HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello all, didn’t really know where else to go for my new crab. There’s not a whole lot out there on keeping this species so I’ve gone mostly off hermit crab care. Definitely could use some guidance and help with critiquing my set up/husbandry.

I have a 75g tank and I’ll be honest I was not expecting this guy to be as big as he is. I’m considering down the line upgrading to a 120 even. He’s an absolute beast(I’m using Tupperware the size of mixing bowls for his pools and they barely fit him) and I haven’t even figured out a good lid outside of a heavy piece of wood currently. Some tips on a staple diet would be nice as most crabs eat more or less everything. I understand this species is mostly herbivorous, but he enjoys the freeze dried bugs/shrimp I throw in too. I’ve been mixing it up but it would be nice to have a go-to full spectrum food.

He’s pretty active, but skittish. I’m always worried we’re stressing him too much. I found a leg today in the substrate…. Really would appreciate any help with this guy(I think guy at least), want him to be happy!

I’m not sure how to upload pictures on here BTW?

Hi - I guess there aren't too many people here who can say much about this species since it's not a hermit crab. I don't know anything, although I enjoy land crabs of all types (when I've seen them during travels) so I was curious to read about this crab at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ca ... _guanhumi/. It says their burrows can go 6 feet into the ground - that would be a very large tank indeed! It sounds like an omnivore on that page, so I guess I'd suggest having some fun with a wide variety of foods, just like we do with the hermit crabs. Based on the missing leg - maybe that's a warning sign that you should broaden the diet a little (or it needs a larger tank, etc. as you mentioned). The article says this species molts many times, so I wonder if that gives it an advantage, in terms of being able to regrow lost limbs... just a speculation.
To post photos here, I think the easiest way is to put them on a hosting site like Imgur, etc., and obtain a link from the hosting site.

Not experienced with this species but my two cents

Veggies and fruits with protein options should suffice, if you want to you can try a commercial fish food as well (they do make some for shrimp or crabs, though quality will vary). If you wanna offer a cuttlebone for calcium that’ll work too. You can also try leaf litter and see if it’ll forage for detritus

Losing limbs could mean either an injury or stress, and I’m betting it’s the latter. Do you know if yours was wild-caught? It may need some time to adjust to captivity


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Thanks for the responses!

Update, he has been doing well it seems. Eating tons of leaf litter and a giant varied diet of everything from bee pollen, to seafood, to dozens of fruit/veggies. I also have sprouts, pothos, leaf litter, cuttlebones, and egg shells for him to forage in the tank.

Cycled his pools (2gallons each) with duck weed in the freshwater. Had filters running carbon, but with the amount of substrate he dumps in the water, they kept clogging… so just bubblers now. Thinking of adding live rock to the SW and maybe even some cleaner crews to both pools. One concern is the temps in the pools are only around 70 which id like to find a way to warm up a bit. In his substrate I have springtails, A gestroi isopods, and lawn shrimp for CuC.

He has some cool tunnels built under the logs in the tank and is regularly working on them. I think he may be getting ready to molt(not coming up as much). I have a mistking keeping humidity around 70-80 up top so probably 90s in his tunnels.

I picked up a 220g reef ready tank, I’d like to do something unique with for him… still in the planning stages!

Lastly, he’s been starting to chill out and doesn’t run away from me when working in the tank which is pretty cool.