Questions about Crabitat aswell as Crab behavior?

[Vlad]

Hello everyone!

I just recently got a hermit crab, And I want to make sure that they are okay in their habitat,and if their habitat is acceptable.



So, for starters, my crabs don’t seem to be that lively at night, they rarely move, and I’m not sure if it’s because of my crabitat, or me just not paying attention, but most nights it seems like when I wake up in the morning they haven’t moved. I also just got a new crab, and he immediately burrowed under my helix fossil (right side), which I get is normal, but he hasn’t come up? He has no hole to leave, i don’t know how he got down there, or when he comes up for food. They seemed so lively when I first got them, and when I hold them in my hands they’re so energized. Another problem is I have some white fuzz forming on my wood, could this be an issue? People are 50/50, saying not to worry about it or to boil it, but I just want to make sure.
By the way, I don’t have a heat lamp or a food bowl, I feed them regularly but the foodbowl is in the works, aswell as a heat lamp, could that be why they’re so immobile? And one last thing, I play video games at night, could that throw off their day/night cycle?

Sorry for this long first post, and if this is in the wrong area I’ll move it, but a recap:
1. Crabs aren’t moving around alot, but they do when outside of tank.
2. Crab buried self under rock and hasn’t come out, is he safe?
3. White stuff forming on wood, is this normal/safe?
4. Could no heatlamps be the cause of #1 &#2?
5. Does bluelight from tvs mess with crabs day\night cycle
Thank you all so much!!!
(P.S. I didn’t think a heatlamp was that important as it is summer in texas right now, inside temps don’t drop below 70 and don’t go above 82 in my house)

[piratetoothgir]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Newly purchased crabs usually aren’t all that active for a while, they normally dig to relieve some of their stress from being taken from the wild, shipped to the store, and then purchased by a customer.
It’s completely normal for them to do this.

Don’t handle them during this time, they need to be left alone to prevent further stress from happening.
They are safe, as long as you don’t dig for them.
The white stuff is most likely mold, and it’s only harmful to us, not the crabs. You need heat, which is best accomplished by using a heating pad on the back of the tank.
The heat and humidity should be at least 80/80 at all times. I wouldn’t think the light would hurt them, as long as you aren’t too loud in the night, it should be fine.

Could you please fill out the emergency template?
That'll allow me and some other members to see your tank up close.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

[Vlad]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Newly purchased crabs usually aren’t all that active for a while, they normally dig to relieve some of their stress from being taken from the wild, shipped to the store, and then purchased by a customer.
It’s completely normal for them to do this

Thank you so much for the reply! I filled out the sheet,
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

I use 2 inches of Eco Earth coconut fibres and 3 inches of play sand

2. temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

Yes, it measures both, it is on right side, humidity ranges from 70’s to 80’s, it rarely drops below that

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
No

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

Zoo med on both, I do as instructed.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

I give them All living things food medley, I’ve tried feeding them fruit but they don’t eat it


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Purple claw, i think?

One for about 2 weeks the other about 4 days (the two new ones are the smaller)

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

No (one might be molting right now? Or just stressed

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? I’ve posted the crabitat, the lid is mesh but I put saran rap over it and use my supplies to keep it in place

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

3, two about the size of a quarter and one is about 2 1/3 inches long.



10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

5

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Not that I know of

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

I cleaned it when I got the new crabs, so I guess every two weeks (Should I clean it every two weeks? Or can I hold off longer?)

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

I put the sponge in the right corner of the cage, and clean it by running it under tap water and rolling it in my hands to get the dirt out. (Do I clean this daily?)

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

Well Igot them wood and they seemed very interested in it at first but now they don’t move so I mean.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

Do you think bathing would help them?

Thank you again so much, so you think I should get a heating pad?

[soilentgringa]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Newly purchased crabs usually aren’t all that active for a while, they normally dig to relieve some of their stress from being taken from the wild, shipped to the store, and then purchased by a customer.
It’s completely normal for them to do this.

Don’t handle them during this time, they need to be left alone to prevent further stress from happening.
They are safe, as long as you don’t dig for them.
The white stuff is most likely mold, and it’s only harmful to us, not the crabs. You need heat, which is best accomplished by using a heating pad on the back of the tank.
The heat and humidity should be at least 80/80 at all times. I wouldn’t think the light would hurt them, as long as you aren’t too loud in the night, it should be fine.

