HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My Grandson won a hermit crab at a fall festival, Most of what I read said they are sociable so we purchased a second. The first one the bigger of the 2 now known as Mr. Crabs. And the latter one known as She and her or Little Bit. Just going to run thru major events since Oct. 20 gal tank the white sub stright about 2 in , I figure I need more or deeper. Fresh water with sea sponges. Salt water for baths. So far buying in bottles premixed. Food and treat from Amazon, changed daily. And the Pappa Almond leafs changed weekly. I keep live moss in the tank. I had trouble with humidity with screen top so I bought a very small humidifier and put in the tank during the day on intermittent. Mr. Crabs carries water in his shell because when you pick him up it runs out but he restocks. They went thru a shell fest for several nights never knew what shell who was going to be in. Once they were done they were done and have kept the same shell since. She has a Shell she can retreat all the way where you can barely see her or tell she is in there. He picked one where his big claw lies flush with the ground and can be seen easley. I use ceramic heat from top of screen at night and uva uvb heat light during the day.
Lately they have been very very inactive. Once a week I move them both while feeding and cleaning and they return to the same spot and stay there. I have gotten up at night on many occ and they are still in the same spot they were before. Other than moss and Pappa leaf they don’t touch the other food. And havent seen them eat moss or pappa leaf. Wondering if they are going to molt?
He is not scared of me at all when I pick him up On the rare occasions I have a piece of shrimp for him or some kind of treat and he looks for it. Except for now thats why I wondered if he could be going to molt.

Gayleh5600 wrote:My Grandson won a hermit crab at a fall festival, Most of what I read said they are sociable so we purchased a second. The first one the bigger of the 2 now known as Mr. Crabs. And the latter one known as She and her or Little Bit. Just going to run thru major events since Oct. 20 gal tank the white sub stright about 2 in , I figure I need more or deeper. Fresh water with sea sponges. Salt water for baths. So far buying in bottles premixed. Food and treat from Amazon, changed daily. And the Pappa Almond leafs changed weekly. I keep live moss in the tank. I had trouble with humidity with screen top so I bought a very small humidifier and put in the tank during the day on intermittent. Mr. Crabs carries water in his shell because when you pick him up it runs out but he restocks. They went thru a shell fest for several nights never knew what shell who was going to be in. Once they were done they were done and have kept the same shell since. She has a Shell she can retreat all the way where you can barely see her or tell she is in there. He picked one where his big claw lies flush with the ground and can be seen easley. I use ceramic heat from top of screen at night and uva uvb heat light during the day.
Lately they have been very very inactive. Once a week I move them both while feeding and cleaning and they return to the same spot and stay there. I have gotten up at night on many occ and they are still in the same spot they were before. Other than moss and Pappa leaf they don’t touch the other food. And havent seen them eat moss or pappa leaf. Wondering if they are going to molt?
He is not scared of me at all when I pick him up On the rare occasions I have a piece of shrimp for him or some kind of treat and he looks for it. Except for now thats why I wondered if he could be going to molt.

Hi!

You'll want substrate that is 3x as deep as your biggest crab (6"+ is good to shoot for). Many of us use a mix of play sand and eco earth. It should be moistened to sand castle consistency with dechlorinated fresh or salt water (it should hold it's shape when squeezed but not be dripping wet).

You can take the sponges out of the water, they just harbor bacteria. You can leave them in the tank dry for them to munch on though. Just make sure the crabs have a ramp to give them easy access in and out of the water. Usually stuff marketed for hermits aren't great for them or sufficient. You'll want to ditch the premixed stuff and grab a marine salt, like Instant Ocean, for your salt water. You can use your tap with a dechlorinator (many of us use Prime with tap water).

You can enclose your screen top completely in saran wrap to keep in moisture. The crabbies will get air exchange when you do tank maintenance every day or two. Make sure you have a thermometer/hygrometer. Knowing the temp and humidity of the enclosure is essential. If it's too cold, the crabs will be less active (and could stress them out if it's very cold). They have modified gills and need moisture in the air to breath. Temps should be 75-85°F and humidity should always be 70%+. Shoot for an 80°/80% combo. Higher humidity is fine, you just might experience more mold growth. My tanks are usually in the 90%-100% range. Also, heat lamps are known to zap humidity (don't put a lamp on top of saran wrap either, it will melt). Many of us use UTHs (under tank heaters). Ultratherm is a good brand. Always mount it on the back or sides of the tank (usually above the substrate line), never underneath.

Check out the safe food list on here. Crabs can eat many of the things we eat. Variety is key. They should be getting a source of protein and calcium daily. Pellets can be filled with preservatives, which aren't great for them in the long run.

Make sure the shells you get are the right kind for your crab. I'd say it's likely you have purple pinchers, which prefer shells with round openings, like Turbos. I like to have shells a little smaller, the same size, and a little bigger than my crabs so they have a variety to pick from. There's a shell care sheet on here too, lots of good info on there.

I would try to minimize handling, as that can stress them out, especially being in a new environment. Some crabs destress by digging, others just hang out in a favorite spot for a while. Just let them do their thing.

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Welcome to crabbing! It sounds like there may be a number of things that need to be improved in your tank. Have you had a look at the 'basics' care sheet yet? I will put the link below.
I don't want to overwhelm you, but here are some suggestions based on your post.
Your substrate should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab, and moistened to sand castle consistency. The 'white sand' may be calcium sand, which isn't appropriate for them to molt in. Sponges in the pools will only harbor bacteria, and aren't needed. Something like craft mesh or a ladder can be used for them to climb out. The pre-mixed water doesn't usually contain all the needed minerals that crabs need for long term health. Many commercial foods contain preservatives that aren't healthy long term. You will need a thermometer/ hygrometer to measure what your temp and humidity are, as crabs need high humidity in order to breathe. Different types of heaters can zap the humidity.

viewtopic.php?f=120&t=119273

Safe food list:
https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 25&t=92557

Shell guide:
https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 24&t=92552

Water guide:
https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 27&t=92553

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Than you for the help, this is not a well discussed topic in general, Glad I found this. I have some work to do thats for sure. Mr. Crabs is not scared of me he just does his thing when Im doing their care. He really likes sitting on top of the sponges. But I can see the problem with bacteria also.going to get some sand and a different heat. I knew it was drying it out. The reason for the tiny humidifre. I will have to ru. The light but I can do that at a distance for the uva and uvb. If there was one most important thing to do what would it be . When I cleaned it today I moved both crabs to the middle and in 5 min they were back in their same spot. I dio have a thermometer-hydrometer. Temp stays 74 to 76 and humidity is at least 70 %. And they both love the indian almond leaves. Sorry if I miss spell or miss type this is ery tiny and my eye sight is not good at all. Thanks again Gayle

You're welcome.
Temp and humidity sound good. Keep us updated on your crabbies.

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