HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have had my first crabs for a month. Bought them at the beach, then did research to realize we know nothing about taking care of them!
So after reading All the recommendations, etc they now have a pretty sweet set up with good temp and humidity ranges. After 2 days in the new tank the smallest buried himself completely. I have no idea where he is. It's been just over two weeks and I don't smell anything except the substrate.
So during all this I got a good starter supply of food from hcp, oyster shells, protien and minerals, even a set of barnacles! But the big crab has been hiding under the log for about 5 days with very little movement. I've smoothed the sand, no tracks. The food hasn't been touched .
I'm not sure what to do! Bath day is tomorrow, maybe he'll liven up? We did move him to the other side of the cage once while I cleaned the surface and he made a mad dash back under the log.
I'm afraid to get a new crab while I've got a small (possible) molter, ecspecially since the only place to get them here is the pet store chain and they're all bigger than the big one I have...
Any advice? Words of experience or encouragement?? Thanks for your help!

sounds to me like he's still destressing, it can take as little as a day but up to 2 months for a crab to finally be comfortable in his/her new home. i wouldn't worry about it to much if you're worried about him/her not eating try placing some fresh berries or plants by the log and see if she/he goes after them at night. try some fresh fish, go to the pet stores and either buy some feeder fish or ask for the dead fish from the tanks, crabs LOOOVE fresh raw fish. and it's a perfect way for them to get calcium and protein.

I would give him time to destress. Offer the best variety of food that you can, although very small quantities if you only have one crab up. Try shrimp, with the shell. I buy raw shrimp at the grocery store and boil it in dechlorinated water. I always check the fresh seafood case when I'm there and look for things they have on clearance that are about to expire. Also, you mention "bath day". It is generally advised to not give crabs a bath unless you are dealing with mites. You should have water bowls that are deep enough for them to at least get water into their shell, preferably deep enough that they can submerge, and then they will take care of bathing and cleaning out their shells on their own.

There are so many different opinions on the bath thing. We gave baths just before putting them in the new tank to wash off the old stuff. That was the last time. I haven't seen evidence of him going through the water bowls in at least 3 days that was the only reason I was thinking of doing any kind of bath.
I'm beginning to realize the answer to most of our worries is to be sure they have what they need and just leave them alone... On the scale of things they are very easy to care for overall..

Sounds like he's destressing. He's just been moved to a whole new environment. Sometimes it takes several weeks for them to finally relax and become more active.

Totally agree on giving baths before moving them to a new tank. That often helps to make everyone smell "neutral" and avoids any issues, especially if moving crabs from different tank. It's also good to do a bath when you first get a crab to check for mites, and again to make them smell "neutral" before putting them in with other crabs. I didn't mean to say that baths are never recommended. Sorry if it sounded that way.

CrabbyMom33 wrote:Totally agree on giving baths before moving them to a new tank. That often helps to make everyone smell "neutral" and avoids any issues, especially if moving crabs from different tank. It's also good to do a bath when you first get a crab to check for mites, and again to make them smell "neutral" before putting them in with other crabs. I didn't mean to say that baths are never recommended. Sorry if it sounded that way.

I agree. They are also sometimes good after a crab molts, to get rid of that smell that may make some crabs want to eat/kill the molter. I agree that you probably shouldn't give your crab too many baths...especially when he's destressing.

I'm thinking molting is more likely than distressing for the little one, especially if it's a small crab. They molt every couple of months anyway, so when they finally get into a place where they can molt again they usually do right away. I wouldn't expect to see her again for another two weeks at least.

That the big guy isn't moving too much worries me, to be honest. He may attempt to surface molt. New crabs should be out eating when the house quiets down - normally when there is no movement it's a sign of molting, but since he's still on the surface it wouldn't be a normal one. I wouldn't get any more crabs now because of him, rather than the little one. See how he does in another week or so. Adding another crab could be dangerous if he is weak or molting.

Generally it's fine to add new crabs when you have molters, as long as the tank is large enough for them both to molt comfortably. Keeping a new crab isolated for a few days so they can gorge themselves senseless on food and change shells in peace can also make introductions smooth as a crab that is comfy and full will be much better behaved then one that is straight from the store and starved and shell-crazed.

wodesorel wrote:I'm thinking molting is more likely than distressing for the little one, especially if it's a small crab. They molt every couple of months anyway, so when they finally get into a place where they can molt again they usually do right away. I wouldn't expect to see her again for another two weeks at least.

That the big guy isn't moving too much worries me, to be honest. He may attempt to surface molt. New crabs should be out eating when the house quiets down - normally when there is no movement it's a sign of molting, but since he's still on the surface it wouldn't be a normal one. I wouldn't get any more crabs now because of him, rather than the little one. See how he does in another week or so. Adding another crab could be dangerous if he is weak or molting.

Generally it's fine to add new crabs when you have molters, as long as the tank is large enough for them both to molt comfortably. Keeping a new crab isolated for a few days so they can gorge themselves senseless on food and change shells in peace can also make introductions smooth as a crab that is comfy and full will be much better behaved then one that is straight from the store and starved and shell-crazed.

I agree it might be a surface molt...One of my guys did a surface molt but he made it through. It must have been extremely stressful, though. I was freaking out for his health, but it turned out alright. Surface molts are pretty risky though.

Well my son had the brilliant idea to move Red (big crab) and his log this morning! I talked to him about leaving him be and then I moved the log back to where it was (dark corner away from our side). Red sat for a few minutes then went straight for the fresh water bowl and seemed to be bathing himself (dipping claws in and out while sitting on the edge). He spent the rest of the day ON TOP of the log like he did during the first few days. I'm seeing this as a sign of improvement despite his forced move this morning!

@crabbiemom33 - I didn't take it that way;). It can just be a bit overwhelming with all the conflicting info out there. I'm glad to have found a community of REAL, EXPERIENCED crab owners! You all are such a help and encouragement! Thanks!