HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Toby (one of my E's) finally swapped shells just this second!!!!

Now let me explain why I am so excited about this. Toby has been terrorizing George (PP) and Crab Man (E) off and on for several days wanting their shells. They both now avoid him like the plague now. He put on this same shell for 24 hours a week or two ago, so hopefully he won't switch back to his old shell.

Now question is, should I take his old shell out of the tank so that he won't change back? Or will this prompt more picking on C.M. and George? He's not picked on them since I took him out of ISO and put him back in the tank. He just scares them now as he goes about his daily business of walking along the vines or sitting in one of the pools sulking.

It sounds to me as if Toby should be renamed to "da Boss" !!!!

Yeah! Go Toby !

only take it out after Toby has walked away and has made a firm decision about the new one. This can take a day or so. They usually sit and gaurd thier old shell, give the new one a run around the block.

I have been known to take away the toy that causes all the problems. If you cant play nice, you just cant play. I wash it up, let it be outta sight outta mind. I end up giving it back after a week or two if I come across it. haha I JUST did that last night, I tossed in several new and old ones- watched 2 of 'em switch back to some old loved ones ...

He for sure is da BOSS right now lol. To be as little as he is he is a pushy little feller! Wonder if all that will change once Sebastian comes up from his molt (he makes 2 or 3 of Toby!) George has taken to hiding in the shell shop, but still won't get out of that dang painted shell. Course he can hide all the way up into the curve of it still, so I gotta find a super great one to get him to change.

Well I figure since Toby, George, & Crab Man are all the same size, no one needs that shell it's just too small, so away it goes!!!

Hey I have a question on a shell change. I have a PP that was in a WAY too small shell when I adopted him early this year, I've been trying to get him to change ever since and he's had no interest in any new shells I've offered. Last night I did my monthly take everything out of my tank (I have a 55 gal with a 7" deep sand substrate. When I uncovered him, I dont think I interrupted a molt, but he wasn't acting right, and shortly after ditched the too small shell. But he went around naked for about 30 minutes. I tried the glass cup method and offered larger shells and he finally chose a big shell, but I'm worried that it is TOO big. He hasn't moved. The shell is sitting on it's side and I've seen him come to the edge and tuck back in but not actually move the shell. How can I now encourage him to switch into a more appropriate size shell for his size? I have him in my ISO tank with the better shell and a couple others near by. What else can I do?

Meg, wish I could help you but you did exactly what I have been doing. My small/med PP is a constant shell swapper and the E wouldn't change for anything even while in ISO with 5 shells to pick from. Sometimes they are just beyond picky and all we can do is offer more shells (annoying I know).

Even after changing earlier he dragged another shell into a hut and acted like he was gonna swap again and now he's chasing George around the tank again. I have a feeling he won't stay in this shell and will keep terrorizing the other 2 that are his size.

Keep him in the ISO and hopefully he will change to one that is more comfy for him but my George is in a shell that is at least 2 sizes or more too big for him, PP's like them too big. Since he's not moving I'd give him some peanut butter and honey to try and get him some energy and strength built up.

megcolv wrote:Hey I have a question on a shell change. I have a PP that was in a WAY too small shell when I adopted him early this year, I've been trying to get him to change ever since and he's had no interest in any new shells I've offered. Last night I did my monthly take everything out of my tank (I have a 55 gal with a 7" deep sand substrate. When I uncovered him, I dont think I interrupted a molt, but he wasn't acting right, and shortly after ditched the too small shell. But he went around naked for about 30 minutes. I tried the glass cup method and offered larger shells and he finally chose a big shell, but I'm worried that it is TOO big. He hasn't moved. The shell is sitting on it's side and I've seen him come to the edge and tuck back in but not actually move the shell. How can I now encourage him to switch into a more appropriate size shell for his size? I have him in my ISO tank with the better shell and a couple others near by. What else can I do?

sorry, but my first thought was what your crab musta been thinking "Geez lady, what do you want from me!!?!?! " I kid.
How many other crabs do you have? They slow down before they molt...they hang up the "I'm a Crab!" attitude and turn into slugs.
If indeed he gearing up for a molt, maybe ISO isnt such a bad place for him, hu? Lots of good foods (protiens!!!) and lots of water, give him a few days, and you may have a molter.
(one of my PP's shells is SOOOOO big that when he walks he has to stop and push it back, no kidding, it falls over his eyes! )

Thanks Bridget! The peanutbutter is a good idea, I hadn't even thought of that. Will make sure to put some out when I get home in the morning. @Jenny, I have 17 hermies, mostly PPs but I'm not as good at recognizing the different species. This one (Jerry) was buried when I found him, but there was no evidence of molt so far. He hasn't molted since I've had him. I interrupted another, Charlie, at the same time so I moved him over along with his exo to munch on. I also left my micro, Georgie, in the ISO tank because the other 14 can be aggressive and the 20g I moved them into is pretty bare until I clean up the big tank. I discovered that I have a mite problem in the big tank so am going to be sterilizing it over the next few days.

Wow good luck with the cleaning! They might be feeling a bit crowded right now in the 20g could be a huge reason for the aggression. Or they like to pick on the little guy as other animals do. They will establish an order of dominance and they teeny might be getting the worse end of it. If you have a couple others that are looking down and blue, you might could move them to ISO if you have the space. How long have you had Jerry? Mine acted the same way about 2 or 3 days before finally digging down..........kinda lethargic and sad looking.

