Help! Unplanned crab parent

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:37 pm

Hi, I have always loved all types of crabs and have spent many hours on beaches all over the world watching them. I was at the local park (chicago area so not a native to our area) today and found 2 boys with four little hermit crabs. Why I have no idea I just knew nothing good was going to come of this so I gave the boys all the cash I had and rescued them. Well now that they are mine I want to keep them save and happy. My trip to the park wound up being a costly one. The kid at the local pet store was not very helpful and I keep finding conflicting info. Can some one please point me in the right direction.

Thank you

starmaiden · Post by **starmaiden** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 11:14 pm

Hi! Welcome to the HCA! This site has a lot of great info and really friendly people.

If you're looking for someone to point you in the right direction, there are some great hermit crab caresheets on the right side of your screen. Over here-->-->-->

Start out with the caresheets, then read the Crab Care FAQ.

Happy Crabbing!

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:30 am

Hiya and welcome too

,

Starmaidens suggestion is a great place to start,don't forget to ask if there's anything you need to know more about,etc

HERMEZ · Post by **HERMEZ** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:48 am

Hi and welcome..........you can gets lots of help here. The caresheets are a little dated but have good basic info

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:05 am

welcome! have you named your little crabbies yet? if, after reading the care sheets, you still have some questions, dont hesitate to ask!

Caroline

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:42 am

Welcome!

The care sheets and the Crab Care FAQ or great resources. You can always ask around here as well. There is always someone to give you advice!

cranlsn · Post by **cranlsn** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:57 am

Hi and welcome! I'll ditto what everyone else said about the care sheets, you can also try the Search listed above for any specific questions.

But by all means if you don't find what you're looking for, post a question. Folk are here most hours of the day...(some of us more than others

)!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:32 pm

Just wanted to say welcome!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:51 pm

I'm curios to know what you paid, and what you got. Sounds like those crabbies were lucky you came by. Welcome to the HCA.

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:19 pm

Teehee! We're all saying the same sort of thing

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:40 pm

Remember the gams show lets make a deal? I got zonked $25.00 for 4 little crabs in a milk chug bottle! I just knew the little guys were not long for this world the way the boys were letting them slide down the slide. I would never have slept last night if I hadn't rescuded them though. Now I am attached so I have to set up a nice home for the newest members of the family.

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:46 pm

Belize fan wrote:Remember the gams show lets make a deal? I got zonked $25.00 for 4 little crabs in a milk chug bottle! I just knew the little guys were not long for this world the way the boys were letting them slide down the slide. I would never have slept last night if I hadn't rescuded them though. Now I am attached so I have to set up a nice home for the newest members of the family.

thats horrible! sometimes people can be so cruel. today, when in Petsmart holding a couple crabs, one guy said to me, "oh, they bite a lot." me: "i've had mine for a year and they've never pinched me" him: "well, tell bite when you step on them." OF COURSE THEY DO! if someone stepped on him, i'm sure he'd be a little angry too.

Caroline

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:00 am

[smilie=faint.gif]

Mormegil · Post by **Mormegil** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:27 am

Well for a more direct answer...

Go get a 10 gallon aquarium for a PetCo or PetSmart (or Walmart if you must). They run about $10-15.

I suggest getting an Under Tank Heater (UTH), and attaching it to one end of the tank. Other people prefer lights, and yet others use a combination of both.

Get some play sand from a Lowes or Home Depot (hopefully a dry bag). You can bake it at 350 degrees for half an hour to sterilize it if you want (especially recommended if it's moist). Pour in double or triple the height of the largest crab, so then can burrow.

Put in a salt water and freshwater dish (dechlorinated water for both) - that stuff comes from the petstore, (don't use table salt).

Also give them food - preferably fresh food.

Check the temp and humidity with a pair of guages you can get at the petstore. Ultimately, you should aim for about 75-80 of both (75 degrees fairenheit and 75% relative humidity).

Anyways, here's the thing. New research is showing that it's best to gradually raise the humidity from what they're at (probably 50%) to 75% gradually over a few weeks (bump up 5-7 % each 3 days).

You can gradually raise the humidity by adding in more amounts of wet reptile moss.

Good luck

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:02 pm

Hi and welcome!

Thank you for rescuing those poor little guys... where were the parents!!!! Hopefully they don't use the $$$ to buy more.

Under Crab Care FAQ you'll find a safe food list. Use a glass or plexiglass top on the tank to keep humidity in... or in a pinch plastic wrap.

Usually people moisten a section of the playsand to sand castle consistency to make it so they can dig in it... I use coco fiber it needs to be damp too. I wet my subsrate with the salt water to discourage mold growth.

Any questions ask away.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Help! Unplanned crab parent

Help! Unplanned crab parent

Can you say sucker

Re: Can you say sucker