New and not sure about how to care for a hermit crab.

[Guest]

I was down in Galveston, Tx and I went in a souvenir shop when I stumbled upon a cage full of hermit crabs. After failing to find any hermit crabs on the beach, I bought one which came in a TINY cage tube thing.

This is really my first tropical pet and I'm not very sure how to take proper care for it. Last time we got hermit crabs from the beach, on the way home they died mysteriously. So, I'm guessing those were marine hermit crabs? I'm pretty sure this one is a land hermit.

Knowing this, what kind of setup do I need for a cage? I was just planning on buying a 10 gallon tank and maybe filling it partially with sand and some toys/shells. I heard about having humidity gauges and thermometers and I didn't see the need. I live in East Texas, and it gets very humid here, not to mention it hardly ever gets cold, if not cool.

Do I absolutely need a gauge for all this stuff? I'm not trying to be cheap, but I have no clue on where to get a humidity gauge and stuff. We live 30 miles from a decent pet store. We have a Wal-Mart, that's about it.

Also, my hermit is very scared it seems. Probably for good reasons, but still, I haven't seen him once come out to eat his food or drink water. This has been going on for at least 20 hours or so. What do I use to feed him from? I'm using the bottle powder food I got from the store in a small shell. There is a little bit of tap water in the bottom of the plastic container for his water source.

Do they drink tap water? Will he starve himself before he comes out to eat? I know he's alive because I tried letting him stay in my palm for a while, he eventually came out and when I went to peek to look at him, he jumped back in shell like I was a hungry seagull! I think he scared me more than I scared him however.

Sorry for the long post, but I would hate for him to meet the same fate of his other crab friends a few years back.

*goes to wal-mart*

[annopia]

okay, first of all, welcome to the HCA! the people here are wonderful and glad to help.

a 10 gallon aquarium is a good set up for beginners. you can get play sand at a hardware store for about $5 for a 50 lb bag, pretty cheap. it needs to be moist, to sand castle consistancy to bathe.

unfortunatly, I think you might either need to plan a trip to the pet store, or buy online. these things aren't very expensive, but I doubt walmart would have most of them:

-gauges: yep, you need both humidity and temp, even if you think your conditions are already good. the tank may overheat, and need to be cooled. also, humidity outside in the enviroment is much different then inside an air conditioned house.

-dechlorinator: this is basically a one time cost. chlorine in tap water blisters hermies' gills, so you need this to take the chlorine out.

-marine salt: you'll need this to mix with dechlor fresh water so you can provide salt water for you crab (which he needs). don't use table salt, as it is posionous to crabs.

-a friend! hermies are social creatures and live in large packs in the wild. your crab will also be more active with tank mates.


for food, most commercial foods have harmful preservaitves in them. crabs can eat a variety of foods you might have around your home though: fruits, veggies, unsalted nuts, unseasoned meats, and more. check out the safe food list in the drop down menu to the right --->

hopefully your crab will get adjusted to his new habitat too. getting the correct tank conditions (temp and humidity) will also make him more active.

if you have any other specific questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Caroline

[Ryanstein]

Welcome to HCA, Sentry!

The short version is YES, you do need temp and humidity gauges. They are a MUST for keeping them alive.

You need a dechlorinator. This is a chemical (liquid) that usually uses about a drop or two per gallon, depending on the strength of it. It will neutralize all of the chlorine in the water, which will cause blisters to form on their gills, and thus will kill them.

Driftwood makes good climbing material, and that can be found on beaches (as you seemed to be near some).

An UTH (under tank heater) is ideal if it gets too cold. A repti-glo bulb also works.

A friend! Hemries are very social animals. Your hermie is probably very depressed right now at being alone. Two crabs in a tank is good, but as you seemed to have a 10 gal tank, you could get a few more (but don't overcrowd). For sizing: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/sizing.htm

Your crab might have been mishandled in that cage. Bad! Hermies need enclosed plastic, or better, glass tanks. If you can get hermies elsewhere, I would recommend it. That kiosk didn't seem very reputable.

Commercial foods have been known to be bad with certain chemicals in it. I recommend http://www.epicureanhermit.com/index.ph ... 4&Itemid=9 for foods (fresh) to be fed to your hermies.

