HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I just got some hermit crabs last night. This is my first time to even own one. I have one and my boyfriend has one. I was handed a brochure on how to take care of it but I may need ya'll's help. We were given a cage, food, a shell, and a sponge. We were told to keep the sponge wet and keep food for them (although we were told they eat very little) but also told the eat anything. Peanut butter, lettuce, apples, oranges, ect. Should I get a bigger cage? What to do about exercise? Will they fight (mine is bigger than the other one)?

Congrats on your new crabs!

Welcome to HCA!

How big is your cage now? You should have a tank according to the size of your crabs (click link to see size of your hermies:)(http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/sizing.htm), and any newcomers planned to come.

Hermies love friends! They should not fight, because they only usually fight over shells, and if one is large, and one is small, then there is no reason that one crab has any desire for the other's shell.

If the tank is large enough, then they will excersize themselves, but you could get (and I got one as well) a hamster/mouse excersize ball: http://www.petdiscounters.com/product.p ... t=0&page=1

My crabs run like crazy!

Hope this helps!

PM or post if you have questions.

Ryan

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I hope this site is an informative one. I'm enjoying the crab so far. Any good sites for weird names? I want my crabbie name for my new friend to be a unique one.

Well, actually, can give you my own name list!

Weather: Rainbow, Storm, Thunder, Lightning, Misty, Cloudy, Sunny
Plants/wildlife: Daisy, Lily, Mango, Leafy, Honey, Jasmine, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Clover, Spider, Dragon, Coral, Dory
Greek Mythology: Zeus, Hercules, Poseidon
Human names: Charlie, Vic, Shirley, Violet, Ruby, Houdini, Larry, Curly, Moe
Random names: Hermie, Claws, Snapper, Snappers, Pinchers, Dandy, Parrot, Lucky, Firefoot, Hewy, Izzie, Itsy, Bitsy, Kermit, Reddy, Rusty, Emerald, Speedy

Hope you find some good names!

Ryan

Hi and Welcome.

There is tons of basic information under the "Emergency, Care & Links section to the right >>>>>>>>>

Read up and if you have any questions ask away.

Ryanstein, that kind of ball is bad for crabs as there legs could get caught in one of those slits and when the ball keeps moving....well you get the picture. That site does sell exercise balls made for hermit crabs that has no slits in it.

klepto5904, by cage do you mean like a cage with wire mesh or do you mean a tank? Here is a checklist of the things that crabs need http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pa ... cklist.doc

I do not turn the ball for them, they turn it themselves. If they get a foot in a hole, then (trust me, I have seen them) they just walk out of it. Simple as that. The holes are not very different from some crab toys for a crabitat, and they just put their feet in and out of it.

My crab has a name now. Edward (Scissorhands) and my fiance's is named Ray. YAI!! We have names now!!

Aww! What a good name! (Edward, I mean ) And I don't mean to ruin it...but are you positive they're both boys? If not, you can check out the "sexing" link to the right under 'Crab Care FAQ'. Also, I noticed that you mentioned feeding your hermies oranges. I don't know if you were just naming random foods, but I'm pretty sure citrus fruits aren't good for them. Anyway, if you can, post some pictures of the little guys!

Poof wrote:Aww! What a good name! (Edward, I mean ) And I don't mean to ruin it...but are you positive they're both boys? If not, you can check out the "sexing" link to the right under 'Crab Care FAQ'. Also, I noticed that you mentioned feeding your hermies oranges. I don't know if you were just naming random foods, but I'm pretty sure citrus fruits aren't good for them. Anyway, if you can, post some pictures of the little guys!

I checked and I saw the little dots on Edward's so that means a girl, right? But I also watch Cowboy Bebop and there is this little girl who chose the name Edward something something something the third. So I thought it was cool. I think my fiance has a male...but that one is kinda shy...took awhile to coax it out.

Decided to feed it apples.

Yeah, Edward sounds like a girl to me! That's ok, though. Eddy/Edward still could be a girl's name. I think it's cute! Yep, apples are always a good choice. I have yet to find something mine really go crazy for, though.

Fiance changed his crab's name to Foamy.

So we have Foamy and Edward.

Pictures someday...

Oranges and citrus are fine. If you are in doubt about a certian food you can check the Epicurian Hermit. The link is to the right>>>>>>>>> either under links or under Crab Care FAQ , the safe food list.

I never care if mine are actually boys or girls, they keep the name anyway... just like my hamster... he has a girl name... my cat Elliot is a girl... whatever! I have one named Edward after the same thing!

I'm not sure weather my newest crab is female or male, so sometimes I call him a he or sometimes I call her a she. A little too shy to come out far enough, so not sure exactly. Although once I saw the bottom of him/her when he/she was climbing some crabitat furniture, and I thought I saw no dots. But still unsure...

Oh, yeah, when I went to get my hamster ball for my crabs, the clerk at the cash asked me if I had a mouse or a hamster. I almost laughed outloud! (and so did the person with me).