Could you please fill out the emergency template?
That'll allow me and some other members to see your tank up close.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

Mold is not harmful unless someone has allergies to it or is immune compromised.

It's also not necessary for everyone to fill out the emergency template when asking basic questions about crab care.


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[soilentgringa]

Hello everyone!

I just recently got a hermit crab, And I want to make sure that they are okay in their habitat,and if their habitat is acceptable.



So, for starters, my crabs don’t seem to be that lively at night, they rarely move, and I’m not sure if it’s because of my crabitat, or me just not paying attention, but most nights it seems like when I wake up in the morning they haven’t moved. I also just got a new crab, and he immediately burrowed under my helix fossil (right side), which I get is normal, but he hasn’t come up? He has no hole to leave, i don’t know how he got down there, or when he comes up for food. They seemed so lively when I first got them, and when I hold them in my hands they’re so energized. Another problem is I have some white fuzz forming on my wood, could this be an issue? People are 50/50, saying not to worry about it or to boil it, but I just want to make sure.
By the way, I don’t have a heat lamp or a food bowl, I feed them regularly but the foodbowl is in the works, aswell as a heat lamp, could that be why they’re so immobile? And one last thing, I play video games at night, could that throw off their day/night cycle?

Sorry for this long first post, and if this is in the wrong area I’ll move it, but a recap:
1. Crabs aren’t moving around alot, but they do when outside of tank.
2. Crab buried self under rock and hasn’t come out, is he safe?
3. White stuff forming on wood, is this normal/safe?
4. Could no heatlamps be the cause of #1 &#2?
5. Does bluelight from tvs mess with crabs day\night cycle
Thank you all so much!!!
(P.S. I didn’t think a heatlamp was that important as it is summer in texas right now, inside temps don’t drop below 70 and don’t go above 82 in my house)

I'm in Texas and am not using my heater now either. Tank temps are 76-77 pretty constantly.

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[Hermiesguardian]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Newly purchased crabs usually aren’t all that active for a while, they normally dig to relieve some of their stress from being taken from the wild, shipped to the store, and then purchased by a customer.
It’s completely normal for them to do this

Thank you so much for the reply! I filled out the sheet,
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

I use 2 inches of Eco Earth coconut fibres and 3 inches of play sand

2. temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

Yes, it measures both, it is on right side, humidity ranges from 70’s to 80’s, it rarely drops below that

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
No

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

Zoo med on both, I do as instructed.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

I give them All living things food medley, I’ve tried feeding them fruit but they don’t eat it


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Purple claw, i think?

One for about 2 weeks the other about 4 days (the two new ones are the smaller)

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

No (one might be molting right now? Or just stressed

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? I’ve posted the crabitat, the lid is mesh but I put saran rap over it and use my supplies to keep it in place

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

3, two about the size of a quarter and one is about 2 1/3 inches long.



10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

5

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Not that I know of

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

I cleaned it when I got the new crabs, so I guess every two weeks (Should I clean it every two weeks? Or can I hold off longer?)

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

I put the sponge in the right corner of the cage, and clean it by running it under tap water and rolling it in my hands to get the dirt out. (Do I clean this daily?)

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

Well Igot them wood and they seemed very interested in it at first but now they don’t move so I mean.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

Do you think bathing would help them?

Thank you again so much, so you think I should get a heating pad?

No, bathing them will just stress them out more. Sponges tend to hold a lot of bacteria. The substrate should be at least 6 inches or 3 times the height of your largest crab, whichever is deeper. You can tape the saran wrap to the lid. Works well.

[curlysister]

There is lots of good info about nutrition and the food pyramid in the FAQ and Care Sheets section; I am not sure if the food you have is considered safe (many commercial foods are not safe, even though they are marketed and labelled for hermit crabs).

I agree that bathing them, or even picking them up and holding them, or taking them out of the tank is stressful for the crabs.

As well as being as deep as HG mentioned, it is important that the substrate is moist enough to hold it's shape (ie- sand castle consistency). You only need to 'spot' clean, taking out any bits of rotting or molding food that the crabs have dragged aroung, or if there's lots of poop. A 'deep clean', where all the substrate is removed and replaced, seldom if ever needs to be done. I have upgraded tanks twice, and have added to the substrate each time but have never thrown it all out and started again.

