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 as best you can. 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. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Eco coconut fiber 30 gallon tank 8" deep


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? Gauge is mounted on the side of the tank 1/2 way up reads 80% humidity and 75 degrees


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes, a heat mat mounted outside the back of the tank


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)? Fresh water is bottled spring water, salt water is made with spring water and instant ocean


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Canned rivershrimp, Pellet diet, crunchies, crab cakes, fruit salad, hermit crab patch basic diet, mineral supplement, dried scrambled shrimp, jurassidiet formula, calcium supplement, banana chips, coconut flakes


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? 8 - 9 years, largest last one, Sharky, is purple


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? They have all molted many times, only one for sure is Sharky and he molted about 4 months ago


8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 30 gallon tank with a plexiglass lid with holes cut in it


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? The only one I see is Sharky and he is in a shell with 1 1/4" opening. The one I think Sharky killed while molting was in a 1 1/8" shell.


10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 8 shells


11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No


12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Spot clean every 4 months completely clean out every year or so with white vinegar rinsing with salt water, boiling climbing tree, shells, toys and dishes in salt water and putting in new substrate.


13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? no, they never liked, just barried them.


14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? no


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.)? no


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. Bought 4 tiny crabs 8 years ago. They all molted several times. 4 - 5 years ago one hermie went down to molt and never came up, never smelled, found empty shell when cleaning tank. Same thing happened again 3 years ago. Have only had the two left and they molted and grew to 1 1/8" & 1 1/4" shell openings. Pinky went down to molt 2 months ago, last week I found the food dish overturned and saw Pinky's legs poking up out of the hole under the food dish. I believe I saw them move but quickly put dish back. 2 days later I replaced the food and saw Pinky's body but no shell in site, looked scriveled up but wasn't sure if dead or the exo so covered with dirt. Yesterday I saw Pinky's shell in the crabby hut but didn't touch. I picked the shell up today and it was empty so I checked here I had covered the exo/dead body and it was still there but ordorless. Sharky must have dug up Pinky's shell and moved it into the hut.

Is it possibly that Sharky has been getting to the others while they were molting and vulnerable and the only reason Pinky's body was not eaten is because it was so large? Is it possible the Pinky found a new shell and is still under somewhere and it is the exo I see? I don't want to leave Sharky all alone but I'm concerned that If I get more hermies they will be so small and get eaten when they go down to molt.


.

Well, it is true that a molter is a free meal to another crab; that is just one reason why keeping these animals in captivity is so tragic.

Do you know exactly how many shells you have in the tank (counting those on crabs)? If you do, you can count them and see if one is missing. If so, that one may now be on Pinky, and Pinky may be underground trying to finish molting--possibly Sharky just stole Pinky's shell, but Pinky re-shelled into another and still is somewhere else.

If Pinky was down under the food dish with no shell, then Pinky was in bad shape (a naked crab is always an emergency and usually means the crab is near death).

I can't see anything obviously wrong with your conditions, but it might be that you don't have enough "good shells" (from the crabs' point of view; we can't tell what they think is a "good" shell, necessarily), so maybe there was some conflict with Sharky wanting Pinky's shell, maybe attacking Pinky for it and stealing it, leaving Pinky naked.

Something isn't quite right, to have this long track record of losing them one at a time over years, but I'm not quite seeing it just yet. Let's see what some of the other long-term crabbers have to say.

I'm thinking shells could be the problem too (because I don't see anything else). I probably have about 40 in my big tank just to make sure everyone is happy. If it's not that, then your other crab may just want to be a loner.
If you do eventually decide to get another crab, getting a much bigger or smaller one might be better. That way they wouldn't have to "compete" for similar sized shells.
I'm sorry you have to go through all this.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Thank you all so much, I think you both are right about the shells. Sharky moved Pinky's shell around but didn't move in. They have stayed in the same shells they have been in for a couple years. They try others out but just move right back into the same ones. I will get more shells in different shapes and sizes and get some more babies once I know for sure Pinky passed.

Definitely do not add more crabs until you are sure nobody is molting. And let me beg you, if you do decide to get Sharky another buddy, to adopt rather than buy; buying crabs only encourages the cruel and ecologically disastrous practice of "wild-harvesting" crabs; a process which results in the deaths of nearly all of the crabs collected, and leaves their delicate island ecosystems in unbalanced peril. Best wishes to you and Sharky--and, with hope, Pinky!

