HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Shellby (my hermit crab) has not been acting like herself recently...

Up until the other day, she loved her climbing toys! She'd climb to the tippity-top of her toy and sit on it for hours! She would also spend a lot of time in her bedroom (a hideout). She also would eat a lot. I had to do some rearranging in order to re-moisten her sand, and now she's not doing anything. Not only is she not climbing, but she's not going into her home, she's not climbing anything, and she's barely eating.

I only recently (June 28) fixed her habitat, after 2 months of improper care (I had everything good except for the habitat size; the pet store had told us wrong). I have her in a really good habitat now, and she loved it until Monday (July 3). That was the day I had to rearrange.

She has access to fresh AND salt water, where she can drink AND go under, climbing toys, a place to hide, and more than enough substrate (at sand castle consistency). Her humidity level is great, and her temperature is within the required range. She will only move if I make her (and I don't like to do that. I know it's bad). She was super active until Monday!

Is she about to molt? She fit some of the side affects for that that I found at https://www.thespruce.com/hermit-crab-i ... lt-1239082. She is not missing any limbs, they're all greatly intact. Thank you for any help!

Hi!

Hm, it's possible that she's getting ready to moult. Some crabs slow down before a moult.

It's also possible that she's going through a period of adjustment. I'd avoid anything that stress her out... loud noise, handling (which it sounds like you don't do, so thats great ).

Couple questions (just to get an idea of your setup):

How big is your tank?

How deep is the sand?

What exactly is the humidity and temperature?

What have you been feeding her?

And (just to make sure I'm not missing something important) what are you using to dechlorinate the salt & fresh water?

How big is your tank? - 10 gallons

How deep is the sand? - 6-6.25 inches

What exactly is the humidity and temperature? - Humidity is 70-75% throughout the day, and temp is always around 72 degrees F.

What have you been feeding her? - Things from this list --> http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... p?p=852660

What are you using to dechlorinate the salt & fresh water? - Instant Ocean Marine Conditioner for fresh water, and API Aquarium Salt for salt water.

*EDIT*: I actually didn't know that handling was bad until the 2 of July, so not handling her is relatively new.

Coupla things -

You are dechlorinating the salt water too, yes?

And 'aquarium salt' isn't the same thing as Marine Salt Water. Instant Ocean or Kent Marine are examples of marine salt mix. You need this because it contains elements the crabs need for their bodies to work properly, that regular salt does not contain... and aquarium salt is just regular salt used in small doses to treat some freshwater fish ailments. It doesn't mimic ocean water.

Humidity is better off at about 80%. See if you can get it up a bit.

Also, 72°is a bit low. 80° is what you want to aim for.
Crabs are what is called poikilotherms - meaning their metabolisms are tied to the external temperature. Higher temps result in more active (and generally hungrier) crabs. Low temps for prolonged periods will put the crab into torpor (which is bad for them).

That said, they do go through natural cycles of haveing more or less energy because of their moulting process.

Also, many crabs react to handling with greater activity - they'll dash about adorably, in an effort to escape... that we humans often mistake for playfulness (we just can't relate to the prey animal life, we're too high up the food chain. ).

I wonder if, with the sudden stop in "eek, gotta run!" sensations, your crab isn't just finally beginning to de-stress. Keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't begin surface moulting, but don't try to get her to react.

Offer good quality protein options, fresh & dried fruits (my crabs like carrots a lot, and dried pineapple, and shredded coconut), seeds an nuts, seaweeds, and raw, organic honey if you can get it. Coconut oil is good for them too, replenishes lost reserves. They cant synthesize cholesterol, but like us require it, so offering egg yolk is a good idea. And (obviously) calcium. Always with the calcium. There will never be enough calcium.

Hopefully she just needs a moult & will come up in a month or so sharp-toed, hairy, & glamorous!

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Coupla things -

You are dechlorinating the salt water too, yes?

