I got my first crabs from a lovely little shop in Panama City Beach, Florida, way back in September. Up until that point, I'd only been keeping freshwater fish, of which I have many tanks, and I was eager to try something new that could be kept in a tank but lives on land and doesn't have the same live feeding requirements as reptiles. I'd seen hermit crabs in souvenir shops around the beach for many years, and I'd always wanted to keep some, but back then, I had no clue how to care for them. Anyway, I did all my research, went to the beach and picked out my hermit crabs (before I get criticized for getting them from a souvenir shop, I should mention that the pet stores around here rarely have them) from a souvenir store. The souvenir store was actually quite lovely, the staff was half knowledgable about the crabs and the crabs were kept on actual sand with wooden walls, not wire. They also had a very large variety of natural shells to choose from, and each one was less than a dollar. Any type of shell for any size crab, this store was amazing. So I left with three purple pincher hermit crabs in a tote with a hide, a bit of sand to transport them home with, food and water dishes, and yes, extra shells. Within a couple of days of me getting them home, they had a decent setup. It was a 10-gallon tank that consisted of six inches of play sand, a plant, their tiki hut hide, two water dishes (one for freshwater and one for salt), cholla wood (the shop also sold large pieces of natural, not dyed or painted, cholla wood), a food dish, and a few extra shells. Shortly after realizing that the heat was going to be a problem, I got a heat mat and a thermostat for it and attached it to the back of the tank. I also had a humidity gauge so I could spray the habitat down whenever the humidity got too low. The hermit crabs ate a variety of dried fruits and brine shrimp for the most part until I started getting them nuts and seeds as well. This is how they lived throughout the winter, I'll post a picture at the end of this post of this setup.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago, I had bought them a new 20-gallon long tank back in January, but they had been molting and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this delicate process. But finally, they were done molting! So I gave them a major upgrade. I mixed play sand with eco-earth, then on one side of the tank, I added extra eco earth to make it have the look of a dirt bank, then I covered it in moss. They ate that moss, so now the bank is covered in sphagnum moss. They also have two larger plastic containers, one is filled with saltwater and the other with fresh water. I then added a large rock cave alongside their tiki hut, to add more places to hide and play. And they have a climbing wall and lots, and lots, and LOTS of wall plants. They still have their cholla wood, as well as pieces of grape wood to climb on and a piece of cuttlebone to munch on. Their old water dishes are now their food dishes, one for meat and one for all other stuff. They have stones in the bottom of their water containers, along with a shell in each one to help them climb out. They also have many more shells, as I get them shells each time I go to the pet store (and I go all the time as I work right across the street from both Petco and Petsmart), so they're always changing shells and dragging them around. I keep most of the shells in the rock cave though, as that's their shell shop! The heat is kept at 80F and the humidity is usually around 80%. As for diet, they have a much larger diet now, as they're fed a large variety of dried fruits, vegetables, and freeze-dried crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, bloodworms, river shrimp, brine shrimp, along with nuts, seeds, oats, and for a treat, peanut butter, and honey. Now that's out of the way, let me get to the main part, the exciting part! Pictures and hermit crab introductions!
This is Superman! He's the smallest of the bunch and the lightest in color. He's a bit shy around humans, but he's still very adventurous!
Meet Georgie! Georgie is super feisty, and he was the first one I fell in love with when I was picking out my hermit crabs. Georgie is very active, he enjoys swimming, climbing (he's even climbed upside down along the hood before!), pooping on top of his tiki hut, and eating. If you pick him up, he will try to pinch you. But still, I love the little guy!
This is Big Red! As his name suggests, he's the largest of the bunch, but still very friendly! He loves digging down, and if anyone is out and about, it's him. He's not as shy as the others are, and probably the least afraid of me, as he lets me handle him. He does like climbing some, but he's very clumsy and often tumbles down.
This was the first setup I had, in my 10-gallon tank. Kind of bland and boring, but I was proud of it at the time!
This is my newest and current setup!
Thank you so much if you've made it this far, I want to say that this forum has helped me so much as I've lurked and read countless posts on how to properly care for my little guys. You guys are awesome, and I'm so excited to be a part of this community!
