Possibly adopting three more crabs! Suggestions? (edit: I adopted them!)

[parker_roo]

Hey everyone! I posted an add on Craigslist about wanting to adopt hermit crabs. The other day, a lady emailed me offering to give me her three hermit crabs. She said they were small, and that they have had one for over a year, and the other two she got in August. I asked a few questions and she gladly answered them, giving more than enough information that I was hoping for. She got them for her son, but he no longer takes care of them, or even looks at them. As far as I can tell, she has taken decent care of these crabs. They are in a 10 gallon tank, with 2/3 full of substrate. She has given them fresh and salt water, but unfortunately the ones they sell at pet stores for hermit crabs. The food she has been feeding them was also from pet stores. But even though the products may have not been the best for hermit crabs, she has taken care of them pretty well, considering that I was expecting much worse. Any way, I am trying to pick them up on Sunday, and I am paying her $35 for her tank, and everything in it. The reason I'm doing this, is because her oldest crab is currently molting, and I don't want to even think of disturbing him. I know it won't be too easy for the molting crab to travel in a car, but I will be adding heat and humidity to the tank. Hopefully all goes well!

I did want to ask for your suggestions. I will end up having five small crabs in a 29 gallon tank. I know it will be a little over crowded, but I couldn't just adopt one or two from her. Should I keep all three together in the 10 gallon tank when I first get them? Or should I put the two who are not molting in my big tank immediately? Also how should I give the new crabs a bath? Do I dip them in the FW or SW pool? Do you think there will be any violence with the new crabs being with my old ones? What would be the best way to transport the new crabs in my car? Sorry, I know that is a lot of questions, but I want this to all go well, especially because when I bought two crabs from Petsmart to add to the family, they both gave up, and passed. I think that this will go better because they are some what used to humans and captivity. Oh and lastly, what food should I give my new crabs? Will they eat the powdered food that I got from the HCP? Or should I feed them some of the organic food, and some of the store bought food, and slowly take away the store bought food?

Thanks in advanced for anyone who replies, or even reads this post!

[megmaholm]

Congrats on the adoption! I don't think 5 in a 29 gallon will be overcrowded, as long as your substrate is deep and you have plenty of climbing/hiding stuff for them. Obviously at some point you'll be looking at an upgrade, but for now I don't see the problem.

I would go ahead and add the 2 who aren't molting to the main tank. Just dip them in the main tank's FW pool. PPs are pretty laid back crabbies, so I would expect there to be some antenna wars and flicking to establish dominance, but there's no reason to expect aggression/violent. Just keep an eye on them.

How cold is it where you live? I would put the 10 gallon at your feet so the warm air from the car vents will blow on them. If you're worried that won't be enough, you could always take an old sock, fill it with rice, and microwave it. It'll hold the heat for a while. Do you know how far of a drive it is?

I wouldn't bother transitioning them from the store-bought food to the food you feed your others. Just discontinue the commercial food immediately, and they'll probably thank you for it

[parker_roo]

Thank you for your quick reply! You always seem to be able to help out people so quickly! But the drive is 20 minutes, and it has been really cold recently, but it is supposed to warm up by Sunday, so we are talking around 45-55°F. With temperatures higher, I think it will be safe to just put the floor vents on during the car ride, with the tank on the floor.

And thank you again, you seemed to answer all my questions, which makes things a lot easier on me, and probably the crabs as well. I am looking forward to Sunday, and I can't wait to add these crabs to the family. My only worry right now, is if they are Es. I don't think they are, but that popped into my mind today. Most likely they will just be PPs. But if any problems come up, I will definitely ask for more suggestions. But for now, everything seems to be great, you helped me get rid of my worries. Thanks again for all the help!

[megmaholm]

Glad to help! A 20 minute drive isn't bad at all, especially at 45-55 degrees. Just get them to and from the car quickly, and keep the car warm for them

E's seem to be common in some areas and less so in others. Can you ask for pics of them before hand just to double check? Hopefully they're not E's, because PPs are just so much easier to deal with.

[wodesorel]

I just wanted to pop in and say, wait until you see them and their conditions in person before making the call to add them to your main tank. It sounds like she did good, but I've been fooled into thinking that before! I always approach adoptions with the intention of immediate introductions and I prefer to move them right into my main tank from the start, but there have been several adoptions (including this latest one) where after I got the crabs and talked with the owners I felt more comfortable fixing up their current enclosure (or setting up a spare tank after getting home) and keeping them there for a few days, sometimes through an entire molt. If their prior enclosure was completely improper, if they hadn't molted in a while or look horrible, if they seem like they've been denied basic food or water needs, and if their shell selection was completely wrong for them, I feel it's better for all the crabs for them to have time to recover and become more stable. I've had issues in the past rushing crabs from bad conditions into my colony, because they had been without for so long they were in survival mode.

[parker_roo]

Thanks for bringing that up, that is a good point. I will be able to know more about what conditions they were kept in, when I get the entire tank. I will also probably ask the owner more about how they took care of them. After that, I will judge the situation and choose if I should ISO them for some time, to help them get back on their feet. Again, thank you for mentioning this, it will help me prepare for the worse. I will probably get a few things ready for them in advanced, if I need to ISO them.

