HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone, so i just got a hermit crab and tank for xmas.. i was given the crab and some substrate as pictured.

I have soooo many questions even after research...

I bought a lil doodad for him to climb and hide in and am feeding him veggies right now.

I did some research, ordered an aiicioo 8w heating matt, and know i need sand and substrate...

I also have a dish of bottled water without chlorine for it and have been changing out the water and food everyday.

This is my second day with the lil guy and i wanna keep hom healthy and happy!!

Im undecided between the Zoo Med Laboratories SZMSCK1 Hermit Crab Kitthat has the trial water conditioner https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000QSK524/ref ... hCbFYV824C
Or
Flukers Hermit Crab Starter Kit
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00NG61IVU/ref ... hCbQDV4AKH
Or ordering seperate coconut substrate...

Does it need light??? I live in a basement in canada so there is little natural light..

Its living in a 10gal right now and do i need both sand and substrate?

Appreciate any feedback and advice!!

Nautilusmollusc wrote:Hi everyone, so i just got a hermit crab and tank for xmas.. i was given the crab and some substrate as pictured.

I have soooo many questions even after research...

I bought a lil doodad for him to climb and hide in and am feeding him veggies right now.

I did some research, ordered an aiicioo 8w heating matt, and know i need sand and substrate...

I also have a dish of bottled water without chlorine for it and have been changing out the water and food everyday.

This is my second day with the lil guy and i wanna keep hom healthy and happy!!

Im undecided between the Zoo Med Laboratories SZMSCK1 Hermit Crab Kitthat has the trial water conditioner https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000QSK524/ref ... hCbFYV824C
Or
Flukers Hermit Crab Starter Kit
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00NG61IVU/ref ... hCbQDV4AKH
Or ordering seperate coconut substrate...

Does it need light??? I live in a basement in canada so there is little natural light..

Its living in a 10gal right now and do i need both sand and substrate?

Appreciate any feedback and advice!!

Hi! Welcome! The most recommended substrate is a mixture of 5:1 playsand/eco earth. Mixed with dechlorinated water to sandcastle consistancy. Minimum 6" or 3x the height of your largest crab. Whichever is deeper wins. You will want to get as big a tank as you can afford. A digital thermometer/agrometer is much more acurate than analog. The most recommended dechlorinator is Prime and Instant Ocean to make salt water, mixed into dechlor water. The pools needto be deep enough for the crab to fully submerge with a safe way in and out. Check out the care guides on her for the food pyramid, safe and unsafe food lists. They need protein and calcium daily as well as fruit, veggies and more. Those are the basics. Just keep reading the posts on here and asking questions.

Here's a link to the care guides that Hermiesguardian referred to:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=51

You will need to use dechlorinator for the bottled water too.

Do not order the Zoo Med kit - the sand in it is NOT safe for crabs, the commercial food is not safe, sponges aren't recommended, and the salt water is probably not the proper type (needs to be marine salt like Instant Ocean).
I wouldn't order the Fluker's kit either. It also has commercial food, sponges, and unlikely the water conditioners are proper either.
Honestly, most products that are marketed for hermit crabs aren't actually safe for them. It is much better (and more cost effective) to buy the proper items separately. Playsand is cheap at Home Depot (or similar hardware store), Eco Earth is available at most Canadian pet stores, as are dried shrimp (in the turtle section), cuttle bone (sometimes in the bird section). I ordered my Instant Ocean and food from the Hermit Crab Patch, they ship to Canada (there are other online stores who ship to Canada too). I order shells online because most pet stores don't have proper shells. I have had my crabs for over 8 years. I knew nothing about crab care when I got them, and have only used this site for info - you will find a lot of incorrect info out there, but HCA has solid advice and information.
Read through all the care info, and ask questions when you have them!

Welcome to the HCA. The biggest thing I have learned about hermit crabs is.... just about everything I learned about them from stores and pamphlets were wrong. Once you start thinking about where they originally live the more things you read on here make more and more sense. It seems like a lot at first but once you take care of their main needs, Substrate, Heat, Humidity, Food and Water you can worry about the other things in time like decorations, and so forth. I'm sure everyone here started just like you and slowly evolved our care.

As everyone already said the Caresheets are the quick crash course to crabbing. By taking 30 minutes to read all of the guides you will pick up a ton of good information. It seems like a lot and overwhelming at first but once you start to break it down into little pieces it isn't that bad. Some of them are very, very detailed if you don't understand it at first give it some time and go over it again in a few days.

This is the first read I would do in the care guide section, also the first topic.
BASIC HERMIT CRAB CARE
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 51&t=92457

There are also a Navigator to the left with Shopping Resources. They have just about anything you need. Some are even noted that ship to Canada as well.