HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey Guys,

I know that this might be pretty normal, but my hermit crabs are scared of me. They've settled into their new crabitat and are climbing, eating, drinking and doing other crab-like things. But then whenever I walk past, they run to the other side of the tank and/or hide in their shells. I've been picking them up for the past 2 nights and whenever I put them on the floor, they just run away. I really don't know what to do, it makes me feel like I'm not taking good care of them. I give them food, water, shelter, climbing equipment and substrate to dig in, yet it feels like I'm not doing my part. It's just an empty hole in my heart, loving my hermit crabs so much but knowing that they so scared of me they don't want to even see me. I really don't know what I'm going to do, should I leave them alone for a while as they might still be a little stressed about the new tank change or should I keep picking them up and try to get them used to human contact. I literally cried last night after I put Sparkle back in the tank. Please help, I don't want my crabs being scared of me forever.

Thanks,
Hamilation

Well a good idea is that it worth to know that they are wild animals! To them, we look like giant's that's trying to rip them out of their shells and eat them. I don't know about you, but I would be running away too!
A good idea is not to take out our hermies too much, unless in a emergency. The reason is that they need heat/humidity, which our houses normally don't provide. Remember, hermies need humidity to breathe, without humidity, they will slowly suffocate. They also cold blooded animals which needs a external heat source to function. You may notice that many crabbers have a hands off approach, which is due to these two reasons.
If you really want to take out your hermies, I would suggest doing it in small intervals - like 5 mins at most. However, it sounds like your hermies are "new". Its a good idea to wait until their first moult, so they can become use to their surroundings and once they finish their first moult with you, you know that you have made through the most difficult time with your crabs!
A good idea to get them use to you is to just observe them, after a while they realize that your not a big scary creature. Offering them food - which most crabbers do - is a good idea, so they become use to your scent.
Remember, if you do bring them out for regular plays - I recommend once per week eg: 4pm Sundays - I heard of the hermies enjoying these times and eagerly waiting for their fun times! Just make sure that they aren't subjected to low temperature/humidity levels for too long, if it is low (temp/humidity wise) I suggest skipping the play times.

Thanks for the advice, I guess over time they'll just get used to me being there. By what you meant by "letting them observe you", would a good idea be to just sit relatively close to their tank 5-10 minutes a day so that they get used to seeing me? And you suggested giving them food, would this include hand feeding of just putting it in a bowel and putting that in their tank? I really hoped that I'd be able to play with them a lot, I understand that they need the humidity, but they also have water inside of their shells that they use to keep their gills moist so that they can go without the humidity for a short period of time.

I sit by my tank for an hour or so, many times a night, and they still walk away if I move too fast but not as quickly as they once did. The bigger ones don't even walk away anymore since they are used to me rearranging stuff, putting food in and cleaning up their mess!

lol, that's good to know. It just felt bad for me, as if I wasn't being a good owner. I'll make an effort to sit by the tank as often as I can so that they can get used to me and after a while I'll start holding them once a week.

There is someone on here who taps the glass gently a few times and talks to her crabs. They must like it! I once did that and my biggest guy came over and spread himself across the glass right where I was!

Of course, it hasn't happened since!