New here

[RiNiKy506]

Hello, I had written a really long post yesterday but it wouldn’t post and I’ve read quite a bit on here since then. So I don’t have quite as many questions. I bought some hermit crabs when we were on vacation, my son wanted them and I had them as a little girl so I figured why not. We bought 4 in a tiny wire cage until we got home and I put them in a 10 gal with some sand we took from the beach. I have bought some coco stuff that needs to be mixed that I want to switch to bc I feel like the sand kind of sticks to them. I’m not sure if I don’t have it wet enough or if it’s the wrong kind of sand. It’s from the beach at Seaside Heights, NJ. I have a bigger tank (50 gal I think) that I want to eventually switch to when I can get the smaller tank stuff figured out better. Or I was thinking about a 29 gal, I think it was, that I read on here. They were in the painted shells and we bought a few extras while we were there I have been trying to find natural shells but the local pet stores I have been to really don’t have much of a selection. I still have a few to check. I’ve been looking online also and probably just should have ordered but was trying to get them now at the pet stores, rather than waiting. I was looking on eBay for hermit crab stuff and found someone who makes natural hermit crab food and asked them for help and they sent me a lot of great info and referred me here. I am very thankful for them for sending me here, and so thankful for your site. I will be scouring these pages for awhile I’m sure. So, hello fellow crab owners, it’s great to be here with you all.

[Hermiesguardian]

Hi! Welcome to the wonderful addictive world of crabbing! There's a link on here about what shells are preferred. And links to places to purchase shells. And...the bigger the tank the better. After everything you need in there and them growing you'll want to upgrade. So if you can start with a bigger tank you'll be happy.
You can use playsand from a hardware store and mix it with eco earth. Mix it with dechlorinated fresh or salt water to sandcastle consistancy. You will need at least 6" or 3x the height of your largest crab. Whichever is deeper wins.

[fandt94]

Welcome! Fairly new here too and I have learned tons from these wonderful people. I have had great success with shells from a site listed in the shopping resources called Naples. You can order a pack of different sizes or specific sizes if you know what you need. I stick with variety mostly because I have different sized crabs. Again welcome and I wish you great success with your crabs!

[ciaraalston]

Hello, I had written a really long post yesterday but it wouldn’t post and I’ve read quite a bit on here since then. So I don’t have quite as many questions. I bought some hermit crabs when we were on vacation, my son wanted them and I had them as a little girl so I figured why not. We bought 4 in a tiny wire cage until we got home and I put them in a 10 gal with some sand we took from the beach. I have bought some coco stuff that needs to be mixed that I want to switch to bc I feel like the sand kind of sticks to them. I’m not sure if I don’t have it wet enough or if it’s the wrong kind of sand. It’s from the beach at Seaside Heights, NJ. I have a bigger tank (50 gal I think) that I want to eventually switch to when I can get the smaller tank stuff figured out better. Or I was thinking about a 29 gal, I think it was, that I read on here. They were in the painted shells and we bought a few extras while we were there I have been trying to find natural shells but the local pet stores I have been to really don’t have much of a selection. I still have a few to check. I’ve been looking online also and probably just should have ordered but was trying to get them now at the pet stores, rather than waiting. I was looking on eBay for hermit crab stuff and found someone who makes natural hermit crab food and asked them for help and they sent me a lot of great info and referred me here. I am very thankful for them for sending me here, and so thankful for your site. I will be scouring these pages for awhile I’m sure. So, hello fellow crab owners, it’s great to be here with you all.

WELCOME!!! So glad to have you! This world of crabbing is addicting and you'll love it! First, like mentioned above, the bigger the better for the tanks. You'll eventually have to upgrade as they grow, so might as well start big if you can. It saves time and money in the long run

I order my food from TheHealthyHermit on etsy, but there's lots of great places to order organic!

Check the classifieds section on the forum. there's lot of shells for sale there from users who have extras. Much cheaper than online.

[aussieJJDude]

Everyone else pretty much covered it all, so I just want to say welcome!

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[RiNiKy506]

Thank you so much for the welcomes. You are so right about it being addicting! I think I will just go with the bigger tank, I need to find a spot for it first. We are going out today to the pet stores to look today and whatever we don’t find I’m not going to wait anymore and order online. I keep checking on them to make sure they’re ok. 2 of them changed shells on Wednesday night, and another Thursday night. So I’m really worried about their shells, I think they want natural ones. My biggest one took the natural one, so I hope they weren’t fighting over it. He’s really actually too big for it, as he sticks out quite a bit. I was going to post a picture but I think I need to upload it then add image tags. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on any forums. Thank you all for being so wonderful!

[lmw142]

Welcome! There is a guide to help with uploading pictures in the pictures section of the forum, or you could download the tapatalk app to post pictures that way (this is what I've started doing and it's a little easier.)

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[RiNiKy506]

Here are my guys when we got them, about a week ago. I will get some updated pictures later. Thank you for the suggestion to use Tapatalk. It took me awhile but I figured it out. 3 have since changed shells, only the Superman one is in his same shell. My “spongebob” changed into the orange striped shell, my “flames” one changed into a green turbo(I believe that’s what it is) and the one that was is the orange striped shell originally changed into another painted shell we had bought with them before I know how bad the painted shells were. I’m working on getting all natural shells for them all. I love the angaria delphinus shells, I love the color pink. I think those will probably be more decor bc I think the types of crabs I have prefer the turbo shells. If I have that wrong please let me know. I believe mine are purple pinchers? I will post better pictures later and then maybe you could help me identify which crabbies I have.