And 'aquarium salt' isn't the same thing as Marine Salt Water. Instant Ocean or Kent Marine are examples of marine salt mix. You need this because it contains elements the crabs need for their bodies to work properly, that regular salt does not contain... and aquarium salt is just regular salt used in small doses to treat some freshwater fish ailments. It doesn't mimic ocean water.

Humidity is better off at about 80%. See if you can get it up a bit.

Also, 72°is a bit low. 80° is what you want to aim for.
Crabs are what is called poikilotherms - meaning their metabolisms are tied to the external temperature. Higher temps result in more active (and generally hungrier) crabs. Low temps for prolonged periods will put the crab into torpor (which is bad for them).

That said, they do go through natural cycles of haveing more or less energy because of their moulting process.

Also, many crabs react to handling with greater activity - they'll dash about adorably, in an effort to escape... that we humans often mistake for playfulness (we just can't relate to the prey animal life, we're too high up the food chain. ).

I wonder if, with the sudden stop in "eek, gotta run!" sensations, your crab isn't just finally beginning to de-stress. Keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't begin surface moulting, but don't try to get her to react.

Offer good quality protein options, fresh & dried fruits (my crabs like carrots a lot, and dried pineapple, and shredded coconut), seeds an nuts, seaweeds, and raw, organic honey if you can get it. Coconut oil is good for them too, replenishes lost reserves. They cant synthesize cholesterol, but like us require it, so offering egg yolk is a good idea. And (obviously) calcium. Always with the calcium. There will never be enough calcium.

Hopefully she just needs a moult & will come up in a month or so sharp-toed, hairy, & glamorous!

I actually have a heat lamp coming in soon so i can have her temperature even higher, I just know that the current temperature is a lot less worse than the pet store would have had.

I definitely feed her a variety -- she loves tuna, eggshells, carrots, and cute little salads. I actually made a graph of good foods containing protein, calcium, and fruits/veggies, and i use that to feed her; her diet is wonderful.

I will order marine salt asap!!

Lastly, I was told that humidity and temperature ranges we're both great between 70-80 in each aspect, so 70/72 didn't seem that bad to me. I am ordering new sponges soon, as well as possibly moss. Again, her heat lamp is on its way.

Thank you so much for your help! I hope Shellby gets back to her normal self!... She still hasn't molted with me yet so im a little worried about that part.

Ah, the lamp will help - though they can lower humidity as well. If you don't have bubblers in your pools you may find them useful for combating low humidity. Studies that tested what humidity crabs prefer have found that the answer is 'the highest humidity available'. Mould growth at higher humidity is annoying for us, but of course the crabs don't mind that!

Sponges in pools aren't considered necessary... they mostly just harbour bacteria. Crabs do seem to like munching on natural dry sponge though.

Moss is great & can also boost humidity... I always have a crab in the moss pit! I have very dry air in my house & found I needed bubbler pools, regular misting, & a large moist moss pit to maintain humidity when I used a ten gallon. But with larger crabitats, the problem has gone away.

I love little crabbie salads! You should post pictures! I use a drizzle of salmon oil & cod liver oil as 'dressing' on salads I make some times - crabs seem to love it!

Finally, older recommendations for heat & humidity were lower, but the majority of crabbers now recommend approximately 80°/80%. It seems to be preferable to them. 72° won't send your crab into torpor! But it's a bit cool for an animal that has to hide in the shade/burrow underground to avoid temps in the 90's in its native range.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Ah, the lamp will help - though they can lower humidity as well.

Yeah, idk when it's coming, but it will, and so will moss.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Sponges in pools aren't considered necessary... they mostly just harbour bacteria.

I know they're not super necessary, but as I wait for my moss, it's the best I have.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Moss is great & can also boost humidity... I always have a crab in the moss pit! I have very dry air in my house & found I needed bubbler pools, regular misting, & a large moist moss pit to maintain humidity when I used a ten gallon.

I just ordered a bubbler! Thank you so much!