new to HCA, hi all!

[iofushi]

Hi all, wanted to introduce myself and ask a question or 2. I've grown up around all sorts of pets, and when i was younger had a couple hermits but nothing good setup. now with my own house and knowledge from years of keeping fish, hamsters, many different exotic plants and even farming experience, i decided to delve into the wonderful world of crabs once again!

ill try and get a pic on here, but i only have one and its not great of my current setup, but its an evolving process. currently I've got a 55gallon tank i had left over from years ago, about 8-10in of mixed play sand and Eco earth, and split the tank in half sort of, with one area in the darker part of the room with a bunch of hiding spots, mopani wood, lots of moss, and just an overall forest-y feeling.

other half i ended up rigging together a hold out platform for them to climb on (which seems to be the favorite area for the 2 "sphinx" hermits haha, i see them on opposite ends at the corners just sleeping abit haha)which is just an old plant tray cut up a bit with moss and stuff on it to help close up the giant holes. I've got 6 hermies so far, atleast 4 are PP's, other 2 im guessing Es since im in upstate NY (all small hermits, biggest isnt that far off from a medium i think). overall im going for a slightly inland from beach and pirate-y theme for the tank.

so my question is this. ive got the startings of deep dishes going for their water, with atleast the salt water in a deep dish, but the fresh isnt yet. i see most people burying their water dishes into the ground, which makes the most sense and looks more realistic, but im wondering if hermits are accepting of elevated water dishes? the biggest open spot i have in the tank is under the platform setup, which is so far where i put the salt water, but i would have to remove the platform every time to change the fresh water if i put it under there too. so one thought was to use the platform for one water dish, the other below, or reorganize and rebuild that section of the tank once i get my new netting in.

thanks for any tips, and see you all in the rest of the forums!

[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

I personally keep my water dishes above the ground, but to each's own! Either way, I do recommend doubling up on your bowls. Using cheap tupperware is the easiest. Here is a link that one of our other Moderators made which is what we recommend doing

I would recommend keeping them somewhere that is easily accessible - You want to be able to change it out at least once a week. (At least that is what I do and recommend).

[aussieJJDude]

Welcome!
GB pretty much said what I have to say regarding your questions... so no point in restating them again IMO.

Feel free to post pics! We all love pics here!

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[ciaraalston]

Welcome!!! That sounds like an awesome set up, please post pics!
GotButterflies said everything basically. I bury my bowls for a more natural look, but above substrate is great too. It gives them a little extra to climb i do recommend doubling them up like GB said, It helps SO MUCH! the bottom one stays in the substrate (if you buried) and the top one can easily be removed to clean and refill. Great idea!
Anyways, again WELCOME! Can't wait to see pics!

[iofushi]

thanks all! ill post more when i actually have time (up really late since its the weekend and im on a later shift haha) but i got a few pics on imgur atleast, and ill get the tank setup idea picture in this post (hopefully haha). the pic i have is from when i first setup the 55gallon, and of course the little guys have been causing a ruckus and have destroyed my neatness

i can say though it seems im half and half, PP to E's if my eyes and the info ive found on this site are matching up, so 3 v 3, and the E's are the big guys. ive taken advice from elsewhere and upped the protein available in the tank, by adding some bloodworms, brine shrimp and honey to one side, and duck based organic cat treats and hikari mini algae wafers on the other. hopefully that will keep the E aggression i was reading about at bay? especially since im starting to name them haha, and i said i wouldnt until i could tell them apart (thinking they would shell swap with my very limited selection, which is due to have a bunch of babylonia and turbo shells added when the shipment comes in) and silver back, the silver painted shell guy is becoming my favorite, and hes on the smaller side haha, dont want to loose any, but him especially!

im hoping to base a majority of their diet off of things i can grow, for instance i have grape and strawberry plants i grow for my own food, only fertilizer to touch them for years has been dirty fish water, compost tea or worm castings haha. when i wake up later i plan to go isopod hunting, since i know where i can find tons of them, and am hoping to get a colony of them going soon to help the main tank. btw, the pirate flag, big pirate themed guy here, havent had a flag pole to put it on since my property is tight (in a suburb town upstate NY), and i know my cat loves to destroy tanks with terrestrial creatures (hamsters know all too well haha) so the flag became my drape to tone down light at night (as this is in my bedroom) and a cat blocker, which is working wonderfully!

