HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm a new (proud) crab owner/rescuer. On a vacation, my gf and I seen some hermit crabs at a gift shop. They were in a wire cage with a wooden floor. Knowing crabs need sand to dig, i felt terrible and rescued/adopted 3 crabs, hoping i can give them a better life. Well, roughly 100 bucks amd a week later, i have them in a 10g tank, 6 inches of sandcastle-like sand, 72-74 degrees and 80% humidity. They been in this new set up for about 5 days now. The 1st night, my biggest crab, Mr Krabs, IMMEDIATELY buried himself, DEEP. Completely disappeared. That's when i read online about molting and de-stressing. Since he is a big crab, i thought he was molting. 2 days later, he's back up, but he's hiding. Won't leave under the new rock-hut I got them. He seemed more active when he was in the old set up. I thought the digging then re-emergence would've released some stress, but he's just hiding. I don't wanna move his rock and force him out though... Sorry for the rant, I just want to know if thos is normal crab behavior, and if im over worrying or something. Any hints to get them more playful or comfortable with my presence will be appreciated. Also some diet advice would be nice. Thanks!

Zamacona00 wrote:I'm a new (proud) crab owner/rescuer. On a vacation, my gf and I seen some hermit crabs at a gift shop. They were in a wire cage with a wooden floor. Knowing crabs need sand to dig, i felt terrible and rescued/adopted 3 crabs, hoping i can give them a better life. Well, roughly 100 bucks amd a week later, i have them in a 10g tank, 6 inches of sandcastle-like sand, 72-74 degrees and 80% humidity. They been in this new set up for about 5 days now. The 1st night, my biggest crab, Mr Krabs, IMMEDIATELY buried himself, DEEP. Completely disappeared. That's when i read online about molting and de-stressing. Since he is a big crab, i thought he was molting. 2 days later, he's back up, but he's hiding. Won't leave under the new rock-hut I got them. He seemed more active when he was in the old set up. I thought the digging then re-emergence would've released some stress, but he's just hiding. I don't wanna move his rock and force him out though... Sorry for the rant, I just want to know if thos is normal crab behavior, and if im over worrying or something. Any hints to get them more playful or comfortable with my presence will be appreciated. Also some diet advice would be nice. Thanks!

Hi Zama welcome. Your story sounds like a lot of new crabbers. I too am less than a yr crabbin and my new guys were practically invisible first few weeks.
I would suggest trying to get your heat up into the 80s. (75 is minimum for survival) but these guys are more active in 80+ temps. 80 humidity is also low. 80 is minimum. They do better in a bit higher Rh. If you can see your crabs, collect them into a safe container and add another 2" of sub to make 8" in your tat. It will hold in heat and humidity way better. It was my key to boosting struggling RH.

The burying part is the only part we crabbers cant control. It's good they de-stress. And absolutely normal they hide. My guys hid under the 1/2 log for almost 3 months coming out more and more each week.

I wonder if all the activity we see in shops is them trying to escape the awful conditions. Once you place them in optimal conditions they settle down.

Boosting heat and humidity will help them a lot. Shoot for 85/85 after adding more sub. Give them a few weeks to stretch their claws and relax. Im sure a bunch of people will chime in soon. But congratulations and welcome to the addictive world of crabbin!

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Vic Future wrote:

Zamacona00 wrote:I'm a new (proud) crab owner/rescuer. On a vacation, my gf and I seen some hermit crabs at a gift shop. They were in a wire cage with a wooden floor. Knowing crabs need sand to dig, i felt terrible and rescued/adopted 3 crabs, hoping i can give them a better life. Well, roughly 100 bucks amd a week later, i have them in a 10g tank, 6 inches of sandcastle-like sand, 72-74 degrees and 80% humidity. They been in this new set up for about 5 days now. The 1st night, my biggest crab, Mr Krabs, IMMEDIATELY buried himself, DEEP. Completely disappeared. That's when i read online about molting and de-stressing. Since he is a big crab, i thought he was molting. 2 days later, he's back up, but he's hiding. Won't leave under the new rock-hut I got them. He seemed more active when he was in the old set up. I thought the digging then re-emergence would've released some stress, but he's just hiding. I don't wanna move his rock and force him out though... Sorry for the rant, I just want to know if thos is normal crab behavior, and if im over worrying or something. Any hints to get them more playful or comfortable with my presence will be appreciated. Also some diet advice would be nice. Thanks!

