Getting settled?

[CrabbieFoxes]

Hi, we just got two hermit crabs from a pet store, large tank but on astroturf (no substrate in the pet store tank) and placed them in our pre-readied tank (~5” 50:50 coconut fiber:sand substrate, fresh and salt water, fresh veg and store bought food, temp in the low 70s, humidity near 95%, we have a heating pad under the tank, which I now know is wrong and will be removing as soon as the smaller one comes in for the side placement).
Within the hour, both crabs moved and were hiding under a piece of wood. Late that night one came out to eat and by morning there was sand in both water bowls so at least one of them went exploring. Ever since they have both burrowed in and no evidence of either coming back out.

Is this normal when they are put into a new environment? Are they just so thankful to have moist substrate they are just hanging out under there? I wouldn’t be surprised, I guess, if they need to molt and this has been the first access to substrate so they are getting right to molting, but my kid’s are going to be so upset we just got them and they won’t see them for weeks to months!

As long as it is ‘normal’ behavior, we can live with it, but how do we know they also didn’t burrow in and die?

Thanks!

[blackberry75]

They also dig to destress, and it sounds like they came from a pretty stressful environment. I'm willing to bet they're coming out, just really late or when nobody is around

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[Wlfwo]

Both of mine just came up from about a week of being "down under". No moulting as I could hear them banging on the shells they've stashed under there. They like to dig. With mine I know they're just hanging out because they don't bother to shut the "door" unless I am to nosy, then they will. Each crab has their own version of "normal" and that is subject to change.
Yours are in a new, scary place. Going to take a bit before yours figure out their version of normal. Crabs are weird .

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