HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Do you guys have any ideas of how to get your crabs to be more active or come at in the daytime?

E's are much more active in the day for me. PP's really are more nocturnal at least at m house. One exception is my two PP Jumbos. They stay out most of the time on top of one climby thing or another and aren't afraid at all when I walk by the tank.

Also you may want to double check your tank settings. If it is too cool they will not be out . Keep us posted.

You could try some stinky food like fresh fish or shrimp. What is your temp and humidity?

Do you have a uva and uvb bulb for your daylight cycle? That will make them more active as well

I have an area with plants in the substrate and vines rolled up and hideys, mine like to hang out in that area during the day having a little area where they can hide and feel safe in the open so they don't have to bury themselves to feel hidden

I'll keep you guys posted! I'll tell you some of the details of the tank tommorow! Thx!

Others have given you some good pointers, but something to bear in mind is that they are essentially nocturnal, so in a sense it may not be very kind to try to "make" them be more active or come out more during the day. Some people do have crabs that are active during the day, but some crabs just may not do that, no matter how attractive you may make the crabitat. I know, this is just one of many, many things they don't tell you when they are trying to sell them to you, and just one of a number of things that make hermit crabs not very good "pets" for most people.

However, another, more radical idea--if you are determined you want to keep hermit crabs, and you are determined you want to see them up and about during the day--is to take a cue from the reptile houses (and nocturnal mammal houses) at good zoos. If you keep them in a consistently day-darkened room and have good artificial lighting for them, you can gradually shift their day/night hours so that their NIGHT happens during your DAY. In other words, instead of trying to make them be something they aren't, respect what they are and adjust yourself and your surroundings around them. Their capacity to adjust and be flexible in their behavior is enormously less than ours; as human beings, that's our most obvious species talent.

My E's hang aroudn the top of plants and Cholla all day sleeping or moving to a new spot or shell shopping. My PP hides in the mosh pit all day. That's life!!

Also, I have many high hiding spots and they almost never hang around on the sand. They are always up at the top of the tat or in the mosh pit or shell shop.

One of our PP's spends every day in the moss pit (that's so funny that you always call yours a "mosh pit," kuza!); the other one will sometimes join her, sometimes digs and spends the day under the substrate. Both have gotten accustomed to the 12-hour day/night cycle, now that I have the lights on timers; the day light goes out at 7:30 p.m., and if I check on them around 10:00 p.m., they are usually up (although, since we wake at 5:30ish, that's often past my bedtime). When, for some reason, I've been up later, I've noticed they are very active around 11:00 p.m., and still hanging out on the substrate (but not apparently as active) by around 3:00 a.m.; they are reliably stowed away for the day by 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. Decidedly nocturnal.

Thanks, I always wonder if people catch that. Also a thing to note, my night cycle is only from 11 pm to 8 am and they seem to love it. My crabs are out all the time too.

You mean yours are out during the day, as well? Or you mean they are out all the time during that 9-hour night cycle?

I've got ours on a 12-hour cycle, since they are equatorial, and that is what they would expect (as with everything, I'm trying to give them as natural an environment as I possibly can in this inadequate artificial world they are stuck in).

well my light is only 60 watts so really, it's not even close to being like the sun so they ignore my day night cycle and go more by the sun light that fills up my whole house, and I have a very bright sunlit house. I assume Florida land crabs aren't used to 12 hours darkness, I. Summer they get 14 hours I believe. So I don't think it matters as long as there is a cycle.

Almost forgot, my crabs all come out to play int he evening around 7 or so and stay active until I go to bed, so anywhere between 12 and 3 AM I will still see them doing thier thing.

My PP then goes to bed in the early morning until the evening, he`s rarely out during the day. My E`s will sleep most days in the cholla or plant tops, but they will go eat, shell shop, move around very often. I work at home on the table in front of the tat, so I get to watch them all day, at least one will be active at any given time.

After some research I decided to put it on only 14 hours on for the day glow, that`s like Florida summer time.

They only live in the extreme southern keys of Florida, though, and I think our PP's only come from the Caribbean. I know Kiwi posted some amazing pics and video of PP's in their wild home on Martinique. . .

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