HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm feeling frustrated at the moment. I've had my two crabs for a month now... and I've maybe seen a collective five minutes out of them after placing them in the tank. I know that at least before this week they haven't been molting, because I woke myself up a couple times at 3am, or my whole family left the house for a few hours came back and they were there, or the habitat was just trashed. My family was very excited for them and so was I. I don't even mind the caring for them part; I just want to see the fruits of my labor occasionally. They were both hiding at the pet store too (which happened to have almost flawless conditions anyway). It just makes me go, "Why did I do this anyway?" It's like having pet dirt. Whew, sorry for venting.

Reasonably, how long should it be before they even accept a human's presence? And before we start seeing at least a bit of activity?

I know how you feel!! I got my first three crabs in May. The majority of the summer and fall have been spent with all or most of them burrowed underground. It's actually only been in the past 2-3 weeks that my two small crabs, Eowyn & Merry, have been up and less shy. Eowyn is the adventurer and I've finally gotten to watch her climbing and eating. Merry is my shyest crab, but I've even managed to get a halfway decent picture of them now, just once.

I know it's really hard, but the biggest thing with owning crabs is patience. Even with stores having good conditions, these guys have gone through horrible things before coming to us. Being captured, shipped (possibly multiple times), overcrowding, bad conditions during shipping, handled by many large predators, etc. It's pretty understandable that they would try to avoid us for what seems like forever after we bring them home.

What size are your crabs, do you know? I know a lot of people have mentioned that smaller crabs tend to be jumpier because they're pretty much fair game for many predators in the wild. So that could be making it worse for your crabbies as well. The fact that they're mostly nocturnal works against us too. I know it's not an option for many people due to the price, but a security cam that has night vision might make things more interesting for you, if you can see what they're doing at night while you're sleeping!

Golly, I've got to thank you for your reply. It was nice to have some understanding. After I wrote it, I thought someone might come on and tell me I'm too impatient and don't deserve to have my lovely crabs. Your perspective was very helpful to me. I will continue to wait and try to appreciate their little scratchy noises and their comfort-level to trash my tank.

You can try turning their daytime lights off earlier. At the equator, the sun sets pretty reliably around 7pm year round. If you get them into darker, slightly cooler (78-80 degree) conditions earlier in the evening it might get them up-and-at-'em in time for you to see them before your bedtime hits. It's been working well for me.

Some good stinky food helps encourage them to come out sooner, too.

I also know what you are going through. I've had my four crabs since the end of August and we hardly ever see them. I have trouble sleeping at night, so I get up a couple times to wander the house...it sucks...but sometimes (maybe once a week!) I actually get a peek at one of my little guys before they spot me and run away to hide again. They are so shy and skitterish! My husband thinks they are the most boring things ever, and I would always argue with him...but he's kinda right. I do keep myself busy thinking about what new and exciting food to give them...but again, when three or four days go by with untouched food, it gets a bit frustrating!

Do hang in there! Have hope that they will get more relaxed and adventurous!

Thanks again, everyone. As it's December, the sun's setting very early where I live. I'll still try to darken up their habitat a bit more. I've given them canned sardines before; I'll try those again. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!