Some extra shells would be good, too.

Plastic plants are nice decor, as well as great toys. If you use live plants, your crabs will shred them. They also might not be safe for them, depending on the species.

And hermies need salt water! Escpecially if you have E's, but you probably have PP's. Some comercial brands of synthetic sea salt are Doc Wellfish and Instant Ocean. The box says how much salt per gallon.

Sand is a good substrate, and EE or FB are good, too.

Make sure that you replace the food almost everyday, if you can. This will prevent any kind of insect from wanting a taste of the food as well.

I think that I covered everything! If not, just post again. Sorry for the long post, but crabbing takes a lot of info! You can learn more by posting around HCA.

Just post if you need help!

~Ryan

[Ryanstein]

Oops, Caroline!

I guess we posted at the same time!

I always wonder if that will happen while making a long post like that.

Anyway! Two heads are better than one.

[Guest]

Ok, I went and bought a 10 gallon glass aquarium and some bags of colorful aquarium pebbles for him temporarily until I can get some play sand.

He's got shells and sea sponges and stuff to play around with, I even took the wired cage and stripped the wiring out and used it to make a little climbing wall for him.

As far as temperature gauges go, I got an aquarium thermometer at Wal-Mart for like $2, but I didn't see any humidity gauges. Actually he just now knocked the thermometer over and is crawling on it as I type. haha.

Anyways, I dechlorinated some water and am using regular tap water with no sea salt right now. Do they need to drink it or something? Maybe salt is a vital element in their diet?

I'll pick some up tomorrow I guess. ( I did see it in Wal-Mart)

But the real reason I replied is because I got alot of questions about these crabs. First of all, do land hermit crabs do well under water? For instance, if I were to build a half land/half water aquarium, and he fell in the water, would he die? I was going to add fish to it in the water side, then have a little sand beach for the crabs.

Secondly, how do hermit crabs do with other pets? I was going to either add fish or make it a land area only and maybe put a fiddler crab or maybe even a small turtle. I know it sounds odd, but I think it would be cool to have a variety of water animals like that.

Also, how big is this thing going to get? I've heard of softball sized ones before...are those special or something? And how long are they going to live.....given I don't mess up that is.

Sorry for al the questions!

[annopia]

hermies drink salt water (made with a marine salt) and even soak in it. its necessary for them to be healthy.

be diligent in checking the wire in your tank for rust...if you see any you should take it out immediatly.

it really isn't recommended to keep hermit crabs with any other animal, reptile or fish. they may live together in the wild, but a confined space is different. also, hermit crabs have specific humidity and temperature needs that might not be right for turtles.

a hermit crab can climb out of water if given a way to do so (pebbles, a sponge. however, it really isn't good to keep them with fish.

if you can't find a humidity gauge at walmart, you can buy one online for pretty cheap.

Caroline

[Guest]

Ok, thanks for all the help. but once again, what about a fiddler crab?

Will they fight? bad idea?

[annopia]

hmmm...I know that it isn't recommended to keep them with hermit crabs, I don't know if thats because they fight or because they need different conditions. I know that there are several members here who have fiddler crabs as well, but they keep them in a seperate tank. I think Narnar has them...perhaps contact her if you're interested in them.

Caroline

[Ryanstein]

I am getting fiddlers (look at sig), and I know that fiddlers require brackish water (semi-salty water, about half the salinity of ocean water) Aggression, escpecially by male fiddlers, is common. Male fiddlers are often very territorial. (they are distinguished from females by their very large claw on one side). When I heard about fiddlers, I wanted to get some. But I highly recommend that if you want fiddlers or a turtle or fish that you buy a seperate tank for them. Fiddlers also require a mate of the opposite gender, or they become deppresed, like hermies would.

Narnar helped me with almost all of the info as she is the site admin of Fiddlercrabforums, so you can ask her for more info: http://www.kazboard.com/index.php?mforu ... ddlercrabf

Hermies can get softball-sized, if they live for a very long time. Christa has some very large crabs that she's had for years. You can contact her about that if you want.[/i]

[Guest]

Sorry if I missed any non-answered questions, but you can get a digital humidity / temp gauge at Wal-Mart, but don't look in the pet section! They're in the hardware department. Welcome!