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[GotButterflies]

Welcome to the HCA! You have Purple Pinchers

Please check out the forum section for the care sheets if you haven't been able to read those, they are always great to look at.

I personally love Richard's Shells / Deltona Sea Shells. Some people talk about Naples too. Lots of shells on Etsy also. In the meantime, Michael's, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's usually have shells. You can by them in bulk. There are only a couple that are useful in a huge bag, but still a good buy when you use the 40% off coupon (found on each of their apps).

Please check out the shell guide on our forum. (The forums are easier to navigate via computer IMO)

Once again, WELCOME!!

[fandt94]

Thank you so much for the welcomes. You are so right about it being addicting! I think I will just go with the bigger tank, I need to find a spot for it first. We are going out today to the pet stores to look today and whatever we don’t find I’m not going to wait anymore and order online. I keep checking on them to make sure they’re ok. 2 of them changed shells on Wednesday night, and another Thursday night. So I’m really worried about their shells, I think they want natural ones. My biggest one took the natural one, so I hope they weren’t fighting over it. He’s really actually too big for it, as he sticks out quite a bit. I was going to post a picture but I think I need to upload it then add image tags. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on any forums. Thank you all for being so wonderful!

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on any forums too so I had to relearn how to post pics haha! I used tinypic to upload an avatar because they have an avatar resizing option. When copying to here though I had to drop the img codes when pasting. For pictures I prefer photobucket links but many use others.

Welcome!

[fandt94]

Oh yes, Richards is good too! I’ve ordered so many shells I have lost count lol

[RiNiKy506]

Thank you all so much! I mixed up my eco earth and let it sit overnight (first time mixing salt also) I can’t wait to get it in the tank. My tank humidity is reading way too high. Is this ok? I’m hoping that when I switch to the eco-earth everything will regulate better. I have a zoo med mini heater, I just realized I got the wrong one, I need the 10-20 gallon one. If anyone has any better suggestions until I can make some room for our big tank for heating. I also have the zoo med dual thermometer & humidity gage. The heat is in the yellow (70) and my humidity is way in the red (in between 90&100%). The temperature here in New York has dropped so much the past few days I was worried about the heat. I want to get this right as fast as I can as I’ve been reading how their first molt in captivity and be really stressful and kill them. I will feel terrible if I can’t get this right for these guys. Also, is it possible to tell if you have male or females? Is it better to use straight eco earth or mix with sand? I’ve read so much that I find myself going back to what I’ve read bc I can’t remember. I’m hoping I get a weekend off of work soon so we can rearrange my oldest son’s room for the big tank. It’s funny bc it was my 8 year old who wanted them, and now my 13 year old who is more into them.



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[Hermiesguardian]

Thank you all so much! I mixed up my eco earth and let it sit overnight (first time mixing salt also) I can’t wait to get it in the tank. My tank humidity is reading way too high. Is this ok? I’m hoping that when I switch to the eco-earth everything will regulate better. I have a zoo med mini heater, I just realized I got the wrong one, I need the 10-20 gallon one. If anyone has any better suggestions until I can make some room for our big tank for heating. I also have the zoo med dual thermometer & humidity gage. The heat is in the yellow (70) and my humidity is way in the red (in between 90&100%). The temperature here in New York has dropped so much the past few days I was worried about the heat. I want to get this right as fast as I can as I’ve been reading how their first molt in captivity and be really stressful and kill them. I will feel terrible if I can’t get this right for these guys. Also, is it possible to tell if you have male or females? Is it better to use straight eco earth or mix with sand? I’ve read so much that I find myself going back to what I’ve read bc I can’t remember. I’m hoping I get a weekend off of work soon so we can rearrange my oldest son’s room for the big tank. It’s funny bc it was my 8 year old who wanted them, and now my 13 year old who is more into them.



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There's no such thing as too high humidity. But the guages you have aren't very acurate. Alot of us use the Accurite, sold at walmart for $8. It's digital. It's a good idea to mix the ee with sand. Playsand. I don't remember why but I'm sure someone will let you know. When you say you let your ee sit overnight, do you mean in the tank? For your bigger tank I would recommend the Ultratherm. Can be purchased on beanfarm.com, reptilebasics.com or amazon. Just get a size that fits the back of your tank right at the substrate line. In the meantime you can cover the tank with a blanket or insulate around your current heater. Cover cardboard with tinfoil, shiny side facing out. Yes, you can tell the sex but you would have to hold them on their back while they are stretched out. I think. Lol. I don't handle mine. Doesn't really matter to me what sex they are. If your crabs dig down by the time your bigger tank comes, don't dig them up. Just wait them out.

[RiNiKy506]

I mixed the salt water and then I put the ee brick in a bucket then poured the salt water in and let it sit overnight bc it was too late to clean the tank and put the ee in. I wanted to have it ready so I could do it today when we get home. Yeah I’m not too crazy about this gage I have. I think I’m going to try and return it and get a different one. Yes you are right it really doesn’t matter what sex they are, I was just curious. We do handle ours, is it ok to? Or are they better off just in their tanks? Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly.


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[Hermiesguardian]

I mixed the salt water and then I put the ee brick in a bucket then poured the salt water in and let it sit overnight bc it was too late to clean the tank and put the ee in. I wanted to have it ready so I could do it today when we get home. Yeah I’m not too crazy about this gage I have. I think I’m going to try and return it and get a different one. Yes you are right it really doesn’t matter what sex they are, I was just curious. We do handle ours, is it ok to? Or are they better off just in their tanks? Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly.


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Handling them stresses them out. Especially if they are new and need time to destress. But, really anytime. They are prey animals and will always be afraid of our huge hands reaching down to pick them up.