Hi Zama welcome. Your story sounds like a lot of new crabbers. I too am less than a yr crabbin and my new guys were practically invisible first few weeks.
I would suggest trying to get your heat up into the 80s. (75 is minimum for survival) but these guys are more active in 80+ temps. 80 humidity is also low. 80 is minimum. They do better in a bit higher Rh. If you can see your crabs, collect them into a safe container and add another 2" of sub to make 8" in your tat. It will hold in heat and humidity way better. It was my key to boosting struggling RH.

The burying part is the only part we crabbers cant control. It's good they de-stress. And absolutely normal they hide. My guys hid under the 1/2 log for almost 3 months coming out more and more each week.

I wonder if all the activity we see in shops is them trying to escape the awful conditions. Once you place them in optimal conditions they settle down.

Boosting heat and humidity will help them a lot. Shoot for 85/85 after adding more sub. Give them a few weeks to stretch their claws and relax. Im sure a bunch of people will chime in soon. But congratulations and welcome to the addictive world of crabbin!

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Also: try to stay away from feeding them anything from the pet store specifically marketed as Hermit Crab food/water. Check the food and water saftey guides here for proper set up. Canned food and food chocked with chems stay away from. Try to feed fresh if you can or purchase hermie food from an a vendor who knows a crab's nutritional needs. Petco is good for freeze dried bugs and cuttle bones but their pellets are full of harmful chems.

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Can you fill out the emergency template? That way we know more about your set up and how you need to improve. This isn't an emergency, just seeing what you, as a new crab owner needs to fix.


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I agree with all of the above. Just want to add that 3 crabs in a 10 gal is overcrowded... Petco is having their Dollar per gal sale (up to 29 gal). 40 Breeder and 55 gal are 50% off.

Here is the help template so we can get a better view of your tank: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=46102

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O and Welcome to HCA!

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Welcome to the HCA!

It is completely normal for them to be hiding. Hermit crabs are prey animals. Provide lots of hiding places for them to feel safe, and you will see them more once they have settled in. Also, please keep in mind that these little guys are nocturnal, so most of their activity occurs at night

A lot of people buy them in the gift shops like you did. Most times they are active like that because they are freaking out due to lack of proper care. Hermit crabs have modified gills and need the humidity to breathe. Try to give them time to destress and you will reap the rewards of watching these guys over the years

Once again, welcome, if you can fill out the template mentioned in the previous posts we can help you get your tank to where it needs to be for these guys to thrive

Hi Zamacona00!

A lot of us have a similar first crab adoption story Sending you supportive vibes as you figure things out. My first week/month was super stressful because I felt I needed to get everything right all at once, and not knowing crab normal behavior can add to the frustration. One of my crabs went down for a molt in the second/third week I had him, and one of my crabs who I thought was social turned into a recluse once she got good tank conditions. Luckily one of my other crabs continued to be outgoing, so I still have someone to watch, mainly late at night when she wants to explore/eat stuff. Just hang in there, things will improve!!!

So if you are not ready to fill out the help template yet and just want to read the Forum recommendations, here are the links to care sheets relating to basic crabitat setup and feeding. The one thing that is not accurate on the care sheets is that minimum Forum recommendations are 80F/80% relative humidity for all crabs, some crabs may like it hotter or more humid (like VicFuture says above).

Basic Crab care, overall guidelines and also individual guidelines for each crab type: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=51

Lighting, heat, humidity, substrate, moss, crab sizing and crabs per gallon, crab ID, etc. is here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=26

How to calibrate your hygrometer to be sure the humidity measurement is accurate (note: if it always shows 99% it's oversaturated and not correct, any other reading, you should calibrate both digital and analog gages to be sure it's accurate): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92540

Safe foods, unsafe foods, crab nutrition/food pyramid and all things water (crabs need both marine saltwater and freshwater, both treated with a dechlorinator that removes chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrates/nitrites, and heavy metals): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=25

Shells needed & those to avoid, how to get the right size shells for your crab and have it be the correct shell type so the crab will actually use it (need 5 minimum per crab): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=24

Please feel free to post if you have questions about any of these topics, and one of us will be happy to help you. Welcome to HCA!!! Happy crabbing!!!