Now that George has molted, he is like a totally different crab! He doesn't act like a PP but more like an E.

megcolv wrote:Thanks Bridget! The peanutbutter is a good idea, I hadn't even thought of that. Will make sure to put some out when I get home in the morning. @Jenny, I have 17 hermies, mostly PPs but I'm not as good at recognizing the different species. This one (Jerry) was buried when I found him, but there was no evidence of molt so far. He hasn't molted since I've had him. I interrupted another, Charlie, at the same time so I moved him over along with his exo to munch on. I also left my micro, Georgie, in the ISO tank because the other 14 can be aggressive and the 20g I moved them into is pretty bare until I clean up the big tank. I discovered that I have a mite problem in the big tank so am going to be sterilizing it over the next few days.

Ugh. Mites. How do you plan on cleaning that up? How long have you been keeping crabbies? ISO's should be bare, except food/water and a hidey... I always add a plant too
Usually, and the general rule of thumb, unless you smell something very wrong, you should not dig up a buried crab. If you have a 55 you colony sounds fine, as I guessing you have more than one micro,??? and if you have 7 inches of substrate I am also guessing you do not have any jumbos... right????
How is your humidity and heat? Either in ISO or or main tank? Keeping it regulated 80/80 should entice his molt...

I have my 55 set up with a 2 gal circulating fresh water pond. It's filled with a clayball medium so the crabbies can walk onto it with out drowning.It has a small waterfall on a sponge. And it's that deep because the sand is so deep. I have a shelf up high that has a coconut substrate with a saltwater pool. I have 1 jumbo and the rest are half dollar and smaller in size and 2 micros. Is this something new? Are you not supposed to have deep substrate with jumbos??? :/
I usually do a 'lifecheck' once a month and pull everything and everyone out. If I find molters I put them in the ISO tank, and bury them there with some calci-sand and any exo I find with them. I have side heaters and an underglass on the shelf. I can usually keep the temp in the mid 70's and humidity around 80%. I also have a fogger if they need a jolt. The colony itself generally gets along well. I dont usually have shell fights or battles over food. Not sure what happened but I just lost one, found him dead and buried.
For the mites, I think I'm going to sterilize/bake all my sand, scrub and bake all the wood pieces and boil everything else, then wipe down all the sides inside the tank. My day off this week is going to be a busy day.

If its a painted shell, I usually take them out right away. Someone always switches into them if I don't get them out first. Otherwise, I'd leave the old shell in for a week.

megcolv wrote:I have my 55 set up with a 2 gal circulating fresh water pond. It's filled with a clayball medium so the crabbies can walk onto it with out drowning.It has a small waterfall on a sponge. And it's that deep because the sand is so deep. I have a shelf up high that has a coconut substrate with a saltwater pool. I have 1 jumbo and the rest are half dollar and smaller in size and 2 micros. Is this something new? Are you not supposed to have deep substrate with jumbos??? :/
I usually do a 'lifecheck' once a month and pull everything and everyone out. If I find molters I put them in the ISO tank, and bury them there with some calci-sand and any exo I find with them. I have side heaters and an underglass on the shelf. I can usually keep the temp in the mid 70's and humidity around 80%. I also have a fogger if they need a jolt. The colony itself generally gets along well. I dont usually have shell fights or battles over food. Not sure what happened but I just lost one, found him dead and buried.
For the mites, I think I'm going to sterilize/bake all my sand, scrub and bake all the wood pieces and boil everything else, then wipe down all the sides inside the tank. My day off this week is going to be a busy day.

I really recommend not taking everything out of the tank once a month. You might not be disturbing active molters, but repeatedly postponing molting could eventually kill a crab. They don't usually start molting immediately when the go down. So even if it doesn't look like they are molting, they might be prepping for it. This sounds like what's going on with your crab. Most ppl only deep clean once a year. As hard as it is to say, even if a crab passes underground, it's not worth disturbing others. Also, calci sand is a bad choice for substrate. When wet, it can clump and form almost a cement like substance. You absolutely do need deep substrate for jumbos, it should be a least 3 times the height of your largest crab.

Careyenz wrote:If its a painted shell, I usually take them out right away. Someone always switches into them if I don't get them out first. Otherwise, I'd leave the old shell in for a week.

It's not a painted shell he moved out of or into, but he want's George's painted shell very badly!!! Which I want George's painted shell very badly too so I can get it OUT. But since his shell is so big for him, I don't see me getting my wish in the near future :/

Like you had started with calci sand and only had it a week before switching to the right stuff, and let me tell ya it was hard as cement!!! Huge pain to get out.

I have play sand as my main substrate, but offer a small amount of calci-sand when there are molters. I'll back off the monthly deep cleans, but thats usually when i stir up the sand and really re-wet everything. Even with the misting and the fogger the sand seems to dry out in places. And when I came home this morning I had a surprise. Jerry, in the too large shell, had molted in the shell. The old exo was clinging to the opening and I feared he was dead at first until I got a closer look!! So I have 2 possibly 3 molters in my ISO tank now, since Georgie buried this morning too.

OMG inside the shell!!!! Wonder if that is a hermie first?

Mine also drys out in spots, but I just mist it as needed. The sand towards the bottom of your tank should good and damp since it's far from light and heat. When you do these monthly mixings does the sand in the middle or bottom seem as dry as the top?