HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Good morning, I recently adopted some hermit crabs. We have two larger “fancy” crabs I think they're called and one smaller guy. I did get the wrong size rank originally (10 Gallon) but now have moved them to a 20 Gallon long tank. I did disrupt two from molting which had no idea that that was happening until I dug them out . Once into the new tank, the little guy changed his shell and I think has burried himself back into the substrate. He did come out when we got the new addition (a larger crab) and hung around with him for a day or so. The new crab is active and hungry! When I got him home from the pet store he ate constantly. The other larger crab hasn't been seen since. I do worry that the substrate may have been two “dry” the first day. I am finding I'm worrying a lot 🥴. The third think I am a bit concerned about is too much stuff in the tank and I do have a bit too much humidity which I'm slowly working away. I would like to post a picture but haven't figured out how yet.

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The wildflower forage mix does seem to sprout after a while. You can see by the log house. Are those okay? I have been pulling them all out when I do a tank cleanup once or twice a week. I am also trying some freeze-dried fruits and fresh cilantro for today which I haven't tried before.


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Flower sprouts should be fine


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Your tank looks great!
There is no such thing as 'too humid' - things may be more apt to mold, but you can just remove the fuzzy mold, it isn't harmful to crabs.
Be sure that you are feeding a varied diet, that includes protein and calcium daily.
If you have crabs underground, just let them be. They can be under for weeks or months, don't dig them up.

I had a hamster wheel in the tank also. I want to put it back in but felt like maybe the tank is too crowded. Like, they don't have a lot of walking around space. Or, as long as they can climb, that's ok? I will eventually get a larger tank. They need to be in this one for a little bit as my husband will freak out if I get a larger one just after purchasing this one 🫣. This is the second tank I purchased since owning them for just over a month.

That is great to know! The humidity was worrying me! I have had some “fuzzy” mold and have cleaned it up. The pinch sticks seem to get it the most .

I purchased a bunch of different foods, leaf litters and complete oil kit from South of the Ocean (which haven't come yet) I also purchased a complete meal kit from Happy Crabs as well as Hermitgrub and have been rotating the meal items from these. I also grabbed pinch sticks, leaf litters, meat treats, complete meals, bird millet, and cuttlebone which I've broken up and placed in various places. I also give peanut butter (natural) coconut oils, omega fish oils, eggs, egg shells, mealworms, and I have mineral blocks in the tank. I try to take out any “fresh food from “dinner” that's been left out overnight in the mornings and I put something else in for the day. Our new guy seems as though he needs to eat more than the rest. He's out a lot to eat. His colour was very, very pale when we picked him up. I was worried about him. We saw him out yesterday eating and with the little guy who came back out (yay!) and his legs are starting to turn reddish colour!

I am worried about the other guy. Gosh, I hope he's ok! I felt terrible for digging him up. Would the stress of that harm him or cause him to die? It's silly, but since I can't see him I worry. The other little guy is ok and back out. Maybe, larger crabs take a lot longer to molt?


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curlysister wrote:Your tank looks great!
There is no such thing as 'too humid' - things may be more apt to mold, but you can just remove the fuzzy mold, it isn't harmful to crabs.
Be sure that you are feeding a varied diet, that includes protein and calcium daily.
If you have crabs underground, just let them be. They can be under for weeks or months, don't dig them up.

If items in the tank get moldy (that hasn't happened yet) would simple scrubbing in hot water be enough or would they have to be boiled? Just so I know if it happens.


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JoeHermits wrote:Flower sprouts should be fine


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Great to know! Thank you so much for the reply!


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curlysister wrote:Your tank looks great!
There is no such thing as 'too humid' - things may be more apt to mold, but you can just remove the fuzzy mold, it isn't harmful to crabs.
Be sure that you are feeding a varied diet, that includes protein and calcium daily.
If you have crabs underground, just let them be. They can be under for weeks or months, don't dig them up.

This is all the food items I have right now. This is what I rotate through other than adding some fresh foods daily. I have given them freshly boiled chicken and some raw sushi-grade fish that I ordered from a seafood store to make sushi at home. I saved some ans froze it to cut pieces off for them once in a while (is that ok?)


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curlysister wrote:Your tank looks great!
There is no such thing as 'too humid' - things may be more apt to mold, but you can just remove the fuzzy mold, it isn't harmful to crabs.
Be sure that you are feeding a varied diet, that includes protein and calcium daily.
If you have crabs underground, just let them be. They can be under for weeks or months, don't dig them up.

This is the fish oil I use. I have it for my dogs. It's human-grade and good for the pups so I assume it's good for them too?


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This is our new guy. He came out to eat again once I changed things over. You can see he is still very pale but starting to get some colour back I think?!?! Or, do you think he looks ok? I feel like when we got him he was very white/yellowish.


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All that food is fine to offer. Going from whitish to dark sounds like a good thing (usually gaining color is positive)


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JoeHermits wrote:All that food is fine to offer. Going from whitish to dark sounds like a good thing (usually gaining color is positive)


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He looks so good today! He changed his shell and his legs look much darker since yesterday! Thank you so much for the reply!! I put in some popcorn this morning! He (or she?) loves it! I'll post a picture of him when I got him.





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Popcorn is a favorite in my tank too! LOL!