HCA: Hermit Crab Association

my hermie is naked I was able to get him into another shell and he stayed in it for two days but he is back out and I can't get him into another one. It all started when one of the other hermies grabbed his shell and he jumped out.

1. Substrate used? sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? not sure

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat?

4. Temperature of crabitat?

5. Location of gauges?

6. What is your heat source? heat lamp

7. Types of water available? tap water and sponge

8. Dechlorinator used? no

9. What do you feed? hermit crab food and veggies

10. How long have you had the crab in question? 1.5 yr

11. Do you know the species? no

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? no

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? plastic box

14. What size is your tank?

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 5 large

16. How deep is the substrate? 3in

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first?

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how?

20. Any unusual odors? no

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? yes

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes every day

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? yes new crabs
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i think this should probably be a post on its own...if so can a mod move it and my reply, pretty please?

okay, you need to iso the naked crab from the other one and put the naked crab in a glass or bowl with appropriate sized shells, then cover the cup/bowl up with a damp towel for a few hours, this usually gets him back in a shell.

shell fights usually happen because there aren't enough suitably, appropriate shells in the tank. how many spare shells do you have in your tank? there should be at least 3-4 shells in the tank per crab. shell fights, and streaking that results from them can usually be prevented.

also, you really need to get both temp and humidity gauges for your tank. improper temperature can cause both lethargy and streaking. low humidity can lead to slow suffocation (crabs breathe through modified gills that must be moist). both readings need to be kept between 75-80.

also, you really need to start using a dechlorinator for their water, chlorine blisters their gills. and all species of hermit crabs need salt water made from a marine salt (not table salt, which is poisonous).

if the crab gets back in his shell, iso him away from the other crabs. you can either do this by sectioning off a little portion of your main tank with cd cases, or providing a second tank with food, water, and good conditions like the main tank.

Caroline

Okay, like mycrab got out of his shell, but then got back in, i dont know if its a big deal, but i want to help him before he stays out of his shell for a long time. at first i looked in the cage and he would come out far, but not all the way, then go back in, then out and in, then i came back in the room a little later and he was all the way out. So i sprayed him with water, and then he got back in the shell. Im not really worried about it. Should i be? i didnt know it was that big of a deal, but im going to get him more shells tomarrow after school. Maybe that will help?

1. Substrate used? calci-sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? no idea
3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? Unknown

4. Temperature of crabitat? dont know

5. Location of gauges?

6. What is your heat source? a heat lamp, i guess it would be called

7. Types of water available? bottled water
8. Dechlorinator used? what this?

9. What do you feed? pre-mixed food that came with them

10. How long have you had the crab in question? <umm, about a month

11. Do you know the species? No

12. Do you bathe them, if so how often and with what? No

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? Tank

14. What size is your tank? 10 gal

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 2 medium size i guess.

16. How deep is the substrate? 1-2"

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? They are misted during the day to keep the humidity up in the tank, but are not usually handled

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? No

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? like the cage? or them, i havent cleaned either yet
20. Any unusual odors?No

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one?yes, yes, no

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? no

23. Are your hands clean before handling? i use rubber gloves

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? a new sponge.. thats it.

if anyone has any information that would be helpful to me, could you please email me, because i forget to check this alot, like i havent been on here in a while.
If you could email me i would appriciate it very much. thank you

email: Laurenelizabeth520@yahoo.com

I have recently adopted 2 new crabs. they are both small/medium PPs and they are in really bad condition. one worse than the other. They came from a 5 gallon plastic KK with gravel for substrate and no humidity or temp gauges. they only had tap water and commerical food to live on. they were very pale and weak when i first gotthem about 2 weeks ago. now gumby is got most of his color back and he is digging around and eating properly. pokey on the other hand is still very weak and runs around naked for a couple hours and returns to a shell. nothing is wrong with they shells he chooses they are his size with nothing inside to hurt him. the person that i got him from said that he "loved to be naked and ran around like that all the time". is their anything i can do to help him out?


