HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello, new here first post

I had two PP and one of them died shortly after I got it, these are my first two crabs so I'm new at this, Before I noticed the fish smell I had him isolated from the other crab, now my question the tank they both were in now has that smell, do I wash it all out, new rocks/sand/food? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

You need to sterilize everything, do you know why they died?

How long ago did you buy them? Filling out the help template is a bonus because it helps us narrow things down.

Nice to meet you, btw.

vckums wrote:You need to sterilize everything, do you know why they died?

I don't know, he was fine one day and then just kind of hid inside his coconut home (they have part of a coconut that came with the cage), the other one is fairly shy but he/she seems to be fine.

kellie_1324 wrote:How long ago did you buy them? Filling out the help template is a bonus because it helps us narrow things down.

Nice to meet you, btw.

I bought them both two weeks ago, talked to the place where I bought them and they said I could get a new once since it fell under their two week "warranty"

here's the sheet, I've filled in the best I can, don't think I'm a bad person or anything, these guys seem are more to take care of than my cats are. Like I said I'm new at this

1. Substrate used?
Cage came with beach sand and aquarium gravel

2. Humidity % level in crabitat?
I think around 60% judging by what the room is at

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat?
unknown

4. Temperature of crabitat?
unknown

5. Location of gauges?

6. What is your heat source?
none, room temp is always above 75

7. Types of water available?
been using bottled water

8. Dechlorinator used?
none

9. What do you feed?
FMR Hermit Crab food

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

11. Do you know the species?
PP

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what?
I did not bathe them yet, died before I could

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

Yep, you're a newbie. Whom the pet stores didn't give accurate info to....so its a really good thing you found us here. First of all, go out ASAP and get the temp & humidity gauge set...60% humidity is too low.

If I'm remembering right, FMR is one of the foods that contains ethoxiquin, a preservative that most believe causes bad molts and deaths. If you're going to feed commercial foods, try JurassiDiet pellets, but crabs need a varied diet, so offer fruits, veggies, and silverside fish....frozen in the fish section.

Is that plastic box a critter carrier? That isn't big enough and doesn't hold humidity right. Ten gallon tanks cost $10, get a wire mesh lid and put plastic wrap over most of it, leaving a half inch off of each end to let air circulate. A 10g is the minimum they should be housed in.

Most likely you're PP died of what we call PPS, post purchase syndrome. Unfortunately its very common for them to die shortly after we bring them home because they're stressed from being harvested off the beaches, being shipped to the distributor, then shipped to the stores, all in improper conditions.

Hope that helps you some.

ok I see a few problems that could be why they died.

1. Guages! They are a MUST. You need a temp and humidity guage. You cannot guess and expect them to live.

2. Heat source, summer might be ok depending on where you live and what the guages say. But a UTH or lights.

3. Plastic cage, ugh....Since you only will be getting 2, go for a 10g aquarium tank with lid. $10 at walmart or Petco...Play sand is $4 for 50 pounds at Home Depot. Stay away from gravel,they cant bury in it.

kellie_1324 wrote:
Most likely you're PP died of what we call PPS, post purchase syndrome. Unfortunately its very common for them to die shortly after we bring them home because they're stressed from being harvested off the beaches, being shipped to the distributor, then shipped to the stores, all in improper conditions.

Hope that helps you some.

The place where I bought them was a kiosk type store in the Mall of America. They've got a bunch of them (and I mean a bunch) in two sections of the kiosk.

Recommendations on temp/humidity device?

Appreciate the help so far

UGH! Mall kiosks.................luckily I haven't seen one of those yet.

