HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I just got crabs sept 2014. I had some issues to fix that are posted on this site as well. I noticed that my crabs are starting to loose some color. Why could this be? They have alot of both salt and distilled water and are given a feast of food overtly other day.

I give them pork, beef, apple, carrots, broccoli, raisin, non salted cracker, dried banana, dried and fresh pineapple, kale, spinach, cantaloupe so these guys have a variety to choose from. They also have store pellets and dried shrimp avalible daily all day.

Here is what they are given



https://www.dropbox.com/s/9jsw2xs6pt4sx ... 0.jpg?dl=0

Do you give them these same few foods over and over or is this just a small example of the sorts of foods you give? What kind of commercial food? Many contain harmful ingredients so you'll want to double check that if you haven't already. Can you go over your crabitat conditions? Have they molted with you? What species? Do you have pics that show the color loss you're seeing?

I don’t have photos of them. The one I notice it a lot on was a bright light purple/pink color when I bought him, now he looks brown. He molted in Sept\ Oct (I think, I couldn’t find him for like a month after I bought him) then he was bright purple\pink.

As for the food they get the same variety listed above in the first post every other night. They have a calcium stick in there 24/7 along with store pellets and store dried shrimp.

And the crabitat conditions I have photos and a new thread in the link below. I am having some issues keeping the temp up and humidity down. I also just lost a crab tuesday night but had had him for 4 months so not sure what is wrong. Other posts from my other feed think it was over heating. The other crabs I have I have had since sept so I’m assuming what I am doing is mostly right. Working on the temp thing this weekend.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=103594

Rose_v73 wrote:I don’t have photos of them. The one I notice it a lot on was a bright light purple/pink color when I bought him, now he looks brown. He molted in Sept\ Oct (I think, I couldn’t find him for like a month after I bought him) then he was bright purple\pink.

So you bought him in September while he was pink/purple, soon after, he turned brown? Then he molted and turned pink/purple again?
If so it sounds like you keep catching him mid-molt, before he has hardened.


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He (Oscer) was still the bright colors until a few weeks ago. i brought him home in sept and he immediatley went and molted i assume because i couldnt find him for a while. he has since then been colorful until a few weeks ago.

I also have another one (Stickers) who i noticed absolutly LOVES to hide under the sand. He digs holes and hides in them. is that normal?? could he just like it better under the sand?? He doesnt molt just loves the sand and likes to dissapear on me often. Scares me when i cant find him.

I had a Jumbo crab die the other day but no one else is affected by anything. he wasnt doing well and i spent 4 hours doing a deep clean of the tank. moved him into a issolation tank and he passed a few hours later.

he was a bright red color but toward the end had tan spots on his body.

sorry im just throwing alot in here i have two threads going and dont really want to open any more.

What about the food i am feeding them (listed above with link to photo) is that ok or should i change something??

Pictures of the crabs would really help. It's pretty normal for their coloring to change after a molt and bright coloring doesn't always mean a healthy crab. The dull spots on your larger crab may have been a sign of impending molt. Their exo sometimes will get ashy looking in places when they're in need of one.

As for food, it's important to vary their diet as much as you can. I can't say for sure if the commercial foods you're feeding are safe, but the rest look good. I do recommend you try to change it up more. Check out the safe food list for ideas and also Kilimanjaro's Guide to Hermit Crab Nutrition.

Stickers sounds normal. Some crabs just like to dig more than others. As long as your conditions are good, I wouldn't worry. Your substrate does look a bit low to me. How deep is it? 90F in some areas is ok as long as there are cooler areas (75-85F) the crabs can get to if they want. Keep that humidity up though.