t have a separate heater for it so I didn’t think I had a choice .
Curly - That sounds like a fine way to isolate her from the other crabs, which was the right thing to do.

It’s been 5 days , my hermit crab still isn’t moving . She looks really pale and I can’t tell rather the tank smells different bc the substrate already has a distinct sent to it . She’s still limp like seriously my crab had mold on her!!!! I’m really starting to think she’s dead if so can someone please just tell me so I can take her out . Also I have another question but still need guidance on the other crab. Sooo, I upgraded to a 20 long tank and as I was switching out my hermit crabs I noticed only three were there . I use plastic wrap as a lid until I can get a glass lid and there was a hole in it so I was freaking out and I thought my hermit crab escaped , I started digging through the substrate . You probably know where this is going but I kept digging and I found her at the very bottom of the tank with a half exoskeleton beside here I stopped digging after I saw that and put a little bit of dirt back on top just enough to not kill her I PRAY AND HOPE I left her in the old tank with a heater. This was all last night so there’s no telling how long it will take until she’s done and I’m afraid I killed her . I’ve been so stressed out lately of everything happening bc their tank wasn’t getting enough heat so this and my crab being limp is just the frosting on the cake for me . So please someone help
Curly - Once you have dug up a crab, you can not re-bury it. You need to dig it back out and isolate it immediately from the other crabs. Did you get more / another UTH for the larger tank? Are the temp and humidity good in it? If so, you can iso it in that tank. Or if you can keep the 10 gallon at a good temp and humidity, you can leave it in that tank. It should be in the dark with it's exo. Until it has eaten all the exo, it doesn't need any other food or water. But you could put just a little bottle cap of fresh and salt waters in there with it, and some good healing foods, calcium, and protein. Interrupting a molting crab is dangerous, your crab may or may not pull through. We can give you more advice as time goes on with it.
As for the first crab, it may have just run out of energy. You do have a few things that can be improved in your tank. But they are generally not kept in good conditions before we get them, if we buy crabs from a pet store or kiosk. Many do not survive, even if we have perfect conditions - once they run out of energy stores, they just can't keep living. Be sure to read through the care sheets, there is a ton of really good info in them.