Crabby CONCERNS & Newbie Introduction

[meghanj10]

Hello, friends! My name is Meg and I am (relatively) new to crabbing and to this forum. I'm 18 years old and I love my new babies.
I used to have crabs when I was around 6 years old. Their names were Spot and Daisy, and they lived a solid 3 years. I recently purchased two crabs at the Pet Supplies Plus my boyfriend works at. They're larger purple pinchers (I think, I really need some guidance on how to identify their species.) Anyways, I really did buy them on a whim, unaware of all the hard work that goes into creating a safe and loving environment for crabs. Thank God my boyfriend convinced me to get the hermies a 10 gallon and heat lamp, because I really had no idea how to take care of them since the last crabs I owned were from a mall kiosk and no one taught me how to properly care for them. It honestly saddens me to think that if I had properly cared for Spot and Daisy that they might be climbing around still today ...
Anyways, I have a 10 galloon tank for my new crabs, Rasputin and Norman. When I got home from the pet store I did a lot of research and I have a few questions and concerns about how to head in the right direction with my new crabbies.
Rasputin


He's a dark colored guy who is fast and adventurous. LOVES salt water.
Normal Rockwell


Lighter colored friend who is a lot shyer but he loves to come out and is especially fond of my friend Sara.
My Setup
Here is the 10 gallon in all its splendor:

Fresh water pool and sponges:

Climbing plant:

Salt water pool, shells, climbing/basking platform:

Food dish and shell:

One is full of tomatoes, the other dead crickets and hermit crab cakes. I've also fed them seaweed, pineapples, and blueberries, so far.
They've only liked the seaweed and possibly the tomatoes so far.
Heating Concerns
I don't have too hard of a time keeping the humidity in the right place, but the temperature won't budge from 70. What can I do? A second lamp? A hotter or brighter bulb? A bigger shade thingy? I fear that's why my crabs are acting strange.
Molting?
Since I've got them they've been pretty active, exploring and running around and are pretty sweet socially. Today a friend and I held them for around half an hour and played with them and let them climb around on us. Norman chirped a few times... and I'm still pretty unclear on what that means he's feeling. Anyways, we put them back in the tank and left for a while to get lunch. When we returned, I discovered signs of salt and fresh water baths and some tomato action. However, both the crabs are burrowed deep beneath the substrate:


I'm aware that the second photo is a little hard to see, but Rasputin is the little white circle at the bottom of the tank.
I can think of a variety of reasons why they're burrowing - temperature too low, molting, stress. The most worrying thing I think is that they both did it at exactly the same time. I've had them for about a week and I've never seen this behavior. Please help!
Shell Concerns
An additional concern is that Rasputin's shell is cracked. I've provided 2 shells in the tank and I'm very aware that I need several more, but wouldn't I need to measure my babies first? I don't think I can do that while they're buried under substrate... Also, Norman's shell is painted which worries me very much. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading all the way to the end, if you made it here. I'd appreciate all thoughts, criticism, concerns, suggestions, and hellos. Thanks guys!
-Meg

[JulesRolyCrab]

Hi Meg! Welcome to crabbing, I guess. Your crabs are adorable, love the Valentine's themed pics!

So, about the setup! You are doing a lot of great stuff, but there are a couple of comments I have if you are open to them:

Substrate:
6 inches. Minimum. That would be approx. halfway up in a standard 10 gallon aquarium. It seems like a lot, but it will help your crabbies so much! It will decrease chances of molts gone wrong/shallow molting. Most crabbers mix the coconut fiber with clean play sand at a 5:1 ratio. You can get a bag at Home Depot. Make sure it's undyed.

Food:
Great job on fresh food provided! The great thing about crabs is how much of your natural diet you can feed them too. Just make sure they get a good amount of protein, to prevent cannibalism. Also, are you feeding commercial crab food? Though there are some safe commercial foods for crabs, the majority are unsafe for them to have. I'll provide a link at the bottom to safe and unsafe commercial foods.

Water:
Throw out the sponges. They're more trouble than they're worth. I mean, you technically could keep them, but that entails cleaning them multiple times a week, and the crabs prefer standing water, so.... Good job on two water options. Check to make sure it's giving your crabs the proper minerals necessary at the link on the bottom. Also, I would switch out the bowl to something deeper. I use tupperware containers, with a plastic ramp leading out. The water should be deep enough for them to submerge completely.

