HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I haven't been on a great deal since I lost one of my crabs and on top of that I have a hectic schedule most days. A few weeks ago, Slowpoke moved into Speedy's old shell (Speedy died mid-molt). It's almost like he never passed on. Slowpoke started getting a bit lonely; he became really inactive so I brought home two new crabs and a brand new tank. They are also Australian Land Hermits.

This is Pinchy:


This is Turbo:


Currently, Turbo is buried (I suspect a long overdue molt; the conditions these guys were kept in at the pet shop was deplorable) and Pinchy refuses to leave Slowpoke alone. Slowpoke has now become VERY active; he climbs on everything he can find with Pinchy following him everywhere!

Argh! Tonight Slowpoke dug up Turbo! He's such a little (insert curse word here)! It doesn't seem like Turbo was down for a molt (although I hoped he was as the conditions he came from were terrible and there was no way known he would've been able to unless he pulled a surface molt); may have just been destressing as he's now happily running around the tank with the other two.

Welcome back! Did you dip all of the new guys into the freshwater? I know it's a new tank, but everything smells like the old tank except for the new guys. This way they all smell the same. That's what I would do...

Hey GB!
I've actually had the new guys for a few weeks now (just haven't had a chance to get on here) and they were all dipped into freshwater when they went into the new tank. Just hoping Turbo goes back down soon; he's acting a bit sluggish today and he's been hanging around the salt water bowl a lot. I was just annoyed that he got dug up. My tank is 17 gallon and there's definitely only three guys in there so I don't think it's a space issue. Slowpoke must've just been wanting to see if Turbo would come back up. When Turbo goes back down I'll be sure to iso him just in case a molt is going to happen.

Best of luck!!! Hope Turbo goes down soon! I love your pictures by the way - Australian Land Hermit Crabs are just so cool looking! And I like their shells.

Have you checked out the breeding threads yet? There is another Australian crabber who just recently successfully captive bred 11+ ALHCs. They're maybe 4 months(?) old now - really great pics and info about the whole process. I just thought it was super cool, and you seem to be from Australia, so I thought I'd mention it.

Thank you! I'm really hoping he does. I'm only fairly new to this; I've only had hermit crabs for 8 months and I'm still learning and this forum has been a lifesaver! The photos were actually to test how well my phone's camera works and I was surprised with the quality.

I've only had one successful molt in this time with Slowpoke and I hope there are more success stories, especially with the other two. With their shells, Slowpoke originally had a longer, pointy shell and has changed many times. Turbo has never changed shells but Pinchy changed 5 times within 12 hours of coming home with me; on the fifth change he decided his original shell was the best for him. They're all currently in turbo style shells which I've read is a preference for that particular breed. I refuse to buy painted shells for them plus the natural shells look so much nicer on them anyway.

I do live in Australia; I believe that ALHs are the most common breed here, with straws coming in next and rarely you'll come across a ruggie. Never seen a ruggie or straws being sold where I am. I would've love to adopt but there aren't a great deal of people who adopt them out. All of mine are pet shop rescues who at one point or another came from the same shop.

Eventually I may try and breed; I've actually read that thread and I thought the way they documented the whole process was amazing! Sexing these guys has been a bit difficult though as they either don't sit still long enough for me to have a proper look underneath or they love to hide in their shells. I'll be attempting to check soon though as I've read from other users that they can change sex after molting so it might be an idea to note down what they actually are at various points throughout their lives.

Happy to say that Turbo has gone back down! Hopefully he won't get dug up by anyone else in the tank again.

Yea!

Good luck!

Great!

Turbo decided to come back up yesterday and hasn't dug down since. He's been watching me do uni study all day today and I've been catching him watching Netflix with myself and my partner (why crabs watch TV is a bit of a mystery to me). Instead Slowpoke has gone down and I'm pretty sure it'll be for a molt unless he pops back up in the next few days.

Ha! Funny! When my crabs were in a room with a TV they used to wrestle over who got the best view!

Turbo went back down a couple of days ago and Slowpoke hasn't surfaced again yet. Poor Pinchy seems a bit lonely now.

HeyItsEggs, That's pretty funny! They must like the light from the TV or something.

So it's been a little while and I thought I'd give you all an update.

Turbo has been buried on and off over the past two weeks. Each time I had hoped it was for a molt but now I think it was just to destress. He's now coming back up on his own accord to eat, drink and run around. Tonight I have discovered what I assume is a molt sac just inside his shell!! I'm over the moon that he may FINALLY go down for a molt. It's what I've been waiting for since I brought him home.

Pinchy has been on the surface of the crabitat since he came home. He enjoys watching TV when he's out or he will sit there and watch me work on my laptop. He's never been a big digger, though I now see his shell covered in sand a lot. It might have just taken him a while to realise that he can in fact bury himself if he needs to. Nothing so far in regards to him going down for a molt but I assume it won't be long before he does.

Slowpoke has been buried for the past two weeks or so (give or take a few days). There have been no signs of him thus far although he tends to stay buried for prolonged periods of time just because it's what he likes to do. He could have gone for a molt though it's very hard to tell with him. He did two back to back molts in January and freaked me out when I saw loose legs on the tank. Having said that, it could be the time for his next one; he's the smallest out of them all and he's only the size of a large grape.

So that's what has been happening in my crabitat lately

Sounds like your crabs are getting down to crabby business! Molt sacs and gel legs are just the coolest, aren't they? I just love to watch them grow!

They all have such different personalities. I only discovered last night that Turbo has what I assume is a molt sac. It didn't look like eggs as the sac wouldn't be as clear, but maybe one day that will happen. I reckon gel limbs look pretty cool. It's so fascinating how these creatures regenerate limbs the way they do.

Turbo has me a little worried today; he's very sluggish and just won't budge from near the salt water pool. His eyestalks are turned downward (I can't see if they're going cloudy or not yet) and he's not retreating into his shell if I go near the tank (which he and all the others normally will). Temp and humidity are looking good; my space heater is a lifesaver at the moment. My anxiety is in overdrive and although I know these are pre-molt symptoms, I can't help but worry that something may go wrong. I never really had this issue with Slowpoke as he just digs down and molts without showing signs and just appears on the surface whenever he chooses. This would be my first molt where a hermit crab has actually shown signs of what he's about to go through.

Thankfully Pinchy doesn't really bother Turbo as he keeps to himself and chooses to climb on everything rather than being social all the time. I've just got my fingers crossed that Turbo digs back down at some stage over the next few hours.