PLS HELP

[crabdad13]

I am brand new to hermit crab ownership as it was a spur of the moment thing, and I've read a little in this forum and a decent amount online.

I got 4 hermit crabs at a fair recently (I know it's already a bad start). But I have no clue of their specific species but so far things are going mostly well, just a little scared. I have the 4 in roughly a 10 gallon bin (I'm looking for an actual tank), with a mulch-like substrate going a third the way up. In the tank I have a small food dish (that I replenish every morning/night), a large (respective to hermit crabs) water tank for tap water, and a smaller container for when I eventually get salt water. I also have a piece of driftwood (log shaped and somewhat hollow), a handful of rocks from my backyard (I use one in each water container and a sea sponge to help them get out) to climb around, and a little aquarium plant. I feed them both hermit crab pellets that allegedly have all the nutrient they need along with fresh lettuce (once a day I lay out either a different veggie or some fruit, right around when they wake up) but all day they have lettuce and those pellets.

I was concerned about a few things, 1) how seriously should I take crab humidity, I've seen some websites say hermit crabs are resilient and house humidity should be ok and other say that if I don't act fast they'll start to suffocate 2)how should I properly treat both fresh and salt water 3) my largest hermit crab has begun to almost hug one of the extra shells I bought. I have 2 large ones and 2 small hermit crabs, I assumed the smaller ones would molt sooner so I first bought 2 larger shells for them, but the biggest one has started hugging the larger of the two shells (I can't really tell how big his body is or how big the internal of the shell is but I don't think it's big enough).

I've had them for only a few days and they all seem to like each other (they all cuddle in a hole under the log during the day). But I have growing concerns about humidity and my inability to find some decent water treatment as well as the sudden shell hugging.

[crabdad13]

It is a little bit later than the original posting and I'm almost sure the largest crab is moving to a new shell. He's just hugging the inside and almost sticking his body out. Tomorrow I want to get a tank with a lid, proper water treatment, more shells, and maybe some more decoration if the tank has extra space.

[KyMart]

It is a little bit later than the original posting and I'm almost sure the largest crab is moving to a new shell. He's just hugging the inside and almost sticking his body out. Tomorrow I want to get a tank with a lid, proper water treatment, more shells, and maybe some more decoration if the tank has extra space.

I just woke up, so I'm sorry if I don't answer everything!

The most commonly used water conditioner is Prime, you can find it at most pet stores by the fish stuff, you follow the directions on the back of the bottle, and use it in tap water. Primed water is your freshwater, and is good to go into the tank. For salt water, most people use Instant Ocean marine salt, it's the best salt water conditioner IMO. You follow the directions on the back of the box and put the salt into freshwater (primed tap water) to make salt water, which then can go straight into the tank. Sea sponges can harbor bacteria so I wouldn't recommend keeping them in your tank. The mulch should be replaced with sand, you can get like 50 lbs of play sand at a hardware store for like $5 a bag. The mulch could be toxic to your crabs, and should be replaced ASAP. You could also put eco earth coconut fiber mixed with your sand to boost humidity in your tank, but it's not required. Your substrate (sand/sand and coco fiber) should be sand castle consistency, so that your crabs can dig tunnels to destress/hang out/molt, if it's not sand castle consistency their tunnels will collapse. You should have about 3-5 shells per crab in the tank, to ensure that no crabs fight over shells. A glass lid will help keep humidity in your tank better as well. You should get a heat source, preferably a under tank heater, you will put this on the back of the tank, about 1/2 of an inch above the substrate line, you should have 6 inches of substrate. Your tank should be about 72°-85° F (IMO this is best), with a humidity level of 70% or more. You can get a hydrometer/thermometer online on at your local pet store, this is important to have to make sure that the temperature and humidity in your tank is suitable for your crabs. I would recommend a 20-29 gallon ideally for your 4 crabs, but you can should always go bigger if you can. You can check Craigslist for fishtanks that can't hold water, they will be cheaper, and don't have to hold water to have substrate and crabs in them. I would recommend moving away from the pellets, and looking online on places like Esty for hermit crab food complete mixes if possible. I buy most of my food from CrabPax on Esty, and me and my crabs love it! I would recommend getting aquarium hides (bigger ones they can actually fit under) for your tank to give them plently of hiding options. Not only will this act as decor, but it will also be functional! You can also get some aquarium plants (I prefer plastic) and put those in your tank, your crabs can also use those to hide in/behind! I hope this information helped, I tried to cover as much as possible!

