HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello all,

I had been thinking about getting some Hermit Crabs for some time, and after quite a lot of research, I decided to go for it. And I have to say, it makes me so happy with these guys in my room. They're probably one of the most fascinating creatures I have ever owned, and over the years, that accounts for half the animal kingdom

Anyways, last night I went to Petsmart, got a 20 gallon long tank, a glass canopy hood, a heater, a water bowl with a cave, another water bowl for fresh water, a food bowl, the expanding coconut shavings, and some moss. My boyfriend brought me some extra play sand he had for his goldfish tank, of which I need to get more for because half the tank is at four inches, and the other half is around two inches deep. I also had some terra cotta pots that I put in there for them to hide in, and I am leaving here in a minute to go grab my hermies new shells, and some drift wood and things to climb on.

Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing; I got four hermit crabs. One of them is probably just over the size of a quarter, two are about the size of a silver dollar, and the last one is my beautiful little baby boy (just guessing on that) roughly large enough to fit in the palm of my hand. From what I can tell, they are all Purple Pinchers, being that they are much darker in color than I believe the Ecuadorians would be. And I made sure NOT to get any of the "fancy" hermits with the painted shells. From what I have read, that is a pretty gruesome and cruel process, getting them in those. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get some good quality shells for them?

Anyways, my only real concern then would be the heat. I have one of the Hermit Crab heaters they sell at the store, and put it on the one side, because from what I have read, Hermits need one part of their tank warmer, and the other part of their tank a little cooler so they can decide and fluctuate their own heat. The problem is that three of them have gone to the side without the heat, where the thermometer says it is 70 degrees. Is this too cold for them? Should I get another heater for that side of the tank as well? And if I should get another heater, is there any particular heater you would recommend? The humidity level is staying at a constant 90 percent right now. I do expect that to go down slightly with the small crack in the tank lid.

So yeah, just a little tidbit as to where I am coming from, and what I have going on. Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any comments or help.

Hello and Welcome to the HCA!

I think it is so awesome when people take the time to research their pet’s needs before they get them!

You should try insulating the back/outside of the heater with foil and/or cardboard. I personally have a smaller heater with foil and cardboard taped to the outside of it, and my tank stays between 80-85, of course for the winter the heat in my house probably helps to maintain that. I have a second one that I attach in the summer if it gets cold in my room. If the insulation does not bring it up to 75-80 degrees on the cooler side too, you may want to try a second heater, but there is a good chance that insulating it might help.

If you haven’t already picked up some more playsand, I just wanted to let you know that they have playsand at your local hardware store that is safe for them and is usually about $4 for 50 pounds of it; it would be the play sand that you would put in a child’s sand box; it is perfectly safe to use.

As for where you could buy shells…unless you live near a beach, online may be the best due to variety and actually getting the types of shells you are looking for. I personally have only ordered from Naples, but there are some other places to buy from that others use without issues. Here is a link to a list of places you can buy supplies from, including shells: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pa ... pping.html

Rebecca C wrote:Hello and Welcome to the HCA!

I think it is so awesome when people take the time to research their pet’s needs before they get them!

Hey! Thanks for the reply! I will definitely try the insulation on the back of the heater. I have another one coming in the mail that was supposed to arrive today, but for some reason instead of leaving it in the mailbox, they gave me a failed delivery notification. I have never had that happen with Amazon prime before. Hopefully I will have it for tomorrow though.

As for the shells, I ended up going to Michael's and got a bunch of shells there for super cheap. I have found some online though that are gorgeous! I do live right near a couple of beaches though, so when all of this snow goes away and things start warming up I will go shell searching for even more! And I definitely got the sand at Home Depot! I am all about those savings, and four dollars for play sand versus the 19 dollars for a 20 lb bag of sand at Petco or Petsmart sure sounds great to me! haha.

I ended up finding a GREAT piece of drift wood at Petsmart today though. It fits perfectly in the corner of my tank, and provides a wonderful little cave. I also added four small plants that I got from Home depot. I did as much research as to make sure that they are non-toxic, and I think the tank has come out quite nicely. As soon as I can figure out how to get some good photos on here I shall post them.

I believe this should work to be able to view the crabitat. If you cannot see it here, this link should be viewable to all.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 84f5993d2b

I'm sorry for not having replied until now; things have been a bit crazy for me.

Oh good, I forgot to mention that you could check craft stores and such for the shells; I'm glad you had luck with finding some to use! I'm also glad that you have found some nice things to put in the tank!

The tank looks good, I am just not sure if it is safe to put the plants in the tank even though they, themselves, may not be harmful to the crabs. If pesticides were used on the plants, it may be harmful to have in the tank, as the crabs will usually cut pieces off of the plants and eat them, and they are more sensitive to pesticides.