The crabs will probably be stressed for a while. I'd recommend not handling them for a bit to prevent added stress. For sure do not dig them up. If they have already dug down to molt and are tunneling, do not add the new sub and mix, because this could hurt them. Wait till they come back up.

For shells, approximate for now. You can find turbos at craft stores or online.

For heating, I'd totally reccomend ditching the lamp for a heating mat. Most get "Ultratherms". I have a 10 gallon tank, and I have a 6" by 11" ultratherm heating mat: http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm ... -uth-6-x11
Tape in on above the substrate line after adding the necessary 6 inches, of course. Insulate for better effect.

Hope I helped!


About commercial foods:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92555

Safe food list:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92557

Unsafe/Unpopular foods:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92556

Water:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92553

Molting:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 23&t=92527

Basic care:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 51&t=92457

Good luck!

[purpleperson]

Welcome to the HCA I second everything that JulesRolyCrab said, and I also wanted to ask you why your humidity is? I noticed you have an uncovered screen lid with a heat lamp. Both are notorious for getting rid of humidity. Ideally you want the humidity in your tank to be about 80 so that the crabs can breathe.


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[meghanj10]

@JulesRolyCrab:
Thank you soooo much for all of the comments! I really really appreciate it as I want to help my crabs be as healthy and happy as possible.
A few questions:
The substrate I currently have is this:

So when the crabs resurface I should mix that with undyed play sand from Home Depot at a 5:1 ratio? 5 parts coco fiber? Should I buy a new package of substrate, or is the stuff in the tank okay to add to?
As for food, I've gave them some crickets and I plan on some eggs and bits of meat in the future. As for the commercial foods, it would probably be best to check the list and if the food isn't okay I could make some homemade food and order some on Etsy, right? I'll probably end up doing that anyway!
I'll look into some deeper pools, as well and throw out the sponges.
I'll guesstimate for some shells!
One more question, do you think the tank is big enough for one more crab, and if so, should I get it from the pet store or try to find a breeder/adopt?
Additionally, does it matter if I get it before I fix the substrate? I'll also look into the Ultratherms! How would I go about insulating it?

Thanks for all the help! I'll reread those articles as well!


@purpleperson : The humidity is usually around 75 after heavy misting throughout the day. What are the alternatives to the screen lid and heat lamp?
Thank you for letting me know!

[landlubber]

Hi, welcome to the HCA! It's great to meet you. Those are some really beautiful crabs you have there!

So when the crabs resurface I should mix that with undyed play sand from Home Depot at a 5:1 ratio? 5 parts coco fiber? Should I buy a new package of substrate, or is the stuff in the tank okay to add to?
The pre-washed play sand from Home Depot is great. I believe the ratio referred to is one part EE to 5 parts sand. You could certainly use what you have if it has no bad smells.
As for food, I've gave them some crickets and I plan on some eggs and bits of meat in the future. As for the commercial foods, it would probably be best to check the list and if the food isn't okay I could make some homemade food and order some on Etsy, right? I'll probably end up doing that anyway!
I do not buy commercial foods at all. I feed mostly dehydrated foods purchased from other crabbers like from Etsy and some of the shops recommended here. The more crab-safe variety foods the better. I do feed some fresh, but only when I know how it's grown and that's it's organic, which means I don't pick up a lot and not very often. But what I do get I freeze and it lasts forever.
One more question, do you think the tank is big enough for one more crab, and if so, should I get it from the pet store or try to find a breeder/adopt?
Here is a link to information on how many crabs can fit in what sized tank. These are guidelines that can help you decide.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92541
If it were me I probably would not add another-or I'd try to resist the urge to get another (not always good at that). I would also be thinking about upgrading that 10 gallon to the largest tank I could afford, because these guys grow before you know it. And they are addictive, as I'm sure you noticed. I wouldn't be surprised if an upgrade had already occurred to you.
Additionally, does it matter if I get it before I fix the substrate?
If you get another I'd wait until after you get the substrate. Substrate is so very important for molting, and you want to encourage the healthiest molts you can because it's such a dangerous process for them.
I'll also look into the Ultratherms! How would I go about insulating it?
Many people will tape pieces of styrofoam around them to bouch their heat back into the tank. Lastly you can get plastic wrap or damp towels over top of the screen lid to help keep humidity in. You can get plexiglass cut to use instead of a glass lid over the mesh. I use the plastic, heat-wrap, window insulation and it works like a dream for me.