The white stuff is probably mold, which isn't harmful to the crabs, only to some people. Mold will grow quickly on certain things in the high humidity and temps of a crabitat.

[Vlad]

Wait... taking them out to play and what not is stressful for them? Like, will they get used to it or they alltogether shouldn’t be taken out?

[soilentgringa]

Wait... taking them out to play and what not is stressful for them? Like, will they get used to it or they alltogether shouldn’t be taken out?

They're wild animals and will never be domesticated, nor do they have the higher brain functions that would make them able to have any kind of affection for us.

Some crabs may come to tolerate our presence or associate is with food.

They're prey animals and anything larger than them is a threat so they generally look at humans as such.

I don't play with my crabs or take them out of their tank unless rarely taking pics for size or introducing new crabs.

I don't personally recommend handling them.

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[wodesorel]

The oldest known hermit crabs were handled daily, so I don't think it is necessarily bad, but they do need time to settle in and molt at least once, preferably a few times. There is a lot of illness and injury and stress to overcome while adapting to captivity.

[Eggster]

First of all I would recommend getting a larger tank and ive had a lot of success with a 20 gal long. Most importantly a bigger tank allows deeper substrate which makes molting way safer; i personally have my tank set up with 10 inches of sub that slopes down to 3 in. More space also allows more items for the crabs to interact with, more vertical space for climbing, and more surface area for the crabs to walk.

Speaking of walking, get yourself a hamster wheel. Myself and many others on here use them and i can personally attest to the fact that my crabs run on it like they're at the gym. https://img.chewy.com/is/image/catalog/ ... 98310_.jpg
That's the one i ended up grabbing at a local pet shop and it has worked great for me. It's solid so you don't have to worry about the tips of their feet getting stuck. The bars on the inside give the crabs a good grip and it is wide enough for my billard ball sized crab to use. I will say it's not a super silent wheel, I can hear mine throughout the night but my tank is literally a foot from my bed.

I wouldn't worry about messing up their day/night cycle with your gaming. My poor crabs probably have a really messed up cycle by this point but they are perfectly fine. I stay up until sunrise about two or three days a week and since my tank light is specifically for easy viewing, it is always on when I'm up. The light gets cut off when the sun starts peaking through my window. Also there are days when it never gets turned on. I ended up using a flexible metal clamp desk light which uses a 60watt bulb for my tank. My crabs took a few weeks to get use to it but now they don't care and it helps with heat & humidity. I also can see the whole tank. My crabs have shown no effects other than being active at times throughout the day and night. They have also all undergone successful molts after the light was introduced.
So I feel it's safe to say that the blue light from your tv isn't doing them any harm.

Another thing I have noticed is that crabs need to be use to your presence before start really seeing all their crazy antics. When I first moved my tank into my bedroom my crabs would literally stop what they were doing to go hide when I moved to much. These days, I can literally press my face and phone against the glass for video recording without them pausing.

More general tips for food and water.
Dump the premixed water. Get you some prime and aquarium sea salt. First of all you will save so much money and second store salt water for hermit crabs never has all the minerals needed. A 10lb box of instant ocean salt ran me about $12 but will probably last a good decade the way it's going. I have a small bottle of prime for like $5 and it has been of a year so far with only about half gone.

Don't stay restricted to the hermit crab section when it comes to food. You can often find a greater variety of foods for cheaper in other reptile sections. One big hit with my crabs is general omnivore mix I found in the salamander section of a pet store. It has dried veggies, mealworms, and crickets in it. I have also found dried shrimp and dried blood worms marketed for turtles. You can always find giant bags of meal worms for way cheaper in poultry sections/stores.

I would get some food bowls since they keep the food and tank neater. Egg shells work great to put food in as well. I started using them when my crabs kept burying their bowls. My crabs don't bother burying them and I don't have clean any bowls since my crabs eat the shell when the food is gone. They also have this weird obsession with sitting inside the shell to chill.

[CrabHappens]

I second ditching the zoomed hermit crab salt and freshwater conditioner and getting prime. The yellow dye in the saltwater cannot be good for the little guys, and it is not nearly strong enough. I have tasted water from the ocean, and the instant ocean mixed to what it specifies is much stronger than zoomed saltwater, and much closer to the salinity of ocean water.