Buddies from other tanks?

[snickersnflip]

Well, I guess this is where this post should go, Not sure

Anyway, My little brother is wanting to get some hermit crabs of his own. They will be in a different tank, most likely the old ten gallon we have.

So my question is, Could my hermies and His hermies "Visit" each other? Like, could we put mine in with his for a "Playdate" for a little while, like half hour, or vice versa, and then put them back in their proper crabitats?

Would this cause stress, e.g. disappearing and reappearing mysterious strangers?

[HermitCrabingrid]

I do this but intake them and put them in their pen

[Rocky]

If you start putting crabs in different tanks, it's very very likely that you'll have some disappear, either digging down or hiding You could set up some sort of playpen (which might be beneficial if you feel like your tank is small and the hermies need some excercise) but if you can, try to keep the area warm and moist. I did this in my room last summer by putting it near the space heater and spraying the area But I wouldn't recommend doing this often, removing a hermie from their habitat and putting them in a new area is very stressful, it won't 'smell right' to them and they may panic (panic is sometimes interpreted as excitement, when a hermie starts running around and going nuts) It's like being uprooted and put in a new home, they don't understand that they'll be back in their tank soon and that it's supposed to be for fun.
And of course you run the risk of fights, it's recommended to bathe new hermit crabs when introducing them to the main tank to make them smell neuteral so the other crabs aren't as likely to start a fight. But crabs from two different tanks will smell eachother and see the other crabs as strangers. This can be helped by bathing everyone first, but repeated baths are stressful and mess around with their shell water balance.
All in all, it's alot of effort and stress for very little benefit I think you and your crabbies would just be happier in their own tanks. Maybe you could place the tanks beside eachother once and awhile (a 10g is certainly easy enough to cart around) and curious crabs can check eachother out.

[snickersnflip]

Yeah that is what i was thinking, that they would get freaked out. I would move the tanks so they could see eachother, but mine is a 20g on a tank stand, and i have a hard time moving very easy when its not full of sand LOL but since its on a tank stand, there would be no room for the 10g.


Thanks!

[Rocky]

No problem
If you're worried about your hermies getting bored, try moving things around once or twice a month It doesn't matter if it's a new thing or not, a new location is just as exciting. Or whenever I wash all of my shells, the crabs act like they're a bunch of brand new shells. Or try putting a snack in a hard to reach place for a challenge