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? a mix of sand and the coconut fiber soil.


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, in the middle of the tank they say in the yellow


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
yes, a 3 setting heating pad on the lowest setting (had a cold snap come through so it was an emergency use thing, went to buy one for the tank and the guy at the store said if what I was doing was working then I didn't need to buy one)

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)? I use pre-mix ready-to-use salt water in one dish and 100% spring water in another


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Replaced every night, with fresh meat, fruit, veggies, eggs including the shells, crab cakes and hermit crab variety diet. rice, peanutbutter. (not all at once though.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
One for about 2 months and 3 for about 2 weeks I'm not sure on species

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Not yet, might be now

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon aquriam the lid is hard foam wrapped in tinfoil for now

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 one small 3 medium ish I think

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
9-10 planning on getting bigger ones

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

No
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Pick up food bits daily and freshen waters take poop out as seen

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? yes , is this needed though salt one rinsed with salt water fresh rinsed with fresh water


14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
Just some fake plants

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.)?
I'm new and keep getting conflicting information

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
So I rearranged things in the tank yesterday and noticed one crap hermies was greyish/white this morning all crabs are buried horrible smell in one spot ( not food). Now I keep hearing noises like distress but idk if I should dig to see or not cause I Do NOT WANT TO DISTURB if molting please help

.

Oh and hermies was hanging upside down all day yesterday

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? a mix of sand and the coconut fiber soil.
Curly - Is it moistened so that it holds it's shape? Is it at least 2 - 3 times as deep as your 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? yes, in the middle of the tank they say in the yellow
Curly - What is the 'yellow' zone? Like approx what temp and humidity is that?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
yes, a 3 setting heating pad on the lowest setting (had a cold snap come through so it was an emergency use thing, went to buy one for the tank and the guy at the store said if what I was doing was working then I didn't need to buy one)

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)? I use pre-mix ready-to-use salt water in one dish and 100% spring water in another
Curly - Spring water is kind of a crap shoot, since it isn't regulated, so to be safe it's recommended to use a dechlorinator for it. And the pre-mixed salt water won't harm your crabs, but it doesn't have all the minerals needed for long term health. You will need to get marine salt and mix it with your dechlorinated water to make the salt water.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Replaced every night, with fresh meat, fruit, veggies, eggs including the shells, crab cakes and hermit crab variety diet. rice, peanutbutter. (not all at once though.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
One for about 2 months and 3 for about 2 weeks I'm not sure on species

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Not yet, might be now

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon aquriam the lid is hard foam wrapped in tinfoil for now

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 one small 3 medium ish I think

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
9-10 planning on getting bigger ones
Curly - HCA recommends 3 to 5 extra shells per crab. Be sure to check out the 'shells' care sheet so you get the appropriate types.

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

No
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Pick up food bits daily and freshen waters take poop out as seen

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? yes , is this needed though salt one rinsed with salt water fresh rinsed with fresh water
Curly - You don't need them, and sponges just harbor bacteria. If your dishes are deeper than your crabs, be sure that there is a way for the crabs to climb out so they don't drown.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
Just some fake plants

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.)?
I'm new and keep getting conflicting information

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
So I rearranged things in the tank yesterday and noticed one crap hermies was greyish/white this morning all crabs are buried horrible smell in one spot ( not food). Now I keep hearing noises like distress but idk if I should dig to see or not cause I Do NOT WANT TO DISTURB if molting please help
Curly - If your substrate is deep, you probably won't smell a crab if it dies underground. That said, if a crab dies, it won't harm any other crabs who are under too. But if you dig up a crab who is in a critical stage of it's molt, you could cause harm. Is your substrate deep enough that the crabs won't come across each other while underground?

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? a mix of sand and the coconut fiber soil.
Curly - Is it moistened so that it holds it's shape? Is it at least 2 - 3 times as deep as your largest crab?

Petsgalore- It was, still kind of is the humidity kept getting really high so I have been trying to dry it out a little. And no it is not that deep, I got more that I am going to add to it. When I got them the lady said 2-3 inches of it was enough, apparently it is not deep enough, Is there a safe way to do this if they are buried?

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, in the middle of the tank they say in the yellow
Curly - What is the 'yellow' zone? Like approx what temp and humidity is that?

Petsgalore- the Yellow for the temp is between just above 70F and 80F and humity is between 70 and 85.

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)? I use pre-mix ready-to-use salt water in one dish and 100% spring water in another
Curly - Spring water is kind of a crap shoot, since it isn't regulated, so to be safe it's recommended to use a dechlorinator for it. And the pre-mixed salt water won't harm your crabs, but it doesn't have all the minerals needed for long term health. You will need to get marine salt and mix it with your dechlorinated water to make the salt water.

Petsgalore- Thank you I will be getting those in the next few days.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
9-10 planning on getting bigger ones
Curly - HCA recommends 3 to 5 extra shells per crab. Be sure to check out the 'shells' care sheet so you get the appropriate types.

Petsgalore- I will thank you ( I had originally bought 2 crabs had plenty of shells for those 2, but Hermies killed Mr. Crabs for the one he had) I will also be getting more shells in a few days


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
So I rearranged things in the tank yesterday and noticed one crap hermies was greyish/white this morning all crabs are buried horrible smell in one spot ( not food). Now I keep hearing noises like distress but idk if I should dig to see or not cause I Do NOT WANT TO DISTURB if molting please help
Curly - If your substrate is deep, you probably won't smell a crab if it dies underground. That said, if a crab dies, it won't harm any other crabs who are under too. But if you dig up a crab who is in a critical stage of it's molt, you could cause harm. Is your substrate deep enough that the crabs won't come across each other while underground?

Petsgalore- no I will be adding more substrate today if I can safely do it while they are under. I did see Hermies, Micheal, and Shy last night however I still have not seen Pizza yet. A worker at the pet store also told me not to go bigger than a 20 gallon tank when I mentioned possibly getting a bigger tank since there is more than just 2, is this true? Also, I didn't know they made noises.

You can add substrate while your crabs are underground, just don't drop it in from any height, and don't pack it down.
There is no 'too high' when it comes to humidity - it can safely be 99%. With the humidity really high, things are more prone to mold, but the mold isn't harmful to the crabs, you just remove it when you see it. You can just vent the tank a bit and give more air flow if you want to decrease it - but be careful because then the temperature will also decrease.
There is also no 'too big' when it comes to tanks, LOL. You can have as big as you want! There is 'too small' - if a tank is too crowded, there won't be enough room for crabs to safely molt. There is a care sheet that tells how many crabs of what size you can have safely in what size of tank.