Newbie with questions and concerns :)
Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2024 1:44 am
Hi I just recently got hermit crabs for the first time a week ago and I’ve got some questions and concerns.
When I first got the crabs they were pretty lively, always climbing and getting up to shenanigans, even during daytime, but these last couple days I haven’t seen much from them.
I’ve got 3 in a relatively large tank (77cm*31cm*38cm), I live in QLD Aus super close to the coastline, it’s pretty warm here so I haven’t got a heater for them, but I’m worried the humidity may be too low. The sand is relatively damp and holds its shape, I’ve got some damp driftwood and a damp cloth sitting up high in a corner they can’t reach, and there’s a noticeable change in humidity when I reach my hand in to fill water and place food. I got them from a pet store, the tank they’re in now is much bigger, and the store was airconditioned and they didn’t do anything to increase humidity besides damp coconut fibres and water bowls, so they’re in much better conditions, so I don’t know why they’ve been so inactive the last couple days.
When I first got them I gave them lettuce for food and they ate that, the last couple days I’ve tried strawberries, spinach and rocket leaves, brocili, and carrot, but they don’t seem to have eaten much, if anything. The brocili and carrot were raw, is that too hard for them to eat? Should it be cooked? I’ve given them this Hikari crab quinine which they also didn’t touch. I leave the food in there for a full 24hr period and when I came back it didn’t look touched.
When I first got them they all changed shells, literally within the first 24 hrs, is that an indication they might be starting to molt?
All the food I buy them is from Wollies so I’m worried if any pesticides in the food may be harming them, I know they should be getting animal protein, where should I get that? I was going to give them some of the uncooked beef mince from the spag bol I made the other day but didn’t cause I don’t really know if that would be harmful.
Am I able to get sand from my beach for their enclosure? I don’t want to harm the beach too much and would bring back the old sand to rescatter when I change it over, but I’m worried there would be harmful microbes or lice. At the moment I have a half and half split between coconut fibre and sand I bought from the pet store, but it’d be super expensive to replace every month.
When they were active they loved climbing, so I’m going to buy a rope net thing from the pet store, I also want to buy some moss for a lil moss corner as I’ve heard they love that.
I did not mean for this to be so long, but I really want advice and critiques because I’m sure this isn’t the worst place they could be, but I still want to do more to spoil them cause they’re so funny and cute. I would also like some tips on my crabitat setup but I don’t know how to include photos lol.
Anyways thanks for listening to my ramblings !
When I first got the crabs they were pretty lively, always climbing and getting up to shenanigans, even during daytime, but these last couple days I haven’t seen much from them.
I’ve got 3 in a relatively large tank (77cm*31cm*38cm), I live in QLD Aus super close to the coastline, it’s pretty warm here so I haven’t got a heater for them, but I’m worried the humidity may be too low. The sand is relatively damp and holds its shape, I’ve got some damp driftwood and a damp cloth sitting up high in a corner they can’t reach, and there’s a noticeable change in humidity when I reach my hand in to fill water and place food. I got them from a pet store, the tank they’re in now is much bigger, and the store was airconditioned and they didn’t do anything to increase humidity besides damp coconut fibres and water bowls, so they’re in much better conditions, so I don’t know why they’ve been so inactive the last couple days.
When I first got them I gave them lettuce for food and they ate that, the last couple days I’ve tried strawberries, spinach and rocket leaves, brocili, and carrot, but they don’t seem to have eaten much, if anything. The brocili and carrot were raw, is that too hard for them to eat? Should it be cooked? I’ve given them this Hikari crab quinine which they also didn’t touch. I leave the food in there for a full 24hr period and when I came back it didn’t look touched.
When I first got them they all changed shells, literally within the first 24 hrs, is that an indication they might be starting to molt?
All the food I buy them is from Wollies so I’m worried if any pesticides in the food may be harming them, I know they should be getting animal protein, where should I get that? I was going to give them some of the uncooked beef mince from the spag bol I made the other day but didn’t cause I don’t really know if that would be harmful.
Am I able to get sand from my beach for their enclosure? I don’t want to harm the beach too much and would bring back the old sand to rescatter when I change it over, but I’m worried there would be harmful microbes or lice. At the moment I have a half and half split between coconut fibre and sand I bought from the pet store, but it’d be super expensive to replace every month.
When they were active they loved climbing, so I’m going to buy a rope net thing from the pet store, I also want to buy some moss for a lil moss corner as I’ve heard they love that.
I did not mean for this to be so long, but I really want advice and critiques because I’m sure this isn’t the worst place they could be, but I still want to do more to spoil them cause they’re so funny and cute. I would also like some tips on my crabitat setup but I don’t know how to include photos lol.
Anyways thanks for listening to my ramblings !