HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello everyone!
I'm a brand new hermit crab owner and I've been doing a lot of research on how to take care of my newly acquired hermit crabs.
I was in a bit of a hurry and so I just bought the petco hermit crab kit (big mistake!) and now I'm realizing there's a lot of things in there that really shouldn't be used, like the food and the sand (vita-sand). Unfortunately, I'm a college student who can't travel to different places right now so I can't get a lot of the recommended materials.
For the food, I'm managing with feeding them things from my dining hall (fruits, hard boiled eggs, raw vegetables etc) but the sand I don't think I can change it anytime soon. I saw on another hermit crab forum that I could mix the sand with the coconut fiber, but I was wondering how people thought about this!
Thank you!

coconut fiber is recommended and used by a lot of users here! most people recommend a ratio of 1 part eco earth and one part play sand. however i use more because it was just how it worked out for me. the ratio doesn’t need to be strict but keep in mind more coconut fiber has a higher chance of flood if it is overly saturated. to fully answer the question, yes use eco-earth/ coconut fiber.


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I made the mistake of buying the "wrong" sand (calci sand, which is very similar to what you bought). Unfortunately that type of sand is bad for crabs to live on. It can stick to them and cause abrasions and it can form cement like tunnels that can trap them and suffocate them.

If you can access Eco Earth (coconut fiber); you have some options. You can go 100% coconut fiber and watch for oversaturation (the "floods" that keeliaa mentioned); or you can mix a little of your Repti sand with a lot of coconut fiber. You'll still have to watch for oversaturation, but at least your crabs won't get trapped underground.

They don't need the play sand, but it does better replicate their natural habitat and is easier for us crabbie caretakers to manage the substrate. If there is anyway you can get some play sand from a home improvement type store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) your crabs will be in more optimal conditions.

Vita-sand is a brand name of calci-sand, so the same risks still apply if there is too much in the mixture. While low concentrations have been used in the past (not many people do now!), you may find it a lot easier in taking it out and replacing it with playsand (a 50 pound bag will roughly fill one 10g up to 6 inches (halfway).

Coconut fibre (EE) isn't necessary, as you may be on a budget and getting playsand will be a lot more economical. However, if you do want to mix (or prefer to try/use EE), they can also be used without much worry. I personally found more problems with straight sand compared to EE, as EE wicks water from the bottom a lot better and releases it at vapour (humidity) compared to sand, which water tends to settle at the bottom and topmost layer dries out a little.

By far the most recommended ratio is 5:1 (sand:ee) however it is not required, as as mentioned prior, any other ratio (or lack thereof) can be used, as long as its 3x deeper than your largest crab. (This usually equates to around 6 inches unless they are bigger than a large)

Hello! Welcome!
What you're feeding food wise won't be the best forever, although it will work now!
To sum a crab's diet up:
proteins- proteins can come in many forms. For example: egg, beef (not seasoned or any added preservatives!)mealworms, shrimp, krill, peanuts, chicken, fish, ect. Proteins should be available most days of the week.
fruits- fruits should also be available often, but not everyday. Some fruits my crabs seem to enjoy is strawberry, blueberry, hibiscus (yes I know it's a flower but I kinda sometimes lump it into fruits...lol) bananas, raspberry, ect.
veggies- Veggies are equally important. I feed my crabs (and put into my mixes) kelp powder, leek powder, spirulina(not exactly veggie) ect.
calcium- calcium is SO important to crabs! I have it available 3-4 days of the week. It helps them molt! Some good calcium includes eggshell, chrushed oyster shell, ect.
fats- avocado oil, olive oil, sunflower seeds.
chitin- crushed lobster shell, crushed crab shell.
extras- Honey is personally a must-have incase I ever have an injured crab! Honey, although a treat, is a very good energizer for them. I put bee pollen granules into my mixes!
(Forgot to mention.... this isn't everything they can eat! For example, they can eat a lot more different fruits then I have listed. I just summed it up and added a few examples.)
You might ask, where do I get all that food? Well, if you want, you can make it!
However, you can buy handmade mixes from sites like Etsy. This isn't needed at all, but does make it easier.