HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have one crab, and am looking for some more, so I assume this is depression.
At night he will go to a corner and scratch at the walls, possibly to escape, but he goes to low corners and climbs on water dishes instead of his fake plant, which is higher up, and would make him more likely to be able to climb the walls. What I think:

Depression?
Thinks his reflection is another crab?
Malnourished?
Wants to escape?
Playing around?

Please help! It makes me feel depressed and sad, and like a bad hermit crab owner.

Probably just playing around and exploring. But your right, you do need to get him another friend ASAP.

Thank you so much! I don't want to support PetCo, so should I look online? Or try to nurse a PetCo PP back to health?

I personally like adopting the best. That way your not directly taking hermit crabs straight from the wild. They also tend to be a bit healthier for me.

How large is your tank and how big is your hermit? In the wild, it's said that they will travel extremely long distances every night in search of food. They are natural wanderers, and if they're not given enough space to stretch their legs and explore they can go stir crazy. Mine haven't done the wall thing nearly as much since being moved to a big tank.

Mine used to drink the condensation off the walls that way. Right after I'd spray the tank I'd see them come out and go spread-eagle, somehow consuming what looked like close to barely nothing grabbed off a drop on the glass. They got used to their SW/FW dishes eventually.
Stir crazy sounds legit though especially since the biggest thing to climb in there is a food dish when in the wild even the tinies are used to forests and goofily falling out of trees.


Twelve PP hermit babies

Huckleberry&Friends wrote:Thank you so much! I don't want to support PetCo, so should I look online? Or try to nurse a PetCo PP back to health?

Based of my own ignorance, I have a question. What's wrong with petco? I'm going to buy a few more PP's in the next few days but if I have to drive all the way down to the Mall of America's hermit kiosk I will. But maybe the kiosk isn't any better...

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They just do not take care of their crabs right, and the crabs are pale and unhealthy.
I don't know what your PetCo is like, but mine has PPs that look super pale.

DarthKrab wrote: Based of my own ignorance, I have a question. What's wrong with petco? I'm going to buy a few more PP's in the next few days but if I have to drive all the way down to the Mall of America's hermit kiosk I will. But maybe the kiosk isn't any better...

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Well that's too bad... I think I'll try to rescue a few from such torment. (:

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My favorite crab is pale and super healthy. He has not in all the time I have been Crabbing been under the weather in any way. Paleness doesn't mean sickness. They may be naturally pale or just not had a lot of color enhancing foods before their last molt.

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DarthKrab wrote:Based of my own ignorance, I have a question. What's wrong with petco?

Aside from possible poor conditions in the store (not to mention the horrible treatment before they reach the store), you have to also remember that for every crab you purchase another crab will be pulled from the wild to replace it. Purchasing crabs only supports the collection and abuse of land hermit crabs.

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:My favorite crab is pale and super healthy. He has not in all the time I have been Crabbing been under the weather in any way. Paleness doesn't mean sickness. They may be naturally pale or just not had a lot of color enhancing foods before their last molt.

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Thanks for the info! Glad to hear that pale exo doesn't necessarily mean they are sick (:

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Glad to help.

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I, too, have a crab that has been pale for the three and a half years I've had him. Despite giving him color-rich foods, he's barely darkened up at all. But he's as happy and healthy as a crab can be, and such a bugger!