1. Substrate used? eco earth

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? 78

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat?unknown

4. Temperature of crabitat? 78

5. Location of gauges?back wall.. in the middle

6. What is your heat source?a UTH and a hood light

7. Types of water available? both fresh and salt

8. Dechlorinator used? i use culligan water... it takes out all impurities

9. What do you feed? lots of fresh foods along with t-rex fruit and flower as a staple

10. How long have you had the crab in question? about a week. I got 2 from a very bad owner who had them in a plastic kritter keeper with only tap water and commercial food.

11. Do you know the species? PP

12. Do you bathe them, if so how often and with what? only when i get a new crab, with stresscoated dechlorinaterd water

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? glass tank

14. What size is your tank? 20 long

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? I have one large, 2 mediums, 8 small and 1 micro. i have 12 all together

16. How deep is the substrate?2-3"

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? i dont mist my crabs. doesnt it add stress?

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? No

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? every month i clean out the tank completely and add new substrate... but i dont use any cleaners in the tank.

20. Any unusual odors?No

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one?yes, yes, yes

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes. every other day

23. Are your hands clean before handling?yes but not with regular soap. i just rinse my hands with dechlorinated water

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? just a half log from the petsotre and fishnet stuff

I found Pi sitting naked on the bottom of the tank (underwater!!), he diched his shell and just sat!!!!!!! When I pulled him out he was sluggish but moving. I put his shell in front of him and another one but I dont know what to do. I knew his shell was too small for him and he tried out another one, but that one was way too big ( he could barely move). I dont know what to do!!
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1. Substrate used? those cake things that fluff up in water

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? 78

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? uhh sorry

4. Temperature of crabitat? 75

5. Location of gauges? temp in front right, humidity in back

6. What is your heat source? hood light

7. Types of water available? fresh and salt

8. Dechlorinator used? stress zyme, same as for my fish

9. What do you feed? combo fresh food and crab food

10. How long have you had the crab in question? 2 months

11. Do you know the species? nope

12. Do you bathe them, if so how often and with what? twice a week in decholorinated water with stress coat

13. What type of housing are they in? glass tank

14. What size is your tank? 20 gallons

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 3, medium

16. How deep is the substrate?1 1/2 to 2"

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? nope, their plenty humid and wet

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? heck no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? monthly cleaning, no cleaners (well, some diluted vinegar if it needs it)

20. Any unusual odors?Nope

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one?no sponges

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yuppers, every other day

23. Are your hands clean before handling? not always scrubbed

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? did a remodel a week ago

Got this little PP and 3 others about 4 days ago at Petsmart. Yesterday morning noticed that he was out of his shell. Gently rinsed him and his shell and a couple of others, tried the cup method didn't work. Gently placed him in his shell as per the naked crab FAQ care sheet. Stayed in it for about 3 hours then out again. Tried the cup method again. Worked this time. Picked his own shell. Different than the one he came home in. Happy dance. Went to bed. Up this morning-still in shell, went out this afternoon-still in shell, came home-out of shell. I didn'n think that he was going to make it through the night and was SO happy when he did. Thought ok, everything's going to be ok. But now I think he's dying. And I don't know what else to do. The 3 others that I brought home are happy as clams. No problems at all. I think it must be PPS. [smilie=crybaby.gif]

1. Substrate used? Eco Earth with a little Calci sand mixed in

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? 75ish

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? 75ish a little warmer than the temp gauge reads.

4. Temperature of crabitat? 75ish

5. Location of gauges? Back of ISO tank one on each side halfway down

6. What is your heat source? UTH Under tank

7. Types of water available? Tap with Tap water conditioner

8. Dechlorinator used? Yes part of the tap water conditioner

9. What do you feed? NarNar Hermie foods, fresh veggies, peanutbutter, egg shells.

10. How long have you had the crab in question? 4 days

11. Do you know the species? PP-tiny

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? Haven't yet. Don't do that til they're out of ISO and thriving in the big tank.

