HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Can hermit crabs like you? How to get my hermit crab to like me ?

The short answer is, maaaaaybe.

The more complex answer is that it depends as much on a crab's individual personality as on how you interact with your crabs.

There are crabs with more exploratory, bolder personalities, and crabs who are naturally more timid. This is normal. If you manage to get a bolder crab to associate you with food, it will tolerate you much better (what I would call the crab equivalent of 'likeing' an animal from a different species).

Some members have even reported having crabs bold enough to dash over to the owner's hand or climb up their arm when they reach into the tank for feedings or to move decor.

If you feed your crabs at the same time daily, move very slowly, and don't give them reason to fear you, like picking them up a lot, I suspect you will be more lucky than if you take them out for 'play time'. But it's as much up to the crab as to you. And remember: crabs are weird.

You can also try wiggling your fingers at your crabs through the glass, mimicking the way their antenules wave about. See if any of your crabs get curious! That's how you 'talk' to crabs in a language they understand. .. though I bet the way humans wiggle is more like broken crabese. Any crabs that wiggle back are being patient t with your linguistic attempts, lol.

Im wondering the same thing. I just got four small-to-medium pp. They buried themselves deep in Moss and I have seen very little of them but I will let them hide and destress and when they pop out a little bit more Ill try to get myself introduced. I plan on trying all of the above finger antennas. cooing their name. hand time. floor time. hand fed treats. I would think if you blow on them they should be able to recognize your scent after a while. No sudden movements no Dark Shadows 10 to 20 minutes at a time. I would imagine that their individual personality is at least half of it.