HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello!

Brand new crab owner here. I acquired 2 pp Hermit Crabs from a parent seeking to rehome them. (Her child wanted a more interactive pet.) I had been looking for a class pet (I'm a new teacher) and thought this was a good opportunity and said I'd take them if no other interested parties stepped forward.

I was thinking of my colleague who had 2 hermies in the 'paint can' kind of enclosure and I thought it would be an easy pet. So, adoption day rolls around and I pick up a 10gallon tank with 1.5" substrate, shells and 2 hermies. Not what I was expecting!

My kids found some youtube videos on how to care for hermit crabs, and I found you guys! So, I invested in a mister, hygrometer/thermometer, some cholla wood (unpainted) some salt water hydrate, a UTH, moss and some treats. They really like the river shrimp. The food dish was decimated every time I put some in there.


So, they're growing on me! Glad to have this forum as a resource!

Hi Congratulations!!
Getting crabs can be really fun and caring for them too. I will just advise that you follow the care sheets on this forum, they help a lot!
Here's the link if you want to peek at it!

PP Guide: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 51&t=92452
Tank Setup: viewtopic.php?t=92457

I wish you good luck!

Congratulations! And good work by your children for finding you the YouTube videos. Your crabs are lucky to have you, and you and your students will enjoy them.

Congrats! Crabs are a great pet for students to learn about specialized care for animals. They’re like reptiles, where they require specific things just to live and are definitely a good education point Welcome!


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So...I was going to bring them into the classroom today to let them get settled, but for the past two days I haven't seen one of them. He was out and about on Friday night, but didn't see him at all yesterday or today. Should I risk moving them? It is also very cold today, and that might be why they're gone under.

Hi! Welcome to the HCA!

I wouldn't. Wait until they are up. By moving the tank you can collapse the tunnels or molting cave causing suffocation. Whenever crabs are down, whatever you do, don't dig (unless it is a dire emergency).

@captainb if you will message me your school address, I will send a care package for your students and their crabs. When is your last day of school before summer break?

Don't know the age of the kids in your class or how tech savy you guys are, but one fun thing some of us have done is to take videos of the crabs at night. Since they're nocturnal, often the most activity is done at night (eating, running on the hamster wheel, shell changing and climbing, getting in the moss pit and such). So if you set up a camera on the crab tank (maybe with a motion sensor?), it can be fun to review the video and see what they did. There's apps and stuff to do this using a cell phone also. I hear that you can use a red light at night so you can see them but not disturb their day/night cycle. Anyway, have fun!!!

Hermias_mom wrote:Don't know the age of the kids in your class or how tech savy you guys are, but one fun thing some of us have done is to take videos of the crabs at night. Since they're nocturnal, often the most activity is done at night (eating, running on the hamster wheel, shell changing and climbing, getting in the moss pit and such). So if you set up a camera on the crab tank (maybe with a motion sensor?), it can be fun to review the video and see what they did. There's apps and stuff to do this using a cell phone also. I hear that you can use a red light at night so you can see them but not disturb their day/night cycle. Anyway, have fun!!!

For this, you could get a Wyze Cam. Wyze cameras have a livestream, time lapse feature, cloud, and a playback feature. It even has a night vision feature so you can view your tank at night.

AwesomeHermit wrote:

Hermias_mom wrote:Don't know the age of the kids in your class or how tech savy you guys are, but one fun thing some of us have done is to take videos of the crabs at night. Since they're nocturnal, often the most activity is done at night (eating, running on the hamster wheel, shell changing and climbing, getting in the moss pit and such). So if you set up a camera on the crab tank (maybe with a motion sensor?), it can be fun to review the video and see what they did. There's apps and stuff to do this using a cell phone also. I hear that you can use a red light at night so you can see them but not disturb their day/night cycle. Anyway, have fun!!!

For this, you could get a Wyze Cam. Wyze cameras have a livestream, time lapse feature, cloud, and a playback feature. It even has a night vision feature so you can view your tank at night.

This is an awesome idea! I'll have to talk to our tech folks to set it up, and maybe get a donorschoose project going for the camera. Thanks for the idea!

GotButterflies wrote:Hi! Welcome to the HCA!

I wouldn't. Wait until they are up. By moving the tank you can collapse the tunnels or molting cave causing suffocation. Whenever crabs are down, whatever you do, don't dig (unless it is a dire emergency).

Thank you! I found such great information here, especially the care and feeding guides.

captainb wrote:

AwesomeHermit wrote:

Hermias_mom wrote:Don't know the age of the kids in your class or how tech savy you guys are, but one fun thing some of us have done is to take videos of the crabs at night. Since they're nocturnal, often the most activity is done at night (eating, running on the hamster wheel, shell changing and climbing, getting in the moss pit and such). So if you set up a camera on the crab tank (maybe with a motion sensor?), it can be fun to review the video and see what they did. There's apps and stuff to do this using a cell phone also. I hear that you can use a red light at night so you can see them but not disturb their day/night cycle. Anyway, have fun!!!

For this, you could get a Wyze Cam. Wyze cameras have a livestream, time lapse feature, cloud, and a playback feature. It even has a night vision feature so you can view your tank at night.

This is an awesome idea! I'll have to talk to our tech folks to set it up, and maybe get a donorschoose project going for the camera. Thanks for the idea!

The Wyze Cam only costs about $40. I have one in my tank in addition to a 360 Smart Camera, so I can have more than one angle. I have a 90 gallon tank though. If you do get it, it has to be mounted inside the tank. This picture is how I have it set up. I don't use the sticky pad it comes with. If you can see, I have it sitting on top of an overturned soap dish, with a small flat rock under it to angle it.

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Hermiesguardian wrote:

captainb wrote:

Hermias_mom wrote:Don't know the age of the kids in your class or how tech savy you guys are, but one fun thing some of us have done is to take videos of the crabs at night. Since they're nocturnal, often the most activity is done at night (eating, running on the hamster wheel, shell changing and climbing, getting in the moss pit and such). So if you set up a camera on the crab tank (maybe with a motion sensor?), it can be fun to review the video and see what they did. There's apps and stuff to do this using a cell phone also. I hear that you can use a red light at night so you can see them but not disturb their day/night cycle. Anyway, have fun!!!

For this, you could get a Wyze Cam. Wyze cameras have a livestream, time lapse feature, cloud, and a playback feature. It even has a night vision feature so you can view your tank at night.

This is an awesome idea! I'll have to talk to our tech folks to set it up, and maybe get a donorschoose project going for the camera. Thanks for the idea!

The Wyze Cam only costs about $40. I have one in my tank in addition to a 360 Smart Camera, so I can have more than one angle. I have a 90 gallon tank though. If you do get it, it has to be mounted inside the tank. This picture is how I have it set up. I don't use the sticky pad it comes with. If you can see, I have it sitting on top of an overturned soap dish, with a small flat rock under it to angle it.

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The WyzeCam 2 is now only 20 USD

Thanks to everyone that suggested the Wyze cam! I now have the 'crabcam' set up at school so I can prove to the kiddos that there's actually a hermie in there, LOL. They love it.