HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I recently acquired two Es. When I put my largest one, Treble, in the tank for the first time, I gave him a quick dip and set him on a raised platform off of the sub. He crawled straight into a coco hut on that platform, probably to de-stress.

The problem is, he has not moved from this spot since I brought him home exactly one week ago. I have little decorative gems around his area so I can see if he tromps through it at night, and none have been disturbed. He hasn't eaten, dug, drank/visited the water bowls, nothing.

My question is, should I lift the hut and attempt to intervene (put food in the hut?), or just leave him be? I want him to feel that the hut is his safe space, but I'm concerned about him. He has literally not moved (other than rotating in place) since I put him in 7 days ago. Does he even know there is sub to dig in?? Ahhh!

I know that in most cases, they are best left alone. But since I am still somewhat new to crabbing, I'm not sure how or when or if to do anything about it. Is he succumbing to PPS? I just don't know?

I keep my tank conditions as recommended by HCA, the only issues I'm working on is bringing the heat up just a tad (its hovering around 77) and getting some lights since they are in a windowless room and probably arent getting the right light cycles.

Thoughts?

P.S. His tank mate Clef spent the first couple days up and around, and had been buried the last 4-5 days. I did notice him eating and hanging out near the water dishes before going down, so I am less concerned about him.

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I would say to just leave him be. If he gets hungry or thirsty he'll come out. I rescued a crab last year, and she went under right away for 7 weeks. I've never had an E, but I would assume they distress the same way as PPs.

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I’ve never had E Hermit crabs but if you just bought him he’s probably stressed and confused where he is. Often times new animals no matter the species- when they get stressed the immune system is lower and therefore they are more likely to get sick. I’d say leave him alone. Hermit crabs are also nocturnal. One day I wanted to change the moss in my pit but one of my crabs decided that was a good place to sleep. So I couldn’t do it cause I didn’t want to wake him up. Had to wait till the next day when he was sleeping in the hide.


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He came out! Admittedly I did nudge his butt with my fingertip. Check him out!

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That looks more like a PP to me but I’m so inexperienced

Its difficult to see in the pictures, but he has that tuft of hair by his claws, and hes considerably paler on his underside vs topside. His eyestalks look different than my last crab, which was definitely a PP. He is very purple though. Honestly I could be wrong, I'm new to crab identification too!

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He looks like a PP that just hasn't molted in awhile. When you bump the heat up, he should get a little more active. I would leave him alone for the most part. You could try moving the food closer to the coco hut to try to encourage him to eat. If he's extreme lethargic, I would put him in iso and observe. But it sounds like he might just be destressing.

Es have triangular shaped eyestalks, PPs are cylindrical. Those pictures make them look like PPs.


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Thank you for the help with identification! I'm happy regardless of the species, but now I know to stick to PP preferences!

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