[JulesRolyCrab]

You are totally welcome.

The EcoEarth is totally perfect, I use it, along with most crabbers. I screwed up my other message, it's 5:1 with five parts sand, one part coco-fibre. The stuff in the tank is perfect.
Etsy has a ton of great food stores! I would leave your tank at two crabs for the moment in a 10 gallon. Though it might be able to squeeze in 3 tiny crabs, they will grow, and this could cause issues with disrupted molters. That being said, if you do decide to upgrade tanks sometime, I would recommend rescuing always over pet store, but if that isn't an option (it wasn't for me) try to buy from a petstore with better conditions. No matter where you get it from, that crab was taken from the wild and probably permanently damaged in some way, but at least try to give money to a store that treats their animals well.
You can get the Ultratherm whenever, just place it so it is as far up on the tank walls as possible so when you do get the sub, it won't dry it out. If you get the 6"x11", it should fit perfectly on the outside back of the tank with 6" of substrate. I insulated mine with a cutout of cardboard covered in aluminum foil.

Once you get an insulated Ultratherm, you won't need the heat lamp (unless, of course, you keep your house very cold). That will increase humidity right there. For the screen lid, try to cover the majority in plastic wrap. I only covered less than 2/3 of my mesh lid, and had really bad humidity (whilst spraying a ton!). So I covered nearly all of the mesh and the humidity stays for days above 80% after spraying. And I live in a really dry state. Usually, the more ecoearth, the wetter the sub, and mix w/ sand gives it the perfect tunneling consistency. Considering all of your sub is EE and you are still having meh-ish humidity, I would say that could be a problem. When you add the sub, make sure to wet it to sandcastle-consistency and I'd remix it. But after doing the heatmat and stuff, you will be fine. Oh, one more thing for humidity: moss pit. I have one and if you just dump water in the moss every so often, you'll maintain humidity for a while. I use this kind of moss: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mosser-Lee-4 ... /202301542
from Home Depot. Oh, and this sand: http://www.homedepot.com/s/play%2520sand?NCNI-5
These totally aren't the final word in crabbing, but they are safe, so that's encouraging, lol.

[purpleperson]

@purpleperson : The humidity is usually around 75 after heavy misting throughout the day. What are the alternatives to the screen lid and heat lamp?
Thank you for letting me know!

Be careful with misting too much! I over listed before and it caused a nasty flood. For the screen lid you can cover it with plastic wrap and a towel, or change to a glass lid. You can also get a piece of plexiglass to put over the tank.
For the heat lamp, I recommend you change to a UTH (under tank heater) mounted on the back of the tank. And ultratherm is one that can be insulated and it is used by many people here.


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[meghanj10]

Thanks everyone! I'm probably going to upgrade very soon and use my 10 gallon for smaller crabs or fish! I appreciate all the help and I will continue posting updates!

[Kaleighshermies]

Welcome to HCA!!
Your babies are adorable!
I wanted to make a little suggestion that I have found works best for me. When/If you purchase play sand I would suggest to make a pretty good layer of just sand on top of the current substrate you have. When I had my substrate without the layer of sand on top it made their food disgusting and I had fruit flies EVERYWHERE! It was horrible! Thought I would share and hope it helps!
- Kaleigh

[meghanj10]

Welcome to HCA!!
Your babies are adorable!
I wanted to make a little suggestion that I have found works best for me. When/If you purchase play sand I would suggest to make a pretty good layer of just sand on top of the current substrate you have. When I had my substrate without the layer of sand on top it made their food disgusting and I had fruit flies EVERYWHERE! It was horrible! Thought I would share and hope it helps!
- Kaleigh

I'm so glad you told me that before i had to find out for myself! Thank you !

[Kaleighshermies]

Welcome! And glad too!!! It is such a pain when those buggers are zooming around your bedroom and being pests to the hermies.

[JulesRolyCrab]

You could always keep the 10 gal. as an iso, or for another 2 crabs in addition to the new tank.

[KellyCrabbieLove]

I have fly paper in a few places in the warmer months because those things just don't give up!

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