HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi,

I am worried about my hermit crab, Blue. I bought him and another crab (who has passed already, sadly) 2 weeks ago from Petsmart to get my 3-year-old crab, Adam Sandler, some buddies. The first and second day he was very active and moving and exploring. Then he started sitting under the log, and I thought he was just asleep because they are nocturnal. Now, he is VERY inactive. Stays in his shell at all times, does not move for hours at a time. This has been going on for a few days. I have tried moving him, dipping in water, but afterwards he just stays wherever I moved him to. A few minutes before writing this post I saw Adam Sandler flipped him over and was on top of him. I tried getting Blue wet and flipped him so that he can adjust himself. I know he is alive. He is in the same position I left him in and is moving slightly.

I have a 20 gallon tank with a mix of play sand and eco earth. The temp is usually from 78-80 deg F and the humidity is around 90%. I use a heating pad on the back of the tank. I have both types of water available and the water is treated with Seachem prime. I redid the entire tank because of a previous mite infestation, but that was before I got Blue. I feed them food mixes from SouthOfTheOcean and sometimes some fruit.

Crabs go through a lot before we get them. He may have been in less than ideal conditions for quite a while. Even if you get him into good conditions, he will still be suffering the effects of the poor ones.
If there is any aggression, you will want to keep them separated. Stop trying to get him to move by messing with him, all that will do is stress him out more. Be sure to offer good quality foods, including protein and calcium, and you can give some high energy foods like peanut butter and honey.