HCA: Hermit Crab Association

We will be leaving for a 2.5 week vacation in about 10 days. Will be bringing the entire crabitat to my mother-in-laws house for her to care for them. Question is, the past week or two we have only caught glimpses of 4 out of 8 crabs. What would you all recommend we do to make the move as safely as possible in case some are down molting. We are in Wisconsin and its mighty cold here.

Last time we went away for a long weekend in November, we warmed the van in the garage and then ran the tat out and pulled into her garage and my hubby ran it in quickly so it didn't have a chance to get too cold.

Also my son is trying to type up a detailed instructions list for her. Any suggestions of stuff to put on it besides the obvious feed and refresh water daily? We want it to be as stress free as possible for her and the crabs.


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Maybe put a blanket around the tank for transportation, so they cant see out and become stressed, and to keep them warm. Maybe in the car you can see if you can point the heaters towards them.

As for the instructions, be sure to mention humidity( I don't know how you regulate it, but I use a spray bottle). Other than that and food and water, I think they should be okay.

Have fun on your trip!
Bonnie

You can slap a mylar blanket around the whole thing and tape it close, to trap in max heat. Then wrap said blanket around that, which can also help muffle noise. You should be good for an hour at least. You can grab a bunch of empty water bottles and fill them with hot water and surround the tank for extra heat, but that would be excessive if the car heat will reach the tank. As long as your car can be 72-75 when the tank goes in you should be ok. Low temps won't kill them instantly
My only care suggestion is that you provide a dry mix that wont mold or attract pests.
You have a VERY nice MIL to help you crab sit!


Crabbers unite!!!

Thanks for the suggestions! My son is very detailed and wants to be sure grandma doesn't kill his crabs! He would be absolutely devastated if one died in her care. She knows this and will be extra vigilant.


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Our very large crab dug down really deep and rearranged the tat yesterday. He normally doesn't go that deep so I am wondering if he is molting now. Terrible timing. Any further suggestions besides those above to keep from disturbing him?


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Did you ever consider just leaving them at home? I went to Europe for 3 weeks and while I admit I was worried about my crabs half the time; they did great! Their tat is very stable as far as humidity and temp, I monitored it for the month before and did not have to do anything (spray, etc.) so the only concern I had is water since I normally change it weekly (I have bubblers). So I added a second freshwater dish, multiple dishes of dry foods, and left them.

Expected a trashed tank when I got back, but actually it was fine and everyone acted as if I never left; one molter came up during that time.

My rationale is that if I moved them anywhere at all, the person would have to tinker with the temp and humidity and could easily make a big mistake. (make it too hot, add too much water and drown a molter, etc.) Not to mention of course the nightmare of trying to move a very heavy tank. You could have someone come in once while you are gone to change the water and freshen up the food but since crabs don't mind nor are harmed by "old" food I don't even think that is necessary.

The only problem for you could be a power outage and you should have grandma on standby in case that happens

Again, I admit this was stressful for me (but the crabs could care less, LOL). But now that I have done it I am totally comfortable and don't feel that I was neglectful at all.

Might try this next time, but we had subzero temps when we were away. We also turn the house temp way down when we are away. When we leave in the summer we might try this. Grandma did fine with the crabs this time. Thanks for the confidence that it works though.


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