[KyMart]

Oh, I also recommended natrual shells!
Here's why painted shells are bad:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... p?t=122358

Your crabs are more then likely purple pinchers if you are in the US, here is the PP care sheet:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... hp?t=92452

Here is how to identify what kind of crabs you have:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/species.jpg

Here is the preferred shell care sheet:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... hp?t=92552

Here is the safe food list:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... hp?t=92557

Here is the basic care sheet:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... p?t=119273

Here is the water info sheet:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... hp?t=92553

Oh, and here is the humidity info sheet:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... hp?t=92544

Hope these links help!

[crabdad13]

Thank you so much! In hindsight I probably should've looked a little deeper but I kinda just grabbed what I assumed the essentials were from the pet store. The current mulch substrate isn't actual mulch (that's my bad if I accidentally confused) but I'm not sure if it's still toxic to them because even the pet store lady said she uses that same substrate, however if it turns out it's still toxic, I will definitely replace that asap because I have some of the coconut fiber substrate on hand. My house is constantly set at 75 but I still have a heater installed under the part where the log is, and I was concerned about the same mold situation with the sponges but at the moment it's kind of the only thing I have for them to crawl out of the larger container; maybe I can do something where I dry one sponge and just let it sit in the sun for a day then rotate it to the other sponge? So after I get the tank and sand, I'll look at some more shell variety and also decor. Thank you!

[KyMart]

Thank you so much! In hindsight I probably should've looked a little deeper but I kinda just grabbed what I assumed the essentials were from the pet store. The current mulch substrate isn't actual mulch (that's my bad if I accidentally confused) but I'm not sure if it's still toxic to them because even the pet store lady said she uses that same substrate, however if it turns out it's still toxic, I will definitely replace that asap because I have some of the coconut fiber substrate on hand. My house is constantly set at 75 but I still have a heater installed under the part where the log is, and I was concerned about the same mold situation with the sponges but at the moment it's kind of the only thing I have for them to crawl out of the larger container; maybe I can do something where I dry one sponge and just let it sit in the sun for a day then rotate it to the other sponge? So after I get the tank and sand, I'll look at some more shell variety and also decor. Thank you!

You're very welcome! I would recommend tossing the mulch, and using coconut fiber and play sand (which you can pick up at a hardware store for cheap), 6 inches of substrate is recommended and I have roughly 7 inches in my tank! PPs tend to love turbos the most, so I recommend those for shells! What kind of coconut fiber do you have on hand? Here is a link to my list of shell links, I have bought from most of these shops before, and most of the links are turbos! https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... p?t=127378 I hope that helps you find shells for your little guys! What do you mean you have a heater under the log? Like under the tank? Under tank heaters should be placed on the side of the crabitat to heat the air and not dry out the substate. Do you have a hydrometer/thermometer? You can boil the sponges and let them cool, that will kill any bacteria on them! You could get fine aquarium rocks and put them in the bottom of the water dish to make it so they have more traction to climb out, you can also buy some plastic craft mesh to zip tie to the pools for a ramp, here is a link to some you can order for cheap for this purpose. https://www.etsy.com/listing/905095377/ ... 5-multiple

[curlysister]

Welcome to crabbing and to the site!
I decided when I got my hermit crabs almost 13 years ago, that I would use only one source for information about caring for crabs. This way, I have avoided the problem of conflicting advice that you have come across already. If you haven't checked out our care sheets yet, I would start with the 'basics' one, and go from there. The basics care sheet covers just that - the basics. And while many people have fancy or elaborate tank set ups, that is more for the human's enjoyment than the crabs LOL. A basic set up is all that is needed, and you don't need to spend money you don't have to make something more elaborate.
Your crabs will need a varied diet, which includes animal protein and calcium daily. They can eat much of what you eat (meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, greens, eggs and egg shells, etc), and eat so little that you can feed scraps from your meal prep. You can buy dried foods if you want, but you don't have to.
Also, to correct use correct terminology, tap water needs to be treated with a dechlorinator. Seachem Prime is a common brand, but there are others that are appropriate (the 'water' care sheet gives full details). When water is treated, it is dechlorinated, it is not 'primed'.

