HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
I use a mix of sand and coconut fiber. It is about 4 inches deep.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
My dual gauge is near their hiding log. The humidity is usually between 70-80% and the temp is around 75.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I have the combo blue for day red for night bulbs set on a timer.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
I have two small fresh water dishes, treated with Zoo Med brand drinking water drops, and one larger salt water dish, treated with the same brand's salt water drops.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I have been rotating between the different store brands of food. I try to replace it every couple of days. I also sprinkle in coconut shavings.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
3 of my crabs are around 2 months old
2 are around one month
Not sure about species

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
I have not observed any molting, but I think two of them have buried themselves.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gallon tank with a mesh lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 crabs all relatively small. The biggest is the size of a roll of measuring tape, shell included. The smallest is about the size of a half dollar.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
11

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Not that I know of

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I have just been spot cleaning with a paper towel, because I thought they needed time to adjust to their habitat.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
Shallow dishes, so no sponges. The deeper salt water dish has some small shells in it to prevent drowning.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
moss and the lights are new. I was previously just relying on partial sunlight.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
I have not been handling them at all, because I thought I needed to wait until they seemed comfortable.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I don't know that it is an emergency. They just never seem to come out form under their log. I am a night owl myself, so it concerns me that by 2 am I still don't see them out and about.

Okay I have to leave for a holiday thing but real quick the areas of concern are: substrate needs to be at least 6" deep, or half of your tank full. Commercial food is full of preservatives and toxins and should be ditched. Pick up a water treatment such as Prime and Instant Ocean to mix marine grade salt water for them. Zoomed salt water drops don't provide them with about 70 or so elements they would get from ocean water. See if you can get your temps and humidity in the low 80's. This mimics their natural habitat. They don't need any special lights really, so you don't have to worry about that so much. As long as they have a day/night cycle you can use a normal light bulb for day if you have heat mats (UTH) to keep temps up. Dishes need to be deep enough for them to fully submerge; you can use a fake plant so they can climb out. Around 3-5 extra shells per crab, and not handling them is good. Check out our care guides and safe food list.
I have to go drive for like 2 hours but wanted to touch on a few things; sorry this is so rushed. I know someone else may have a minute to jump in and expand and I will check back later!


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I agree, I was using the Zoo Med drops for a while and most dechlorinaters meant for hermit crabs actually don't get rid of things like ammonia and chlorine. I would switch to some thing like Aqueon, that gets rid of ammonia and is super sensitive towards their gills. I use instant ocean salt and that is one of the best brands to use. If your largest crab is the side of a measuring tape then you should have 5-6 inches of substrate. The rule I use is that if the hermit crab were to bury itself to the bottom of the tank the rest of the substrate should be two times as large/tall as the crab. I would get off of the commercial crab food and start making and chopping up fresh fruits and veggies. I would also use some cuttle bone. The crabs might be destressing and that is normal. You may want to raise the temp a little and that may get the crabs more active. Maybe you could put a bowl in the hide for the crabs and fill it with honey. I always do that to perk up the crabs.
Hope it helped,
Smudge!

Thanks guys,
I switched to real food and some honey, and I saw a couple of them come out this evening. Does the alpha-male ever bully the others? Because when one of my smaller crabs came out to eat, the alpha did what looked like chasing her back into her hole.

You may want to add another food bowl to make sure the smaller crab has access to food. Another thing I noticed is that your temp is at 75. That is the lowest temp that is safe for crabs, and most crabs become more active with the temp a little higher. I try to keep mine at 80 degrees.