Adopted an orphaned crab, doesn't look great

[Monkeydude]

Hello all. My wife works for a college and while checking up on a resident's rooms found a poor abandoned hermit crab. I adopted him and am trying to take care of him, but could use some advice. I thought the crab had just molted, as there were body parts in the tank (a leg and a claw), but now I'm reading that this is a stress reaction due to poor conditions. The crab had no heat or moisture in the cage, or water either, and now I'm thinking that he is in some pretty poor shape. I guess what I'm asking is, do you think it's worth it for me to run to the pet store and buy like $100 worth of stuff and a friend for him if he's dropping body parts like this? Can he recover? I bought him new sand and got a sponge for humidity. The temperature is now 70 - 75 degrees and the humidity is 75%. He isn't moving a ton but looks ok, moving his antennae (?) a lot. I'd like to give this little guy a good home, but I'd like to know if he isn't in poor enough shape already (that sounds kind of terrible writing it). Thanks.

[soilentgringa]

Hi and welcome! Check out the care guides linked here:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92457

After reading the info, feel free to ask if you have any additional questions.

[soilentgringa]

He can regrow the limbs. The temperature needs to be around 80°F and humidity above 70%. They need dechlorinated waters, both fresh, and salt made with a marine grade salt mix.

Sorry I don't have much time to go into detail but the guide linked above tells you everything you need to know.

[Monkeydude]

Thanks for the reply and the link. I'll do my best to give Oliver a shot (most famous orphan I could think of).

One more question: if I buy another crab for him to hang out with, should it be about the same size as him? Do they have issues with stuff like that?

[mool]

Hello and welcome! Kudos for trying to do right by poor Oliver. I would hold off on getting him a buddy for now. He needs to focus all of his efforts and internal reserves on healing, not socializing.

If he survives a molt and seems to have regrown his limbs; that would be a good time to get another crab.

Everything you need is in those guides, but heat, humidity, deep substrate, decholorinated water (fresh and marine) and food are the most important things right now. It sounds like you've got heat, humidity, and substrate covered and have received advice on water.

I want to address food for a sec. Don't buy him any hermit crab food! It's often loaded with chemicals that are toxic to crabs. The best thing to offer right now is honey and organic peanut butter, followed by a source of calcium.

Crabs of all sizes get along well, but having said that I would probably opt to get him a buddy that was either bigger or smaller due to the possibility of shell fights. A shell fight occurs when two crabs of similar size want the same shell. It is usually initiated by the crab not wearing the preferred shell. Having vastly different sized crabs reduces that likelihood.

Good luck! I hope he pulls through for you!

[Monkeydude]

Thank you for all the advice. I'll get him a better habitat and see how he does. Thanks.

[crabbyjo]

Please let us know how Oliver does, & good luck.

[Monkeydude]

Hi, and thank you again for all of the advice. I bought a ten gallon tank, a starter kit and a heating pad to give Oliver a new home. I got the temperature and humidity to the levels mentioned in the guide. The first week he didn't move much, wasn't eating and spent most of his time in his "hut" (a small bucket with an opening cut in it from his old home, I figured he'd like some familiarity). But this week he has been active. He's moving around a lot and I've seen him eating. There's also sand in the water dish regularly so he's definitely been in there too. So it looks like he's doing better. Thank you again for the advice, from me and Oliver

[Giner13]

Yay!


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[Crabinski]

That's good news, Monkeydude -- remember that everything turned out well for the young Mr. Twist, too !

Just a few things: (1) did you buy playsand (i.e., from Home Depot/Lowe's) or reptile/hermit crab calci-sand? The latter is what's sold in pet stores and is actually detrimental to hermit crabs as it doesn't hold water well and can clump around/in a burrowing crab's shell, effectively suffocating him; (2) your last post mentioned "water dish" singular -- hermit crabs need two bowls, one dechlorinated freshwater and one saltwater, both deep enough to submerge in, in order to keep their body chemistry regulated. Be sure to check out the Water section in the Care Guides for specifics re proper types of dechlorinators and saltwater preparations.

[Monkeydude]

I do have both types of water, but I did use the hermit crab sand from the pet store, which I guess is calcium sand. Should I get it out and change it immediately, or is this something that can wait until I clean the whole tank?

[soilentgringa]

I do have both types of water, but I did use the hermit crab sand from the pet store, which I guess is calcium sand. Should I get it out and change it immediately, or is this something that can wait until I clean the whole tank?

Calcium based sand becomes sticky when wet and adheres to the crabs. It also acts like cement when it dries out, and can effectively seal a crab within its shell. Playsand is very cheap for a 50lb bag. We recommend a 5:1 ratio of sand to eco earth.
I'll link the substrate file below.

[soilentgringa]

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92542

[Monkeydude]

So I went uptown to Home Depot to get play sand. It only came in 50 pound bags, one of which I lugged all the way home on the subway. I feel like somebody physically beat me up but the crab has the right sand now lol. Oliver was running all over after the new sand went in, finally saw him in the water dish too. So on the topic of hermit crab sand not being good for hermit crabs, hermit crab food is also not good for them, huh? Is anything labeled "hermit crab" actually good for them? I'll be switching him to a diet of fruit and such. It'll be kinda cool to see what he likes and doesn't. Does anybody have any suggestions that their crabs like in particular? Thanks again for all the help.

[littletechcrab]

So happy Oliver is getting a good chance at a wonderful future. Kudo to you. Please share some pictures when you can.

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