Sudden hermit crab owner, advice welcome!

[Tiko]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum and new to owning a hermit crab whom I have named Tiko.

A friend of mine was giving away their hermit crab and I offered to take it. My friend only had it for 3 weeks but kept it in a jar with sand & food.... I am learning how to properly care for it and provide a better environment. So far I have a tank, I am tracking temp and humidity, I have de-chlorinated water, sand, a sponge, a climbing apparatus, & food. I have to get salt water and some shells. I have had it for about 5 days now, I do not believe it has eaten anything and the last three days it has burrowed.

Although I have read burrowing is normal behaviour, I worry if those three weeks in poor conditions could have lead it to die?

Any advice or opinions are appreciated!

Thanks!

[JoeHermits]

It’s hard to say how poor a condition that crab is in but three days is too early for speculation. Give it a few weeks to figure itself out


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[HermitGuy3]

Is the sponge for the water dish? If so, just have it dry on the substrate, it only harbors bacteria in water. You should look at the basic care sheet! I like to recommend Crab Central Station if you like video format.

[Tiko]

Thank you for your help!

I will check out that resource.

Yes the sponge is just on the substrate. I have been able to keep temp and humidity at proper levels but it took a few days to get it right. No sign of hermit crab yet just hoping he is still alive.

[HermitGuy3]

What type of food does he have?

[Tiko]

At first, I gave him pellets but once I learned more about how they're actually not a great choice I switched to real foods such as banana, apple, peas & chicken so far.

I do not think he has eaten anything though, at least it did not look like it. He is very small so I am not sure how much he could eat (he is about the size of a dime/nickel).

[HermitGuy3]

He might be so small that you can't even see it. make sure he gets animal protein and calcium every day. You can get a cuttlebone or something.

[Shadnire]

"Crab Central Station" on YouTube has adorable video care, I love it. I binge watch all of their videos and sometimes I will watch some videos all over again just to refresh my memory.

For it to burrow, it's probably just destressing so it might take a while for it to come back. If it's trying to molt, since its so small I think it takes a couple weeks.

Just make sure you are changing the water every day and treat with prime every time too as well as the advice above. Real foods are good, just make sure you change that every day too since the crabbies conditions can make the food spoil and mold quickly and make sure they have no extra preservatives and spices that we humans normally put on food.

The videos as well as this forum have a list of foods that are safe for the crabbie that are natural.

[HermitGuy3]

I like that channel too! I thought you were only supposed to prime the water every two days. I usually change the bowls every week.

[JoeHermits]

I like that channel too! I thought you were only supposed to prime the water every two days. I usually change the bowls every week.

Seachem Prime treats the water for chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals, and ammonia. All treatments are permanent, except for ammonia which is unbound after a couple days

To clarify, water should be treated before being added to the crabitat but once treated does not need to be treated again


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[curlysister]

"Crab Central Station" on YouTube has adorable video care, I love it. I binge watch all of their videos and sometimes I will watch some videos all over again just to refresh my memory.

For it to burrow, it's probably just destressing so it might take a while for it to come back. If it's trying to molt, since its so small I think it takes a couple weeks.

Just make sure you are changing the water every day and treat with prime every time too as well as the advice above. Real foods are good, just make sure you change that every day too since the crabbies conditions can make the food spoil and mold quickly and make sure they have no extra preservatives and spices that we humans normally put on food.

The videos as well as this forum have a list of foods that are safe for the crabbie that are natural.

Joe clarified about the water treatment. Also to add that HCA recommends changing water a couple times a week. I'm a lazy crabber and only change it once a week.
Fresh foods will go moldy faster than dried foods. The mold is not harmful to crabs, you just remove it when you see it.
Also, there are herbs and spices that are safe for crabs. And not all preservatives are potentially harmful - check out our 'commercial food' care sheet that explains it.

[Tiko]

Thank you all for the advice! I have since gotten both fresh and salt water and am changing it once or twice a week. I do condition it before putting it into the tank. I will look into the cuttlebone.

Still no sign of him yet. I am trying to be patient and hope for the best!