13. What type of housing are they in? Small glass tank

14. What size is your tank? 5 Gal (only use for my micro and tiny hermies ISO)

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 3 other tinys/micros

16. How deep is the substrate? 2-3in

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? n/a

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? after every ISO batch. Soak in salt water(with tap conditioner), dry in oven, soak in saltwater(with tap conditioner) put into crabitat. Clean down tank with Hot water(conditioned/dechlorinator) and sometimes a bit of vinegar as needed

20. Any unusual odors? no

21. Do you use sponges? No

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes every day

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? Just him and his tank mates.
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my lil crab molted just fine was down with 3 others who also molted, came up 2 days later went looking for a new shell. he found one. next day he was running around naked for a while would check on him later and he would be in the shell again. he did this for a few days. ok well now he is just staying naked. he isn't moving as fast as usual but he does go from one end of tank to the other. he often visits the water but i think its because he isn't in a shell were he keeps some stored. i did the cup trick yes he got in shell just fine, stayed in it but in the moring he would be running around naked again. I have orded more shells hopefully he can find one of them that he likes. Maybe thats what is wrong with him. Maybe he is too picky, he is the one crab that i have that has always jumped shells. Well i'm not sure if i am looking for answer or just mainly sharing my story. I have read all other post and it says that they are stressed and gonna die. I am hoping that isn't the case. I will share more later. oh this has been going on for almost 2 weeks.

1. Substrate used? Sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? 78

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? 78

4. Temperature of crabitat? 78

5. Location of gauges? temp in back, humidity in center back

6. What is your heat source? rep. pad on side of glass

7. Types of water available? fresh and salt

8. Dechlorinator used? filtered

9. What do you feed? combo fresh food and crab food

10. How long have you had the crab in question? lil over a year He just had his secound molt

11. Do you know the species? not sure. its a very light pink/peach color

12. Do you bathe them, if so how often and with what? gave a bath last week but usually only once a month

13. What type of housing are they in? glass tank

14. What size is your tank? 10 gallons

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 5, 1 large 2medium 2 smaller

16. How deep is the substrate?1 1/2 to 3"

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? do not take out unless cleaning cage yes mist when i do

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? clean only when all crabs are up, cleaned last week. changed sand and wiped with dry cloth

20. Any unusual odors?Nope

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one?no sponges

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes the next day

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? no

Well my crab stayed naked for over 2 weeks. I got new shells seem to be perfect size for him also the same kind he was in. He hoped in one, stayed for about a day and right back out. I did the bowl method he got in again but yet again got back out. I put him into a shell he stayed for a while but later got out. I have checked all the shells, and him. All seems perfectly normal. He just wont stay in shell. I don't know what to do. Nothing I have tried is making him stay. Only good thing that has happened is he has beat the odds and is still alive. I am just lost and not understanding.

I bought a new crab to replace the one that died this week and now the new one has fallen out of his shell! Is my other crab a killer? HELP!!!

1. Substrate used? Forest Floor - mulch

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? not sure

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat?

4. Temperature of crabitat?

5. Location of gauges?

6. What is your heat source? none

7. Types of water available? bottled water

8. Dechlorinator used? no

9. What do you feed? hermit crab food

10. How long have you had the crab in question? one week

11. Do you know the species? no

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? yes, bottled water

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? plastic box

14. What size is your tank?

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 2 medium

16. How deep is the substrate? 3 inch

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? don't take them out

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how?

20. Any unusual odors? no

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? no

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? no fresh

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? no

I would think that your crab is just stressed. Is it still out of shell?

He is naked and will not go back in his shell. I tried putting him in a glass cup,didn't work try and curl him in his shell,didn't work now i am here and I NEED HELP!can u help me?

1. Substrate used?play sand/calci sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? not sure but it is level

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? not sure

4. Temperature of crabitat? 78

5. Location of gauges?towards bottom of tank in front

6. What is your heat source? wen it gets col heating pad under

7. Types of water available? dechlorinated fresh

8. Dechlorinator used? yes

9. What do you feed? hermit crab variety bites

10. How long have you had the crab in question?eirly today

11. Do you know the species?purple claw

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? i bath every other sunday with dechlorinted frsh water.

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box?all glass exo terra tank

14. What size is your tank?not a tank like fish or something so i don't know the gallon but it it 12" by 12" by 12"

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 3 crabs no bigger than an inch each

16. How deep is the substrate?inch or two deep

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? yes always

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no!

