The Three Musketeers Are Here!

[DinkDonk]

Hi everyone, today I got my crabs in today, and I am still preparing the tank for them, and they seem to be kinda active! They go into the water dishes and sit in there and wave their antennas at each other, and they look happy!

I'm still trying to get few items, like a temporary house and climbing items, as well as some shell or plastic food dishes. I also am trying to get freed s storage on my phone to add and compress pictures...

I talked to my dad about getting a larger tank, but she said no, unless I impress her with better grades and getting over 90% as my average on my classes. I hope school goes alright, I love my boys and girls(?)

I digress alot, but, my crabs names are Hermes, Orpheus and Shelbert. They are all purple Pinchers as far as I can tell. I will post pictures once I free up some space on my phone. Some of my questions I have to ask are

How do I clean various things before I put them into the tank? Do I use bleach or vinegar?

Is there any other of forums or websites or communities that deal with hermit crabs? I would love to broaden my Horizon.

What are some good makeshift shelters? And, where could I find some good DIY forums so that I could make for my crabs?

Please hang tight, while I try to get pictures and set up my tank for my crabs!

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PS my grandmother has a triangular shaped white coconut, but it has a little bit of mold, what can I do to turn it into a hide?

[DinkDonk]

Actually scratch that, the coconut has tons of mold now and these weird mushroom things...

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[Hermiesguardian]

Welcome! This is the only forum I get my info from. Read through the basic care sheets, safe/unsafe food list and food pyramid. Just boiling items for about 5 minutes in dechlorinated water is all that's needed to clean plastic plants, shells, so forth. Mold isn't harmful to crabs. Only to you if you are allergic. But you said it's a white coconut? Does it have a glaze? Or is it all natural. What size tank are they in? They need a minimum of 6 inches of substrate or 3x the height of your largest crab. Whichever is deeper. It has to be mixed with dechlor water to sandcastle consistancy. Their freshwater and saltwater pools should be deep enough that they can fully submerge, with a safe way in and out. Do you have a thermometer/hygrometer? Digital is best. It's very important to know the humidity and temp. And the lid needs to be completely sealed to keep in the humidity. You can check out the DIY section or the pictures section to get ideas for their tank. Just keep asking questions and read through the care sheets.

[DinkDonk]

Thanks for stopping by, my tank is a 10 gallon, as I said before I convince my dad to get me a large one hopefully sometime soon, but only if I get good marks.

The substrate is 6in yes, and I have a makeshift lid that is composed of three acrylic sheets duct tape, and it works very efficiently! I don't have the digital ones, but I have the ones that have a meter on them. I have a thermometer and a hygrometer, and the humidity stays between 80 through 90 percent, and the temperature usually stays from 75 to 80 ish. My substrate is a sandcastle consistency, and one of my crabs has dug about an inch into the substrate. It is five parts play sand, and one part equal Earth.

I mixed two water pools with life water, since it is reverse osmosis, which I've added a dechlorinator to be safe. It is deep enough for the whole crab to submerge including the shell. I put in River stones from the dollar store, which I've boiled for 5 minutes, and I've scrubbed each one individually with 50/50 solution of white distilled vinegar and dechlorinated water. I rinsed the stones again using dechlorinated water. I have provided 11 shells in total, and they seem to be whelks shells. Two of my crabs has switched into my new shells, which I've boiled two times, and I've let them air-dry for a week.

One of my crabs seems to be just sitting all day, and he hasn't moved ever since I first got him. He doesn't have a death smell, but he hasn't moved an inch. Currently I am needing to get a temporary hide for them, but I'm not sure how to do so! I don't have crafting materials or anything of the sort, and Hermes, my favorite one, just sits in a corner all day. The coconut is a kind of cylinder coconut with a white cone like shape on the top. I believe we get these from Asian markets, but I don't exactly have a picture of one right now. It's natural, and there's no glaze. I don't want to risk the chance of mold and mushrooms or other strange foreign organism in my crabs habitat, so that they stay healthy.

Is it normal to have cloudy salt water? I have mixed in instant ocean with the Life water, and I put the River stones in. And just a couple hours later, the water seems to be a little bit cloudy. This doesn't seem to affect the crabs, since Hermes like to sit in it for about an hour or so last night.

Another question of mine is how can I make a temporary hide for them? I don't really have any ideas at the moment but I'd love to hear some! I would also love to hear about climbing toys, or anything for them like decorations.

My last question is it alright to have a kind of humid and salty smell in the tank? I had this smell from my shells that I've provided for them, and it seems to be that the smell is Amplified in the crab habitat.

I am not sure if this is why I ask my questions here, or if I'm allowed to do so, but thanks again, and I'll try to keep my crabs happy and healthy!

Hermes, Orpheus and Shellbert https://imgur.com/a/SpqSkHM

Tank https://imgur.com/a/mJ1I24Z

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[Moe2076]

That crab in the corner looks like it's just destressing. Some crabs are more active than others. I have this one who seems to hardly ever do anything. He just likes to stay burrowed up near the top.

[curlysister]

My tank definately has kind of a damp jungle-swamp smell. It's not a bad smell.
Did you consider a hide like the one I sent you the picture of?

[DinkDonk]

It's interesting how different hermit crabs are more active than others, my hermit crab in the white shell is Hermes, and he's the most active, he's not all that shy as well! I guess he likes to be in the corner and camp near the food site. My other crab Orpheus looks like he likes to dig about one and a half inch down and to the substrate, I think maybe he just distressing and or molting? My other crab Shelbert, he's been vibing ever since I got him, a little bit too much...

And curly, I have considered your hide! I looked around the house and at the dollar store for any crafting materials, but I wasn't able to find any type of water-resistant plastic that you have, the closest they had was PCP piping or cardboard. Do you think that a jar dug into the substrate or an opaque plastic Bowl with a cut opening would work for now?

Hermes and Orpheus https://imgur.com/a/Rrlv3Tt

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