HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have three crabs but I haven't chosen their names yet. The smallest one is very shy and is always hidden from me whereas the other one is quite adventurous and active, never afraid of me or any shadow, the first one to eat and the first one to wake up. Both of them like to climb and spend hours on the cholla sticks and the climbing mat, very often upside down. The third and biggest one is like a diva, always changing into new shells. It has been switching from its old magpie shell to a bigger tapestry turbo and then to a smaller green turbo. I put two different turbos, same size but different appearance. One of them has its inner mother of pearl dirty and not shiny besides a scar on the top. My "little diva" as I call it ended chosing the prettiest. Two days later changed its shell, and now it has a green turbo. I saw it changing between several shells more than once and always grabbing its old shell to avoid loosing it. It's like a very picky lady with her dresses and if he finds a shell he doesn't like, it will simply ignore it or bury it inside the small cave. I haven't seen it for almost a week, it has buried under the substrate and has made tunnels on it and maybe it's molting.


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Window molter is almost done eating the exo. Only a part of the big claw is left.


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Can my crab actually pinch / cut through the mesh top? I never see Sid on the top and he's working on the mesh where the light hood doesn't cover it making huge clanging noises. He's in an 1 1/8" tapestry, growing out of it, probably fit better in a 1 1/4"... Would you consider him a large, x-large or Jumbo? I know he's too big for this current tank.
**ignore if nope for essay
We might have to fight with our new manager if it's one of our previous who is against tanks above 20g while the manager who had to quit didn't care. It's not on our lease. Mom isn't going to make me get rid of my hermits but just the 150g showing up during next inspection may not be the best idea with an overbearing manager...
**continue nopers
Point is, if I'm allowed a bigger tank should I go for / will he be comfy in a 75-90g or should I go straight for the 18" wide 12-15" plus sub huge foot print and overhead like 150g with 12 crabs total?

Bigger is better with crab tanks, always. If you have the room and the money I say go for the biggest you can. They grow so cutting down on how many times you have to upgrade the tank is best for you and your babies.

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Omg in my head I just saw you pulling out a crab during the inspection. Waving it at the inspectors "say hello to my little friend" lol that'll make them keep their mouths shut.

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Usually landlords are concerned about large tanks when used for fish because of there's a breach that much water can be a disaster. Plus that much weight on a 2nd+ floor apartment could be a no no.

Might want to touch base with your landlord to see if it's even an issue if not filled with water. I'm a former property manager and I never had a client complain about a larger tank for snakes, etc.


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

Just had to share... yesterday i took my daughter to a carnival and they have a game where you win a live hermit crab if you get the ball in a jar. We got our first hermit crab last year from this same carnival. Obviously i had to play and we won a hermit crab. He is bigger than our other 4 crabs but is also a PP. Today i have been checking on them frequently to see how he is adjusting and i just saw Jack sitting on the edge of the salt water dish feeling the new crab (jelly bean) while he was checKing out a new shell. Jelly bean pushed Jack into the salt water dish and then promptly switched into a new shell in front of me. It was a jerk move but really neat to see.

My largest crab - Iris - is sleeping in a really strange position.

Her front right walking leg is propping her up while she sleeps. It is hard to see because of the sand and condensation on the glass.



She is a really weird crab.

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meg_and_the_zoo wrote:Usually landlords are concerned about large tanks when used for fish because of there's a breach that much water can be a disaster. Plus that much weight on a 2nd+ floor apartment could be a no no.

Might want to touch base with your landlord to see if it's even an issue if not filled with water. I'm a former property manager and I never had a client complain about a larger tank for snakes, etc.


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

All it says is waterbeds or fish tanks over 20 gallons. One line that's it. Obviously you don't measure waterbeds in gallons but the manager insists that that means the size of the aquarium... The aquarium used as a terrarium to hold crustaceans not fish with less than a gallon in it on a first floor with foundation under our living room carpet. It's legit not a problem, they don't bark or go on the lawns but she's being difficult. I rather like it when my mom deals with those battles because she's like a peacemaker. All I want is my pets, no harm done.
@Kelly - I'd love if they each had 10g of space but you don't think 12-15 crabs in a 150g would be a bit overkill with personal hermit space??

My girls are exploring the new rearrangements in the tank! They are having a load of fun!!

Well....Bashful is climbing everything, Sleepy is enjoying a nice swim, Hermie just came up from her molt last night and is exploring the new tank for the first time. Bruce, has been digging but not burying himself, and Happy just came home today and is being isolated in my other tank, dug down about 2 hours ago.

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Doc and Ellie are both in the shell shop. They've both switched shells. Ellie changes at least every other day, she's a prissy diva. Doc is sitting on his old shell, guarding it. He keeps pushing Ellie away if she gets within a few inches of it. Gremlin is sitting where the moss pit usually is, staring out the glass at me, I'm sure silently condemning me for removing it.

I do believe he slept like this...silly crab


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

meg_and_the_zoo wrote:

I do believe he slept like this...silly crab


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 crabs

Mine do that all the time

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Mango is molting! She's been under for just over a month.
Blue is having a blast right now climbing the new driftwood I just added.