Coconut Crabs

SuperFanjaya · Post by **SuperFanjaya** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:34 pm

I heard people on this site have coconut crabs as pets. they are HUGE! How and where do you keep them? I dont think you can fit a cage big enough for them in your house, so do you have like an outdoor pen for them or something? Sorry if this is a stupid question, i just need to know! lol

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:43 am

As far as I know, no-one here is keeping a coconut crab. But they get sold and people do keep them as pets. But mostly the coconut crabs are sold when they are still small, often they are still wearing a shell and many die before they get so big that they cannot be kept in normal tanks anymore.

If you wanted to keep one, you would need to convert an entire room into a crabitat so that the crab can climb and especially dig - their molting tunnels are up to 3 feet long and deep. That much substrate has a lot of weight...

brad873 · Post by **brad873** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:56 am

Mokulele_Hawai'i has a coconut crab, and has had them in the past too. it would be best to PM him about them

Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs · Post by **Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:36 am

brad873 wrote:Mokulele_Hawai'i has a coconut crab, and has had them in the past too. it would be best to PM him about them

I wonder if he keeps his Coconut Crab in a tank or in a outside enclosure.

SuperFanjaya · Post by **SuperFanjaya** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:08 am

coconut crabs are cute and alll, but i dont want one! haha. Where do they live in the wild?

Kilimanjaro · Post by **Kilimanjaro** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:13 am

Coconut crabs are native to the islands of Indonesia and the surrounding areas. They live in similar conditions to hermit crabs and would need the same things they need (I presume).

Mokulele_Hawai'i does have a coconut crab, but he lives in Indonesia. I do not think you can keep them as pets (they are not sold) in the United States or Canada.

brad873 · Post by **brad873** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:40 am

Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs wrote: I wonder if he keeps his Coconut Crab in a tank or in a outside enclosure.

he has an outside enclosier

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:13 am

Aaah, the joys of living in a high humidity climate

I think it's sad that it gets easier to buy coconut crabs in Germany. I could go and buy one right now, for as little as 100 Euros

brad873 · Post by **brad873** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:13 am

alive or dead?

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:49 am

would you be capable of shipping a coconut crab you bought to the US, or are there strict laws where you are?

Caroline

MudCrabDude · Post by **MudCrabDude** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:58 pm

brad873 wrote:alive or dead?

brad873 · Post by **brad873** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:12 pm

why is that funny?

MudCrabDude · Post by **MudCrabDude** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:16 pm

brad873 wrote:why is that funny?

Oh,you weren't being sarcastic?

Nevermind.

brad873 · Post by **brad873** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:18 pm

no, i was actually asking a question. i wanted to know if they can be bought as pets or food

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:30 am

Alive, as pets

I have no idea if I could ship one to the US, but I think there's no law against exporting animals bought in pet shops. But I wouldn't do it anyway, I don't want to support the trade in wildcaught animals, especially with species that cannot be kept as pets by most people. The hype for exotic pets is really bad at the moment in Germany, you can buy all sorts of animals that cannot be kept in an apartment (but are sold to people living in apartments anyway) or that are very demanding in their care, too demanding for most people who just want a cute pet.