HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I am a new owner of 2 crabs had them about 3 weeks and Ive gone from thinking they were dieing, surface molting to this morning, we happily saw that one of them change shells and is looking very healthy. I think his new shell is too big though and Im guessing he will figure it out? There were other choices and he choose this one. Yesterday my daughter picked him up and we thought he had grown significantly! I was a little taken aback at his new size. How in the world did that happen in a week?

But I wil leave him alone. Do I need to sterilize the old shell? His old shell would be a perfect fit for the other crab, who is out in the open but still not active. I worry for him, he is very tiny and has never really come out to play, even in the beginning when we were ignorant to their needs.

Thanks for your insight!

If it is really big than chances are he will switch out. You don't need to worry about the shell your crab is in unless it is broken. After all some like them small, some like them big. About the old shell, the only thing you have to do is put it in a small bowl with water to check for mites. It it is super nasty (like maybe mysterious Nashua from the wild if the crab came with it). If the shell is painted throw it away.
Oh I almost forgot, also mak sure you have 3 shells per crab that would fit it perfectly, or the next size up. Just incase you didn't know because you said the shell would 'fit it perfectly.'

The crabs often have different ideas than we do regarding what "fits" them and what doesn't. If you provide natural shells, of the type preferred by the species of crab you have, with opening sizes (the opening size is more important that the overall size of the shell, and is not always directly related to it) the same as the one the crab is in, a little bigger, and a littler smaller, for each crab you have, that should be a good selection; then just let them decide what they want to wear. Do get rid of any painted shells and replace with natural ones (polished shells are also fine, just not with any paint, shellac, or other coating on them).

Oh no......I guess I just didnt grasp that part because he has a basketbal shell on now. I will remove the other ones. Just when I think I got things right.....I can't make him change shells so I should leave him alone? He is the happy one the other one is truly a hermit. I think he needs a happy friend, since his room mate does not provide him any interaction. I'm thinking about ordering one from one of the sites online. Although the local petco has their tank set up pretty good, and the crabbies look happy but they are so much bigger than our little hermie. I dont want to intimidate him. He is # 1 in our book. Any thoughts?

Yes, we cannot force them to change shells; just provide a good selection of natural shells and be on the lookout for a shell change--when they change, just take out the painted one immediately and get rid of it. Unfortunately, some crabs in painted shells have been found to be actually stuck in their shells. If this has occurred, sadly, there is nothing you can do but try to keep the crab comfortable as long as it can survive.

As for your other crab being less active, they need time to adjust, and with proper conditions, he may become more active over time. There is good data now supporting that higher daytime temperatures (into the 90's) will encourage more activity (make sure that humidity is maintained, however). There is no guarantee that, if you were to acquire another crab, it would be any more active than the one you have now; nor is there any guarantee that, no matter how many crabs you have, that they would particularly interact with each other or be "buddies" any more than the two you have now. Some crabs like to hang out with other crabs, some don't. Some are more active, some are not.

The other crab may also need to molt. Be sure you have deep enough and moist enough substrate so that he can dig down to do this, rather than attempting a surface molt, which is more dangerous for them. If he does go down to molt soon, you may find that the other one soon joins him; then you just need to maintain good conditions and wait for them to re-surface; molting time is a good opportunity to plan for upgrades and decor additions (although wait to actually make changes until they are both up and around again; it can harm or even kill a molter to disturb it during its molt).

If you have a large enough set up (you should allow at LEAST five gallons per crab, assuming you only have smalls to mediums; large larges and jumbos will need more), and are SURE you would really like more crabs (remember that they can live 30 to 40 years and grow to the size of baseballs!), please consider adopting rather than buying. Bear in mind that these animals are not domesticated pets, but wild animals taken from their natural homes, treated like some kind of harvested vegetable, and sold into captivity. The process by which these crabs are taken from the wild and shipped to stores results in approximately 100 dead for every one that reaches the store alive. Being forced into the painted shells is another cruel and stressful experience which leads to more deaths. In addition, the majority that live long enough to be sold will die within a few days to a few months, either from Post Purchase Syndrome (reaction to the horrific stresses they have had to endure in being stolen from their homes and sold into utterly alien environments), or because they are kept in deadly conditions by their new owners, who are unaware of what they actually require to survive. This is not a normal life cycle for these animals. Under proper conditions, land hermit crabs can live for 30 years or longer and grow to the size of baseballs. Bear this in mind before making the commitment to acquire more--REALLY consider what you will do with even as many as you already have, should they survive even 6 or 8 years and grow to jumbo size, requiring larger everything, with all the attendant expense and ongoing commitment--and, if you are SURE you really need more, please give a home to an unwanted crab in need of a home rather than buying from a store, which just reinforces the cruel and ecologically damaging trade in wild animals. You may have to wait a little while to acquire a crab in this way (then again, depending upon your area, there may be LOTS of crabs that need homes immediately), but if you don't have the patience to wait a bit for crabs, you probably are not well-suited for keeping animals that can spend months underground molting!

And speaking of that, if one's main motivation to get more (talking to anybody that may be reading this and thinking of getting more now) is because right now yours are underground and you miss seeing them, remember that crabs often molt “en masse,” so no matter how many you have, there may well be extended periods of time during which you see little or none of them. Again, bear in mind the lifetime of commitment, and the fact that they will GROW, before you add any more.

If you’d like some ideas for adoption (in addition to checking the adoption boards here, which is a great resource!), let me know. 

OK points well taken and once I know the fate of the other one, I will see about adoption. My real concern is that I have read that they prefer to have housemates and I dont want the happy one to be lonely. He is just beginning to feel comfortable with us and I can tell from his tracks and food and water consumption, he is feeling at home. I hope this is taken in the spirit with which I am saying it, but I was floored when my daughter bought home hermit crabs and then when I read about the habitat and care requirements I was even more taken aback. But now while I still dont pick them up, I make sure they have everything they need to be comfy and healthy. I am deathly afraid of spiders and yes they remind me of spiders so this is a real stretch for me to care for them. I have spent well over $100 since she bought them home a few weeks ago, some of that money wastefully because they sold me "hermit crab" stuff and I found out later that the store didnt have a clue what a hermit crab needed. But they are here to stay hopefully and their water humidity and temp are the first things I check on in the morning and the last things I check on at night. If I can help it, they will not die on my watch. Thanks again for your help. BTW, the painted shells have been removed!

Yes, that is SUCH a common occurrence. The stores are hugely misleading--really, I think it is mostly ignorance, they just don't know--but they also don't really care to know, or they could easily find (for example) this site and be very well informed in short order, if they really wanted to. Their priority, sadly, is just to sell you whatever they can, whether it is appropriate or not.

It really can be expensive to get a truly appropriate crabitat set up; the good news is that, once you have the basic stuff that is somewhat expensive (heaters, lamps, air pumps, the tank itself, etc.), there is a lot you can do with do-it-yourself and flea-market-find or dollar-store stuff that can allow for some creative decoration without a great deal more expense.

As for being "lonely," bear in mind that they do not experience time the same way we do, nor do their relationships look like those we are used to seeing between people or between, say, dogs. Your more active crab is aware of the presence of the other crab, and although SOME crabs will hang out together, they don't particularly "play with" each other, and some crabs will prefer to stay separate no matter how many other crabs there may be around. Adding another crab is no guarantee that there will be any more interaction than you are seeing now; they may all go down to molt, for all you know, and then you'll have no interaction perhaps for months! There is also always a possibility of aggression from new introductions, so unless the lethargic crab dies, I really don't see any pressing reason to add another crab to the mix. (And again, if/when you do decide to add more, let me encourage you to adopt rather than buy!)