HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I was thinking... John the hermit crab and crab Kate both lived a very long time. And I know there is a lot of controversy about handling hermit crabs, but Carol Ormes handled her hermit crabs A LOT. She let them roam around her house and even helped them during molts! And most people on here say handling depends on the personality of the hermit crab. But I find it hard to believe that both Kate and John were just two outgoing hermit crabs in that handful. Maybe having a relationship with your hermit crab is key. Think about it, if you were kept in a glass box, with a giant lumbering around outside, would you feel more secure wondering if he would eat you at any moment? or would you rather have a relationship with him, and understand him, and play games with him? I know I would want to understand this person. If you knew who this person was, wouldn't you feel more secure, less stressed and more energetic? I have had my hermit crabs for only a little over a month, and one of them will occasionally willingly climb into my hand. (occasionally ) So I am going to get this hermit crab to be my friend. I will hopefully continue to post about it.

Feel free to disagree with me. I am new to the forum and to hermit crabs. But all opinions are my own. Feel free to ask questions and give advice.

I'm not saying this will work for all crabs. there may be a few that don't enjoy it. But i think with some work they might. Also, I should mention the one who will climb into my hand used to be the most shy. I will also be doing this on all my hermit crabs, not just one

In my opinion, you are making your crabs thinking like humans and they don't think like humans. Their brain isn't made up the same way including how they respond to smell, sight etc.. if they were...think if some giant kidnapped you from your huge rich life and threw you in a cage, them wanted to reach his hand in to "play" with you how you may feel lol. I'm not against touching your crabs but you do need to make sure your not stressing them out. Esp since they don't have the same concept of friendship we have.i do recommend ready all the care guides on here since you just got them. I know there's a lot of misinformation from petstores and shops. They need a lot of specific care, more then most(including me) realized. Again, I'm not saying what you should do with your crabs, just remember they don't think amd process things the same as we humans do. I personally keep mine as close to nature as I can. I do handle them occasionally but you have to make sure you don't stress them out.

Oh one thing please don't help them during molts. That's the only thing I do want to say. Make sure they have a substrate(sand/coconut fiber/both) atleast 3x [pref more] the depth of your largest crab. I use a 5 parts play sand 1 part coconut fiber since they need about 80%,humidity the coconut fiber helps keep moisture in my tank. It's extremely important you never dig up a buried crab. That's the big thing I'd say because it's important and it could kill your crabs

Alaina gave some good advice. You really have to go with whatever the individual crab wants. I have a recent rescue crab, Ruby, who is very outgoing. She was just at the top of the tank and likes to check out whatever I'm doing. She doesn't shy away when I put my hand in the tank. If I wave my two fingers at her she will wave her antennae back. I also have 2 crabs in my 20 gal that will let me touch their antennae, and they wiggle them and touch back. I never push the interactions though, when they're done, I let them be. I also have very shy crabs, like my Atlanna, who runs even if I approach the tank too fast. I always try to move slow and deliberate when changing food and water if she's up, so I don't frighten her. It's really all about getting to know your individual crabs and what they are able to do/handle.

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I couldn't agree more. I think they tend to let you know their feelings amd they Def. Can change their minds when it suits them lol. I love the she waves her antenna at you. That's so cute!! It's crazy the personality each they have. My Lil guy hangs upside down of the cholla log bridge, like a bat to sleep. Well maybe he's sleeping, I'm not sure lol..he looks like it and it's during the day so..

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yes I understand that, but thank you for your input! I did refer to this many times before getting my crabs and did a lot of hours of research but I still don't know everything! Also, i won't help my crabs during molts, I was just saying that that has been successful in the past. But I think handling could make them happier and more active and I do not try and force them. I mentioned before my smallest, coconut actually does enjoy our interactions from what I can tell, and will climb onto my hand. My other two aren't as comfortable with it though, and I respect that. But they are getting friendlier. I also don't take them out every day and never for more than fifteen minutes. Leaonardo Dapinchi, my biggest will wiggle his antenna at me too!

Alaina wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:24 am

In my opinion, you are making your crabs thinking like humans and they don't think like humans. Their brain isn't made up the same way including how they respond to smell, sight etc.. if they were...think if some giant kidnapped you from your huge rich life and threw you in a cage, them wanted to reach his hand in to "play" with you how you may feel lol. I'm not against touching your crabs but you do need to make sure your not stressing them out. Esp since they don't have the same concept of friendship we have.i do recommend ready all the care guides on here since you just got them. I know there's a lot of misinformation from petstores and shops. They need a lot of specific care, more then most(including me) realized. Again, I'm not saying what you should do with your crabs, just remember they don't think amd process things the same as we humans do. I personally keep mine as close to nature as I can. I do handle them occasionally but you have to make sure you don't stress them out.

Yeah, I know I tend to do that to most animals But I do think they are more intelligent than we think. Coconut will recognize me and had favorite spots outside the tank.

Alaina wrote:I couldn't agree more. I think they tend to let you know their feelings amd they Def. Can change their minds when it suits them lol. I love the she waves her antenna at you. That's so cute!! It's crazy the personality each they have. My Lil guy hangs upside down of the cholla log bridge, like a bat to sleep. Well maybe he's sleeping, I'm not sure lol..he looks like it and it's during the day so..

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It's def adorable when they wave back. I assume I'm talking to them in crab language, I just never know what I'm saying lol!
Sounds like your guy is def half bat half crab! I'm surprised he doesn't fall off if he falls asleep like that!

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Hermiecrab wrote:yes I understand that, but thank you for your input! I did refer to this many times before getting my crabs and did a lot of hours of research but I still don't know everything! Also, i won't help my crabs during molts, I was just saying that that has been successful in the past. But I think handling could make them happier and more active and I do not try and force them. I mentioned before my smallest, coconut actually does enjoy our interactions from what I can tell, and will climb onto my hand. My other two aren't as comfortable with it though, and I respect that. But they are getting friendlier. I also don't take them out every day and never for more than fifteen minutes. Leaonardo Dapinchi, my biggest will wiggle his antenna at me too!

That's great you respect the crabs' space and their own little personalities. You'll have to keep us updated how your crabbies progress, and if anyone comes out of their shell more (pun intended lol!).

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Haha yea hopefully the other 2 dobt remain so crabby. Ikr. He is Def. A weird Lil guy.

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Ok, so I was reading in the same room where my hermit crab tank was when I noticed my smallest examining some shells. I put a camera on the lid and hit the video record button so I could catch her changing on camera. (I've done this before, its awesome!) Sure enough while I was reading nearby she changed shells while I was sitting in the same room! I love it when they do that because it means they don't mind your presence. I was keeping an eye on her afterward when she climbed into the water dish. She kept coming a quarter way out of the shell and then shooting back in. I got worried that she was gonna desert so I grabbed some supplies. But I noticed I could see something moving inside the shell. (she had changed into a white polished turbo which wasn't transparent but you could see light in dark spots it was still pretty thick though.) Then I realized she was actually pumping water into her shell! I didn't know they did that it was super cool! Also thank you so much for your help!

P.S I little side note. I talk the most about Leonardo and Coconut because my middle sized crab has been buried a lot recently, most likely prepping for a molt. (I don't think she is de-stressing because she didn't go under for almost three weeks after I got her. she still could be though, but I doubt it.) But once her exoskeleton hardens and she has fully recovered I will update you!

sorry I've been posting so much lately I'm just exited

Hermiecrab wrote: sorry I've been posting so much lately I'm just exited

Don't apologize! Being happy about your crabbies is a good thing!

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I'm a little late on this. There is so much that we are still learning about hermit crabs in general. Carol has a background in microbiology. I'm sure that helped her slot in keeping Jonathan so long. He could have also had a strong genetic makeup that helped him live as long as he did. It's really very hard to say for certain. There is a good write up of Carol and Jonathan over at CSJ. It covers a lot of his basic care practices. This should help sort out any misconceptions about Carol and Jonathan. Here is the link
https://crabstreetjournal.org/blog/2015 ... rks-ormes/

All of our guidelines are recommendations based on years, decades of research from many crab keepers before us. As people tweaked their techniques our care guides evolved. When we first joined the HCA and began following all the guides it was like a switch was turned on. The crabs became more active, and began to really grow! Our recommendations have been working and are made to be as simple as possible to keep hermit crabs alive. Things could be tweaked, but if it's not broke don't fix it.

I think we all tend to experiment in some degree with our crabs. Just because one of us has success in something new, several people would need to have the same results too to update a care guide.