HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi there! I'm a new hermit crab owner and have questions that I can't find the answers to by surfing the internet and this wonderful site.

First a little bit about myself and how we obtained our crabby patties... We live in a rented house where we are not allowed to have pets, but have two children; 4 and 7, that beg constantly for a creature to love. When we came across the hermit crab kiosk at the local mall, we were sure we'd found our answer. The children loved watching them and the workers seemed so friendly and knowledgable. But before we jumped into buying them I wanted to know how much time and care went into them as I am a homeschooling, work at home mom. I don't have a lot of time and patience to pick up the slack if my loving family neglects their own responsibilities. The kiosk workers assured me that the crabs were very sturdy and needed no special environment or care. We took home the informational flyer, and after reading it front and back, we (thought) were ready to purchase our little guys. So two weeks ago we brought home 1 small and 3 medium PPs. After researching online, which we should have done in the first place, I realized that our set up was all wrong. They never mentioned that the plastic critter keeper should be replaced with a glass aquarium, and they filled it with gravel because they were out of sand, but assured us that was just as good.

Unfortunately we have a situation with one, and may have very well lost him (our small one), but the rest of them seem to be doing well and are now in a 10 gal tank with sand and consistant temp and humidity in safe range. You may have guessed from the general terms that I've been using that they don't have names yet... We've been referring to them as the characters painted on the shells they originally came home in. But as 2 of them have changed shells since then (one of them has changed 3 times, much to our amusement) it has been getting confusing.

Here are the questions, if you're still with me

1) Are painted shells bad?

2) Should we boil the shells each time they are shed by they crabs?

3) If painted shells are okay, would boiling them be safe?

4) We picked up some snails from the grocery store, after cleaning out the snails and boiling the shells would they be safe to offer the crabs?

5) How small do we chop up any food that we offer the crabs?

That's all I have for now, I'm sure there will be more questions as time goes on. And I will be posting about our small, possibly sick crab in the emergency section.

:)RJ

1) Are painted shells bad? Yes they can eat the paint which is toxic

2) Should we boil the shells each time they are shed by they crabs? You mean each time they switch shells, the shells need be boiled only once and then every once in a blue....the inital boil and then once in awhile, what can be done is rinse them in some water that has stress coat in it--frequent boiling can break down a shell (not good)
3) If painted shells are okay, would boiling them be safe? the paint comes off--go ahead and you will end up with a nice natural shell IF you can get ALL the paint off. sometimes it comes right off--others not
4) We picked up some snails from the grocery store, after cleaning out the snails and boiling the shells would they be safe to offer the crabs?
Yes you can but I have never ever had a crab go to a snail shell--but perhaps others have
5) How small do we chop up any food that we offer the crabs? Oh those bad boys can pinch off what they need but it helps deter food fights and if you have wee babies it helps them--please refer to the safe food list>>> over there and try to stay away from commercial foods.
WELCOME TO THE HCA and we'd love to see pics of your babies

HI an Welcome!

I agree with Herm EZ.

I only boil my shells when I first get them... and then just rinse them out in saltwater every few weeks or sooner is some one was wearing it.

welcome to the HCA! the people here are really wonderful and willing to help.

Caroline

My crab's looooove snail shells. They're really light so they get around easier. I had always saved my dead aquarium snail shells, so I cleaned them all and put them in the tank. They're some of the most popular shells with the guys the right size to use them! And, welcome of course!

Welcome to the HCA and good luck! It's great that you care!