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how?once a month and do a full cleaning by taking everything out and washing there toys

20. Any unusual odors?no

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? no sponge

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it?i refill with fresh food once every other day

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently?them

just wanted to point out to abbyapple i think?you mentioned you have large crabs, how large?your substrate may not be deep enough,i have 6 large in total and i keep the substrate about 5 to 6 inches in one end of my tat of play sand and about 6 inches sloping to the middle of tat with eco earth,check the bottled water also to make sure chlorine and chlorimine has been completly removed good luck with your little streaker temp and humidity also are very important and if you dont have gauges try and and get some as soon as you can<secretly>

1. Substrate used?
baked play sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat?
83
3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat?
no idea
4. Temperature of crabitat?
76
5. Location of gauges?
middle of tank on the ground
6. What is your heat source?
my room stays around 76-82F all the time, so I don't use a heat source.
7. Types of water available?
fresh and salt
8. Dechlorinator used?
tetra fauna
9. What do you feed?
sun dried shrimp, bloodworms
10. How long have you had the crab in question?
a year and a half
11. Do you know the species?
PP
12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what?
no
13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box?
29 gallon glass tank
14. What size is your tank?
29 gallon
15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they?
6, all medium/large with 2 small
16. How deep is the substrate?
about 7 inches
17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first?
don't take them out
18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat?
there is a glade plug-in on the opposite side of the room (roughly 12 feet away, but it's been there forever)
19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how?
deep clean every other month, rebake sand, or replace if something is wrong with it.
scrub the tank with declorinated water.
weekly clean includes scrubbing dishes and the glass. as well as a light comb through the sand
20. Any unusual odors?
no
21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one?
no

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it?
yes, after 12 hours
23. Are your hands clean before handling?
yes
24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently?
no






This hermit crab has lived in the same shell for over a year, he's a little big for it now, and I've encouraged him to try other shells. He refuses.
I tried to curl his abdomen back into his shell, but when I set him back down, he ran straight out of the shell.

Right now I have him isolated in a small 10 gallon, in about of 1/4 of the tank sectioned off.
with declor water, salt water, crushed shrimp, the shell he was in as well as a few other shells of various sizes and styles. I also covered him with a bucket that has a crab sized opening in it so he can come out if he wishes.
The environment in the tank he is now is almost identical to the main tank.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? This particular crab is in the 20 gal iso with about 3" Eco Earth substrate. He's a STRAWBERRY crab.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? When I cam home from work, the humidity was very high (93). The temp was 81.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Moonglo, and UV bulbs

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Fresh and salt (API mixed a little stronger for straws) I'm not sure what the brand of dechlorinator is.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Variety, replaced daily. Frozen krill, raw honey, blueberries, worm castings, cuttlebone, mango, coconut, applesauce, etc all organic

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? about a week or 2. Strawberry

7. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 20 gal iso tank. plexi lid

8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 4 straws & 1 E all small

9. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? about 10 extra shells

10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

11. How often do you clean the tank and how? I haven't cleaned this one yet, it was just set up prior to purchasing the crabs a week or two ago.

12. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No sponges

13. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? Only the food

14. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

When I got home from work tonight, one of my new small straws was streaking.

This precious little guy


The humidity in the tank was rather high (93). The temp was 81.

For about 2 days, this crab stayed in the same spot in the tank, and barely moved.

Then he moved to the back corner of the tank in the little open area where the round salt water dish meets the corner. In fact, he was right where he is in this photo (on the top right)


He had abandoned his shell and had climbed onto the edge of the water dish (salt water) and was just kinda laying there, half on that rock, half on the rim of the dish.

I put him and his shell in a small KK with some substrate and a small dish of raw honey.

After several minutes, he had climbed back into his shell, but just stayed there upside down, probably too weak to move.

I carefully propped the shell by the honey so he could effortlessly eat the raw honey.

When I left home (to come here and get on the web for advise) he appeared to be eating the honey, but he may have just been sitting there. I'll check him when I get back home to make sure he's not stuck in it.

I use API salt water mixture. About 11 tbsp (or tsps? whatever the directions say) per gallon. It is mixed stronger for the straws.

I've only had them maybe a week or two, so they're in the iso tank (except I had moved this one to the KK.

Should I put him back into the iso?

What else can I do?