Painted Shell Concerns

[dayhawk68]

So last year I bought three beautiful crabs. 2 male one female. The males died I tried giving all of them the perfect temps, but the people I live with aren't that sympathetic to them. Basically, I have to fight for 70 degrees at all times. Both males, did however, before their unfortunate deaths, did relocate into natural shells. You should have seen my proud happy face when Kanikama changed shells right before my eyes.
However now Pangxi is a female crab in a painted shell and I wonder if she can't or won't change shells. It's been around six months since Kanikama died and 7 since Gi died. I plan on acquiring more crabs to keep her happy, but I don't know if that's a good idea yet.

I can't tell if Pangxi is glued into her shell (which is seemingly a thing wt ?) or if lol I sucked at getting her the right shell. She has varying sizes of shells and for her small type of crab the circular openings are best. But since she is in a painted shell with a more oval than round opening is she comfortable at all? She comes out once a blue moon and when I see her she's (adorable) smart enough to hide haha. She's molted probably 2-4 times within the year. So eventually she's going to outgrow her shell. Is there a way to tell if she has been glued into her painted shell and if not what can I do to make her more comfortable? More shells? Or wait until she is ready to graduate to given shells?

Also, probably a silly question, but do natural shell crabs and painted crabs get along? Or does this even matter?

[GotButterflies]

Do you know what kind of species she is? Some crabs are happy in the shells they are in. Highly unlikely that she is glued in, it has happened, but only once in a blue moon. Yes, crabs get along with each other regardless of shells. Here is the shell guide: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 24&t=92552 Hermits don't like to be alone, you should get at least one more. Sorry about your other two. You definitely need to make sure heat and humidity are at a minimum 80.

[mool]

Most people heat the tank and not their entire house! To do this you use a stick on heater on the side of the tank, above the substrate.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Most crabbers agree, higher temps = more active crabbies. A little over 80 degrees and you'll be golden... just watch to make sure the humidity doesn't drop!

[Rawrgeous]

If you do decide to get more you will want to take a look over our basic care guides for a refresher. http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 51&t=92457 I also highly suggest you get a uth in place (most use ultratherm as they are insulatable.) With an insulated ultratherm getting the tank up to temp should be relatively easy. (Remember, temps under 70 degrees for any extended period of time is enough to cause death. ) Don't take this the wrong way, but it seems silly to get more if you aren't set up for them to strive. I suggest getting your current tank up to optimum conditions, that way when it's time to add your new guys the transition should go a bit smoother, and they will have a better chance of survival. People have trouble losing crabs in even the best conditions.