[KyMart]

Welcome to crabbing and to the site!
I decided when I got my hermit crabs almost 13 years ago, that I would use only one source for information about caring for crabs. This way, I have avoided the problem of conflicting advice that you have come across already. If you haven't checked out our care sheets yet, I would start with the 'basics' one, and go from there. The basics care sheet covers just that - the basics. And while many people have fancy or elaborate tank set ups, that is more for the human's enjoyment than the crabs LOL. A basic set up is all that is needed, and you don't need to spend money you don't have to make something more elaborate.
Your crabs will need a varied diet, which includes animal protein and calcium daily. They can eat much of what you eat (meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, greens, eggs and egg shells, etc), and eat so little that you can feed scraps from your meal prep. You can buy dried foods if you want, but you don't have to.
Also, to correct use correct terminology, tap water needs to be treated with a dechlorinator. Seachem Prime is a common brand, but there are others that are appropriate (the 'water' care sheet gives full details). When water is treated, it is dechlorinated, it is not 'primed'.

Many people say primed instead of dechlorinator, Prime is just the most common brand of dechlorinator. I also did say that the water needs to be tap water. As I said before, I was tired when I wrote that, I had just woken up and logged on.

[crabdad13]

You're very welcome! I would recommend tossing the mulch, and using coconut fiber and play sand (which you can pick up at a hardware store for cheap), 6 inches of substrate is recommended and I have roughly 7 inches in my tank! PPs tend to love turbos the most, so I recommend those for shells! What kind of coconut fiber do you have on hand? Here is a link to my list of shell links, I have bought from most of these shops before, and most of the links are turbos! https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... p?t=127378 I hope that helps you find shells for your little guys! What do you mean you have a heater under the log? Like under the tank? Under tank heaters should be placed on the side of the crabitat to heat the air and not dry out the substate. Do you have a hydrometer/thermometer? You can boil the sponges and let them cool, that will kill any bacteria on them! You could get fine aquarium rocks and put them in the bottom of the water dish to make it so they have more traction to climb out, you can also buy some plastic craft mesh to zip tie to the pools for a ramp, here is a link to some you can order for cheap for this purpose. https://www.etsy.com/listing/905095377/ ... 5-multiple

the brand of coconut fiber is eco earth. But I initially had the heater under the part of the tank where the log was thinking that it'd essentially heat their "bed", but I had to move it to the side to balance the water dish; so I unknowingly fixed the problem I didn't know I had. At the moment, I changed the water dish to have some flat rocks at the bottom, and then some ramp-shaped rocks for them to climb in/out. Unfortunately I had classes and after-office hours extend for a bit, but tomorrow I'm going to pretty much redesign everything. I found a nice 20 gallon on FB marketplace and I'll also try to find the brands you recommended at my local petstores for water conditioning, the proper types of shells, better substrate, the sun-replicating lamp, and a hydrometer.

[curlysister]

Many people say primed instead of dechlorinator, Prime is just the most common brand of dechlorinator. I also did say that the water needs to be tap water. As I said before, I was tired when I wrote that, I had just woken up and logged on.

Yes, many people say 'primed' and can continue to do so, but it is important that people know the correct terminology and the rationale behind it.

[curlysister]

the brand of coconut fiber is eco earth. But I initially had the heater under the part of the tank where the log was thinking that it'd essentially heat their "bed", but I had to move it to the side to balance the water dish; so I unknowingly fixed the problem I didn't know I had. At the moment, I changed the water dish to have some flat rocks at the bottom, and then some ramp-shaped rocks for them to climb in/out. Unfortunately I had classes and after-office hours extend for a bit, but tomorrow I'm going to pretty much redesign everything. I found a nice 20 gallon on FB marketplace and I'll also try to find the brands you recommended at my local petstores for water conditioning, the proper types of shells, better substrate, the sun-replicating lamp, and a hydrometer.

If your tank is in a room that has a window, you don't need to buy another light (unless you want to spend the money). Indirect light from a window is enough.
Be sure to check the 'water' care sheet, or take a screen shot with you shopping, so that you know other brands as well (in case the most common ones aren't available).

[crabdad13]

If your tank is in a room that has a window, you don't need to buy another light (unless you want to spend the money). Indirect light from a window is enough.
Be sure to check the 'water' care sheet, or take a screen shot with you shopping, so that you know other brands as well (in case the most common ones aren't available).

Thank you very much! All this external help is really amazing and I was very shocked to see such an interconnected community that bonds over hermit crabs, especially one as active and old as this!