You need this and this. They come in digital form too.....do some looking @ pet stores for them. They are a MUST though, not a maybe.

make sure u colaberate the humidity gauge!!! i didn't n some ppls r off by alot it shows u how to over there>>> under crab care faq. i got play sand for $2.15 at menards, a 50 pound bag, about $10 for the humidity n temp gauges in a set, $10 for a box of instant ocean (table salts poison to crabs) they like salt water and fresh water, $4 about for a water declor/conditioner, make sure theres no slime coat stimulator in it and make sure theres no stress coat in it eaither those r bad 4 the crabs to drink, about $5 for a crab hide away or buy a cocanut they eat it and live in it! lol im doing that soon. gravel makes hymidity harder to controle sand helps keep the tank more humid, btw alot of ppl use tupperware for there water and salt water dishes make sure ur crabs have something to climb out of the dish w/ those can be bought at a dollar store for a dollar. good luck! i hear crabs like the dried fruit food at the petstore?

oh yea humidity should be kept at from 70%-80% and tricks to help keep it up r adding moss or eco earth to ur tank, thats what ppl r saying. i use a damp towel over part of my 10gal tank cuz i have no lid, also a nateral sponge helps but u have to disinfect it in the microwave, i put mine in for 5 mins to make sure its good, but make sure u get all the water out or as much as u think u can. my sponge gets hot when i nuke it so be careful! are u sure ur sands clean? u can bake it for 20mins at 350 degrees i think someone said? correct me if im wrong! good luck, its alot more stuff than u think it will be, im 15 and somehow me n my friend got the money to do it all. i love my hermies! i learned so much from this site.

I think it's terrible the way that people sell HCs and tell the person buying it nothing or the wrong info....the same thing happened to me. I bought mine at one of those things at the mall, and they gave me the same stuff, and told me nothing about humidity or declor....the 2 biggest killers
Anyway....I now have a 10g tank($8 Petsmart), a glass lid($10 Petsmart), an Under The Tank Heater or UTH($17 at Petco....$23 at Petsmart ), a digital thermo/hydro gage(petsmart $16...$22 at Petco ), Eco Earth(could only find at Petco $7), sand(Toys R us $5), a coconut hut ($4 petsmart), some cholla wood($3 at local pet store, cannot find it at any of the chain stores), 2 water dishes($5 a piece), shells(bag of all different sizes Petco $5), a piece of grape vine driftwood($5 at Petco...Petsmart is 10x as much $$ for grapevine!!! LIKE $14 a piece!! ), and 2 fake plants ($3 & $2 at Petco). So anyway, I have spent more than some others, but I figured they can live for 15yrs plus, so I want them to be happy !!

Also once you get your tank settled, you can add a second level to add even more space for your hermits. That doesn't cost too much either.

I know it seems like SO much doesn't it. So much to buy, so much to do, so much to worry about.

I will tell you--once you buy what you need--tank, (Get a lid to hold in the humidityand save yourself time and worry) sand, water dishes/sponge,GAUGES that you calibrate--always calibrate (mine was showing 10% too high), and something to declorinate the water as well as salt additive and a few extra shells you are already over half way there.

They can live with that set up plus fresh food and water.

Then for fun and exercise and well being add a log, a hut, a second layer. (I use a shower caddy that comes with 4 large suction cups from walmart for $4 you can PM me if you want info.) and a net and maybe some plants.

Change their water and food every day. Vary their diet. Add crushed cuttle bone for calcium as they can NOT have dairy or table SALT. Straighten the tank and fluff up the sand looking for poopies and old hidden food.

Bathe them, we all do bath time a little different. I bathe mine once a week in declorinated stress coat. NO STRESS COAT IN DRINKING OR SALT WATER LAGOONS.

I know it seems overwelming but once the tank is set up you are looking at max 10 minutes a day with tank cleaning, food wand water changes, and checking you gauges. Okay you may spend a frantic 30 minutes here or there looking for the one who is dug under or just plain hiding from you! Bath day takes a little longer but its so much fun because they are so active. You will be able to spend time having fun with them once they are set up.

You just need to get your sea legs and it will all come together.

Cricket

My boyfriend got me hermit crabs from that same hut at the Mall of America. He ended up paying about $70 for a small plastic cage 2 crabs and some "accessories." Whenever I go there I hear the man telling people "oh, crabs are so easy to take care of, all you need is extra shells for them." It's sad. The crabs there had no food or sponges in the water when I was there and no humidity. I had a worker there tell me that I could have about 8-10 medium crabs in a 10 gallon. I kindly told him that's not true.

Anyway, I came to this site after getting bad information. Crabs aren't as easy to take care of as the man at the hut states. The information other members have given you is all good and important to follow. After listening to the advice given from members here my crabbies are much happier and active. Good luck!