[GotButterflies]

My bad - I just realized I forgot to transfer the link - here it is: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=113691&p=1030806&h ... r#p1030806

I haven't read the posts yet - but you want to make sure the plants are on the safe list, and that they are organic - No pesticides or fertilizers used on them. If they aren't organic, you can make them organic by removing all soil on them, and repotting them in eco earth or worm castings for 30 days to make them crab safe.

Edit: Okay...just read the posts. I love my Es - I have 10 or 11..maybe more - I've lost count. I don't keep track of whose up or down. Anyway. I recommend the following for them: a minimum of 10-12" of substrate. They love to dig. I also recommend at least 2 proteins a day. I also like 1 E per 10 gallons. By following this rule, you are likely to avoid issues. Proteins come in all forms - bugs, meats, beans. Give lots of calcium choices too. Egg shells, oyster shell, cuttlebone, calcium carbonate, coral.

Get yourself a kaytee silent spinner wheel and modify it with craft mesh. Hermit crabs LOVE to walk. They walk miles in the wild. This will help give them exercise and you lots of entertainment. Place it off of the substrate by hanging it upside down.

[Hermiesguardian]

Get yourself a kaytee silent spinner wheel and modify it with craft mesh. Hermit crabs LOVE to walk. They walk miles in the wild. This will help give them exercise and you lots of entertainment.  Place it off of the substrate by hanging it upside down. 

@Gotbutterflies do you have more than one wheel in a tank?

[S.C.]

the pic i have is from when i first setup the 55gallon, and of course the little guys have been causing a ruckus and have destroyed my neatness

Hi. Nice tank!

[GotButterflies]

Get yourself a kaytee silent spinner wheel and modify it with craft mesh. Hermit crabs LOVE to walk. They walk miles in the wild. This will help give them exercise and you lots of entertainment.  Place it off of the substrate by hanging it upside down. 

@Gotbutterflies do you have more than one wheel in a tank?

I have two wheels in two of my tanks. The third tank has one. I need to get a second one for the third tank. All of the wheels stay occupied!

[Hermiesguardian]

Get yourself a kaytee silent spinner wheel and modify it with craft mesh. Hermit crabs LOVE to walk. They walk miles in the wild. This will help give them exercise and you lots of entertainment.  Place it off of the substrate by hanging it upside down. 

@Gotbutterflies do you have more than one wheel in a tank?

I have two wheels in two of my tanks. The third tank has one. I need to get a second one for the third tank. All of the wheels stay occupied!

How big is the tank with the 2 wheels?

[GotButterflies]

Get yourself a kaytee silent spinner wheel and modify it with craft mesh. Hermit crabs LOVE to walk. They walk miles in the wild. This will help give them exercise and you lots of entertainment.  Place it off of the substrate by hanging it upside down. 

@Gotbutterflies do you have more than one wheel in a tank?

I have two wheels in two of my tanks. The third tank has one. I need to get a second one for the third tank. All of the wheels stay occupied!

How big is the tank with the 2 wheels?

I have two 75 gallons with 50 gallon toppers, and one 100 gallon with a 67 gallon topper.
one of the 75 gallon and the 100 gallon each have 2 wheels.

[iofushi]

haha thanks all! i was wondering what the deal was with the spinners i kept seeing haha. i used to have robo dwarf hamsters years ago, super energetic! in nature they can do the equivalent of 10 human miles a day, which is why when they finally passed away i replaced with russians, alot easier to handle during tank cleans!

i have a left over silent spinner, the small purple/white ones, only problem is the plastic connector between the wire and wheel snapped, so id have to fix it before i can try it, if i even have the room for it after i got my netting and all yesterday haha. oh and i revise my numbers haha, black shell finally gave me a good look at his pincher, its purple! so 2 Es and 4 PP as i originally thought. i also got some more pictures which ill post in the pictures section when i get home from work and remember to do it.

[Motörcrab]

Yes! Get them wheels! I thought for a long time that people just set their crabs in them for pictures. They find them and walk, and walk, and walk. I am always showing people videos of our crabs in wheels. They are completely blown away that the crabs use them. Plus watching the videos always makes me giggle!

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[ciaraalston]

Yes! Get them wheels! I thought for a long time that people just set their crabs in them for pictures. They find them and walk, and walk, and walk. I am always showing people videos of our crabs in wheels. They are completely blown away that the crabs use them. Plus watching the videos always makes me giggle!

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I've been really back and forth about getting one, since mine are NEVER active.... But maybe the wheel will bring them out!

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