Good luck with everything!
And yes, adopting is def the way to go! I've adopted/rescued 16 crabbies. The last crab I bought from a pet store passed away in 2019. I had her for 5 years. I only have one store bought crab left and I've had him for 9 years.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

I am not sure if it would work dep on your tank but I read about a 2 liter trick..you cut the bottle to be smooth of course and place over the molter, make sure they have food water, keep lid of liter off for air. I think it would dep on your set up if it would even work. I would research it more or ask CL77 they seem very knowledgeable on other questions I've read

I would like to note about the adopt vs. buy situation that crabs that you can buy at the store are often so sick they die within a couple days, and if you are lucky they make it that long, they usually don't last more than 6 months to a year. This is because of the cruelty of the hermit crab "trade", they get so injured, depressed, sick, neglected, and malnourished that they die most of the time. Now there are a lot of circumstances that you can buy a crab from a store and nurse it back to health and have it live for years, like in CrabbyLover's case, but the majority of store-bought hermit crabs live sad lives...
Adoption gives hermit crabs a second chance, and doesn't help the hermit crab "trade".

HermieBingo wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:39 pm

I would like to note about the adopt vs. buy situation that crabs that you can buy at the store are often so sick they die within a couple days, and if you are lucky they make it that long, they usually don't last more than 6 months to a year. This is because of the cruelty of the hermit crab "trade", they get so injured, depressed, sick, neglected, and malnourished that they die most of the time. Now there are a lot of circumstances that you can buy a crab from a store and nurse it back to health and have it live for years, like in CrabbyLover's case, but the majority of store-bought hermit crabs live sad lives...
Adoption gives hermit crabs a second chance, and doesn't help the hermit crab "trade".

Well said, 'Bingo!

HermieBingo wrote:I would like to note about the adopt vs. buy situation that crabs that you can buy at the store are often so sick they die within a couple days, and if you are lucky they make it that long, they usually don't last more than 6 months to a year. This is because of the cruelty of the hermit crab "trade", they get so injured, depressed, sick, neglected, and malnourished that they die most of the time. Now there are a lot of circumstances that you can buy a crab from a store and nurse it back to health and have it live for years, like in CrabbyLover's case, but the majority of store-bought hermit crabs live sad lives...
Adoption gives hermit crabs a second chance, and doesn't help the hermit crab "trade".

Yeah, my Beau and Katrina were def an exception as to how long they survived. Once Katrina died, I committed to never buying a crab again. So Beau is my lone store purchase from 9 years ago.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Dead crabs from the store while common, does not equate to all crabs from the store living for a short period of time. This means that all our hermies (even if adopted) would only live for a short time frame, as captive breeding efforts aren't sustainable for commercial trade at this point in time. I would say longevity in captivity ultimately depends on how long the crab was in sub-standard conditions and how bad those conditions were. For me, some of my longest lived crabs are pet store purchases compared to adopting, and that may be due to luck, a good eye (tended to buy the active ones unless I had an emotional connection) or I knew a recent shipment came in.

While we do encourage to adopt, I will mention that at HCA we do not make anyone a pariah simply for buying as we understand that one may not be able to adopt for many reasons. Buying isn't "bad", however you are reducing pressures on wild populations when adopting (the issue is they are so understudied that there's no data on population size minus reports on lack of hermit crabs in areas that were once plentiful, which is likely to be due to human activity (climate change and pollution).


~~~~~~\~~~\~~~~~~
I will mention, if you can increase variety in the diet, particularly in the produce and meat departments (table scraps from your meals are acceptable!) Will greatly increase variety and ensure all nutritional needs are being met. The issue I see is the lack of variety, particularly with unprocessed foods (such as undried foods).

I want to share a quick story to provide some hope…always stay hopeful until you know for sure, these little creatures can surprise you!

Hermione was down for her first molt with me. I was certain she was under for a molt bc it had been a while and she was not coming up at night bc I have cameras on them.

One day I saw another crab in her shell. Was certain it was hers bc it was very unique. I thought for sure if Turbo was in Hermione’s shell, it meant Hermione was a goner.

Well, a couple more weeks passed and Hermione came up…in a different shell! I knew it was her bc of her unique coloring.

My point is that I just knew Turbo had found her molting and eaten her and took her shell…or stole her shell and left her shell-less to die. I still have no idea what happened, but they are both still with me today, happy and healthy!

Keep the hope! Best wishes!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk