HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My crab Busy is I suppose somewhere around 12 years old, and female, based on some ventral views I compared to online images years ago. Today I checked in on her as I always do when I get up in the morning. She was sitting in her tank placidly near the back where the larger heater is, as she often does. However, I saw something new: there was a lot of filmy/bubbly fluid visible in the area where her small feeding appendages are. She was moving those appendages around, so there was a sort of "frothiness" to the fluid. Like she was almost "blowing bubbles". I of course had grandiose thoughts like "oh wow is she producing eggs or something??" and ran to grab a camera. (She lives alone in the tank, so any eggs would be unfertilized.) I got some video but by then the footage wasn't as dramatic. Anyhow, just thought I'd check if anyone knows what this is about. Perhaps it's something more mundane that I just never caught her in the act of doing before.

I'm not 100% sure, maybe someone else more expierenced will jump in. I thought that meant they are overheating. What's the temp in your tank? Could your thermometer be reading lower than it actually is? Do you have a thermostat to regulate your uth?

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As far as I know, hermit crab bubbling can mean injury, overheating, loneliness (if you only have one hermit crab it may be a good idea to get another, although it may not be loneliness because you said you've had her for 12 years and she hasn't seemed lonely?) or dehydration. It can also mean something is irritating them in their shell. I really don't know much about hermit crab bubbling, so I would wait for someone more experienced than me to reply

Nice suggestions. Hopefully not injury or loneliness, she seems fine, vigorous, roams around the house (although lately, we have a new dog and I've restricted her walks to the bathroom to be safe). Has been alone for 8-10 years or more. I guess overheating sounds most likely to me, although, I've always felt she was underheated, especially in winter. I don't have a thermostat; it never seemed to get even into the upper 70s so I always figured the more heat, the better. I started keeping a blanket on the tank a couple months ago when we had furnace trouble and I was worried the house might suddenly get cold when I was at work. But the furnace has been fine, so it could be warmer in there than it used to be. I haven't measured the temperature recently though, since she trashed her thermometer (submerged it in the water dish) some months ago. I have a thermometer I use sporadically to check the temperature, although it is a digital hand-held weather device and not really suitable to leave in the tank all the time (it shuts itself off). I will check again...

Since you don't have a thermometer or thermostat to regulate your uth, I'd grab those as soon as you can. How's crabby doing now?

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i definitely recommend getting a greenhouse thermometer it helped me a lot

I measure the temperature in the tank last night and it was 73*F. That was without the blanket though. And it's possible that the 73 is an underestimate because cool air entered the tank when I opened it to put the thermometer in (I left it in for a half hour or so). Can't be sure yet, but I strongly doubt the tank is "overly hot" for a hermit crab, all evidence has been to the contrary (she typically hangs out near the heater unless roaming about). But perhaps she just stayed a little too long next to it and then felt the urge to foam up a bit.

By greenhouse thermometer - is that the same as a terrarium thermometer? My last one was bought in an aquarium shop. I guess it has to either stick firmly to the glass, or be submersible, because she trashed the last one by dunking it in the water dish.

Busy has been doing fine since - that was the only time I've seen her frothing up. Last night I watched her eating bloodworms, strawberry powder treat and apple.

73 is actually a bit low for most crab types. Everyone else has already suggested getting a thermometer/hydrometer. Is she no longer foaming and acting normal? If so then I think all you can do is keep an eye on her and her tank levels.

Glad she's doing better. Maybe the uth itself was too warm (even if the overall air temp wasn't), and it caused her to overheat a bit since she was up against it. Hopefully she'll be good now.

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crabocado wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 18, 2023 1:57 pm

I measure the temperature in the tank last night and it was 73*F. That was without the blanket though. And it's possible that the 73 is an underestimate because cool air entered the tank when I opened it to put the thermometer in (I left it in for a half hour or so). Can't be sure yet, but I strongly doubt the tank is "overly hot" for a hermit crab, all evidence has been to the contrary (she typically hangs out near the heater unless roaming about). But perhaps she just stayed a little too long next to it and then felt the urge to foam up a bit.

By greenhouse thermometer - is that the same as a terrarium thermometer? My last one was bought in an aquarium shop. I guess it has to either stick firmly to the glass, or be submersible, because she trashed the last one by dunking it in the water dish.

Busy has been doing fine since - that was the only time I've seen her frothing up. Last night I watched her eating bloodworms, strawberry powder treat and apple.

a greenhouse thermometer is the same just cheaper on amazon

IamSam wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:10 pm

73 is actually a bit low for most crab types. Everyone else has already suggested getting a thermometer/hydrometer. Is she no longer foaming and acting normal? If so then I think all you can do is keep an eye on her and her tank levels.

Yeah, she's been doing fine, it was just that one incident that got me all worked up!