HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I will be helping my mother move to Arizona and by help I mean we are driving with her and taking a bus back home. The most we will be gone for is a week tops bit plan on being gone no more than 3-4 days. How do I make sure my hermit crabs will have enough food for the entire duration?

So I am assuming no one will take care of them while you are gone?

Maybe find a food that doesn't spoil or rot fast, and wait to put it in right before you leave. I have a food from the HCP, it's a powdered food, if you have something like that, maybe use that, and maybe put in more than usual, to make sure they don't run out.

It's more of I don't trust anyone else. I already know for my fish I can just use a vacation feeder. Or just let them be . Never gone out of town and leave hermit crabs behind. I've left pets in the care of friends or relatives before and discovered my pets over fed despite leaving well written instructions

I have left mine for 6 days before, just feed lots of dry foods, and I put lots of leaves for them to munch on all over sub. I did have my son check on them once, but they were ok so he didn't have to do a thing.

Water - that's going to be the issue. I can't tell you how many times I've read of people leaving on vacation - strangely with and without a sitter - who came home to dehydrated hermits because the bowls had gone empty. They can survive without food for weeks, but they need a constant source of water, so that should be your primary concern!

for the food I planned on leaving the pellets in there with some algae wafers. I give them a variety when I feed them so its not always the same thing but the favorite seems to be the freeze dried shrimp , that just seems to go in less than a day so I know that one won't work. As for the water, I had some ideas. I was thinking of getting a couple of self watering dishes and have one with fresh and one with salt water. As for the heat, I know it would be best to leave the night bulb in the entire time and just have the mister on the timer to keep humidity stable

Forgot to mention the water issue, that was why I had my son stop in to check mine as the water was the one issue I was worried about. I have the auto water dish, and it works for when I'm away unless one of the crabs pulls a bunch of sand up in it and then the sand sucks all that water down into your sub. So water is the issue I would worry the most about and then just make sure you have plenty of foods. I will tell you if you are worried about how people take care of yours as far as food etc. I have left before where I pre made up dishes of dry food, covered with Glad wrap or set them in a Ziploc so my feeding person only has to take out the old dish and set in a new one.

I'm also about to leave on a trip for exactly 48 hours. I'm going to assemble some dried foods and I have my light/heat on a timer - what I'm most concerned about is the humidity. I don't have any special tools to control it right now (I have a plexiglass cover, moss, and a spray bottle (spritzed once a day after opening the lid to change items)). Are there any tricks to keep humidity more constant while I'm gone (when I have no time/ability - with this storm - to get new supplies)?

Well I have my homemade mister on a timer and my plan is to hopefully aquire another timer for the light I already have my water dishes in the crabitat and the crabs have used them . I have food they can feed on while I'm away.im kinda relieved that tiger is finishing molting now.

We have the self watering dishes and they work great. Now if only there was a self feeder that allowed the food to stay fresh...


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I have a smorgasbord feeding PLATFORM full of dried foods that i keep right up against the heater, as a second level. Food hasn't gone bad yet. I don't even know how long its been there. The heater acts as a dehydrator.
The popcorn+leaf pit is also elevated and at the heater, and has been there for at least a month.


Crabbers unite!!!