[parker_roo]

wodesorel, I also love your profile picture! It is so adorable! What's the story behind it?

[wodesorel]

Those were my first Es, on the first day in the tank. One was more brave than the other and came out to explore first, but to me that photo always looked like one was kissing the other. I'm sure you've seen those kinds of photos - of babies and puppies and kittens, where one is all LOVE SMOOCH and the other is all ICK COOTIES.


...... or maybe I've just had hermits too long.

[parker_roo]

Haha, no I totally understand! The two hermit crabs I have, always seem to have a great friendship. Every night, they sleep next to each other, shell to shell cuddling! It is the most adorable thing ever! And I'm sure when they are facing each other, they are having conversations about how annoying I am, watching them while they are just trying to have a civilized conversation. We all have our crazy moments with our hermit crabs!

[parker_roo]

I picked up the three new hermit crabs today! Unfortunately, they are all still hiding underground, in their "10 gallon" tank. The tank I bought from them is more like a 5.5 gallon, I'm pretty sure it isn't 10 gallons. But anyway, I removed everything I could in the tank, without disturbing the crabs buried. They water dishes were so shallow, and there was not a lot of food offered. Also, there was one disgusting sponge in one of the water dishes, it was black. And something that I did not think of, are bugs. I believe there is a small colony of fruit flys in the tank. I'm waiting for the crabs to come up to check them for bugs, and how healthy they seem. If they are looking good, a dip in the FW pool, and into the main tank. I also am pretty worried about the heating situation. There were two very small UTH heaters on the backside of the tank, but they were beneath the substrate. I removed them, and there was dry substrate and the dirt almost looked kind of "rusty." I moved them to the topside of the substrate, but do you think it could have hurt or killed any crab close to the heaters? Anyway, I'm hoping for the best. If all goes well, I am wanting them to come up tonight, be heathly, and bug free. I just hope the molter is alright, the owner told me one had been down for a month or two. I know that is normal, but I don't know how long I want to have the molter to stay in a bug infested tank.

Also here a picture of where the UTHs were, the substrate does not look very normal.

Does it look weird to anyone, or just dried out?

[kornchaser]

...their "10 gallon" tank. The tank I bought from them is more like a 5.5 gallon, I'm pretty sure it isn't 10 gallons.

A five gallon is usually 8x10x16
A ten gallon tank is 10x12x20 not to be confused with a 20g tall which is 12x16x24

Also here a picture of where the UTHs were, the substrate does not look very normal.

Does it look weird to anyone, or just dried out?

It definitely doesn't look like normal dried EE to me.


Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

[parker_roo]

I just measured it, it is definitely a 5 gallon tank.

And you are completely right, it doesn't look like normal dried EE, that's why it worried me. It looks like some rusty fungus or something. I know a fungus can't rust, but that is the best way to describe it. I haven't seen anything like this before, and I do not have any clue to what it could be. Maybe some sand, but by the looks of the rest of the substrate, I'm pretty sure it's only EE. And like I said, there were two small UTHs, so it looks like this on both sides of the tank, exactly where the UTHs were taped. Anyone have any ideas?

[parker_roo]

I would go ahead and add the 2 who aren't molting to the main tank. Just dip them in the main tank's FW pool. PPs are pretty laid back crabbies, so I would expect there to be some antenna wars and flicking to establish dominance, but there's no reason to expect aggression/violent. Just keep an eye on them.

Okay, so one crab came up, so I added it to my main tank after a bath in the FW pool. As this new crab was shell shopping, my other two crabs decided to bug him/her. There were antenna wars, but my other crab Sebastian, grabbed the new crab's shell, and I panicked. I decided to take each of my crabs and I dipped them in the FW pool. I'm watching to see what happens, but it seemed before the baths, that Sebastian was maybe trying to grab this new crab. Is this normal, or should I be concerned?

[parker_roo]

I have yet to name and gender this hermit crab. But here is the first crab out of the three, very healthy!

[megmaholm]

Okay, so one crab came up, so I added it to my main tank after a bath in the FW pool. As this new crab was shell shopping, my other two crabs decided to bug him/her. There were antenna wars, but my other crab Sebastian, grabbed the new crab's shell, and I panicked. I decided to take each of my crabs and I dipped them in the FW pool. I'm watching to see what happens, but it seemed before the baths, that Sebastian was maybe trying to grab this new crab. Is this normal, or should I be concerned?

I usually don't intervene unless there's some pinching happening, but if it looked like aggression you probably did the right thing. Did he do anything other than grab the other crab's shell? If it happens again put them on opposite ends of the tank. I'm honestly not very experienced with 'crab drama' because I have freakishly mellow crabs, so maybe someone else has some advice?

Oh, and I agree the EE in your tank looks a little weird. Can you dig a little of it up and see what it looks/smells like? I kind of wonder if the UTH baked it and it lost its color or something.