HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello, we are new crab owners (daughter got one as a gift and then we went to get him two friends). We were interested in adopting them out but our daughter just cries if we mention it so we're determined to learn all we can about crabs and to try and create a good life for them. We never see them, they hide in their Sponge Bob pineapple house all the time and I've never seen them crawling around, bathing, coming to eat or anything at all. Is this normal? I can't tell if they're eating or bathing. I keep thinking maybe they are dead and I'll sometimes pick them up and move them to the other side of the tank but they just hurry back to the pineapple house. We work hard to keep the humidity where we think it should be and the temperature and there is plenty of substrate. Several weeks ago we moved them to a bigger 20 gallon tank hoping that would solve the problem, that maybe they needed more space. They were not that active before in their 10 gallon tank but they did climb on their climbing stick at least. Now they don't even do that anymore so I'm concerned. If we're going to keep them I really want to make sure they have a good life and all that they need. Any help or suggestions would be most welcome!

Hi! Welcome to HCA. Check out the care guides linked below when you have a chance.

For now I will run through the basics:

Land hermit crabs are nocturnal. When they first arrive in your home, they generally bury themselves to destress or molt and can also remain (to us) immobile for days. Sometimes they just like one spot and hang out there after eating, etc.

Make sure your temps and humidity are correct. You will see the most activity in the low to mid 80's, as the crabs natural habitat averages mid 80's to low 90's year round. Humidity must never be lower than 75%.

All water needs to be dechlorinated and they should have both fresh and marine grade salt water. Most of us use Prime to dechlorinate and remove heavy metals for both waters and Instant Ocean to mix the saltwater.

Substrate should be at a sandcastle consistency and at least 3X deeper than your largest crab. If you have a 20 gallon, about halfway up the tank is a good depth.

Commercial food can contain toxic preservatives and other chemicals so it's best not to use them at all. There is a link to the Safe Food List in the care guide linked here:

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457

Give them a read through and feel free to ask any additional questions.





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I will concur with the above statement about crab lethargy. They can seem lazy until you notice the shell tracks and the moss they tossed around during the night. I was sure at first they were waiting for me to go to bed to start partying

As long as your tank is set up right I would give them space. My most troublesome crab was the one that took the longest to start being active!

Any chance you could post a photo of your tank? I see a lot of people with open and bare tanks, and the crabs will hide in those cases - in the wild, birds are their biggest predator so wide open spaces scare them!

Thanks to everyone who's responded so far, and yes, I could post a picture but I'm not sure where to load it (I'm kind of a tech dinosaur). Do I click on img?

We lose a lot of moisture through the top of the tank (screen cover) so we have towels over it but we're going to order a better lid. Should we get an all glass lid? I'm assuming we need to have air holes though for circulation and for them to breathe, can anyone recommend a proper lid?

They breathe through gills so while they do need a little air circulation, you don't have to have a lot of holes. Wrap the screen lid in plastic for now. I've even used packing tape and foil as a temporary solution on some lids. I ordered lexan on amazon and use it under the wire lid on my 55 and it works just fine. It is cheaper than having glass cut as well.

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Here is a picture of my crabitat, maybe if it works, trying to figure this out so bear with me!

I'm going to try this again:
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/ ... WkRNHygZ9U

Hello. Many crabs are more active in the evening. Sadly, I was unable to get the link you posted to work.

Thanks. I'll see if I can get a photo in there another way (and see how to make one for my profile picture). It's true, maybe there are active and I just don't see it if it's at night. I'll have to go check on them some evenings in the middle of the night and see what's up. Thank you, and to everyone who responded.

Instructions for posting photos - including how to do avatar pics - is here. http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... =8&t=87783

And if you're still having trouble PM me links and I'll figure out what isn't working, get your avatar up, and tell ya how to make it work. Our system is a little archaic. Took me a while to figure it out and I was a computer science/IT major. There are still weird glitches that crop up now and then.

And update?


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I'm hoping to get a photo up soon. One of them came out and walked around so that was good. Some other urgent matters came up but I'll report back soon. I'm also thinking about getting a few more shells, I know one tried on a bigger one but I guess decided it didn't like it so switched back into it's old shell so I think it's ready to move on to a new shell. Thanks everyone.

That's good news about the hermits, at least! Before you go shell shopping, check out the guide so you don't end up with shells they won't wear. viewtopic.php?f=67&t=92552