HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone. I'm James from the Philippines. This is my first post on HCA so be gentle.

I've been taking care of some Hermit crabs for over a year now and I still have no idea what species are my hermit crabs. I need some help from the association so I can take better care of the specific needs of each of my pets.

I used to own only 3 small hermit crabs, but then a few months ago, my crazy cousin thought it was a good idea to capture some from the wild and give it to me just because I have a crabitat set up, which by the way, I had to make just because I wanted to save the 3 hermies from those illegal street vendors. So, I had to buy another tank just to accomodate them. Sheesh. Okay, back to my problem. I'll just post some pictures here and hope for the best that someone could help me identify them.

First one's name is Turbo.. This guy is really active, and as his name suggests, loves those turbo shells. Say cheese.







Next, we have Viking.. This one spends a lot of time hanging around, literally. He just hangs on the climbing spots all day. Here's the photo.





The last one is Juggernaut or Jugy for short. He's my biggest one. He's really shy, docile, and doesn't really move too much even at night. I'm not 100% sure but from the description I read from the FAQs portion of the forum, I think he's a Viola. But can anyone confirm this for me? I would really appreciate it. Here's the photo.







I would gladly appreciate you help. Thanks in advance.

And by the way, this is their crabitat. Sorry, havent clean the glass in a while. I'm scared the glass cleaner might get to them and inadvertently poison them.

The first crab looks like a viola, second looks like a Ruggie and the third one is definitely a viola.

I'll leave the species to someone else with experience with "exotics" but I wanted to mention that diluted white vinegar is a great, safe glass cleaner to use on your crab tank. I dilute mine half water, half vinegar. I spray it onto a paper towel, not directly in the tank.

Pictures of the claws when they're pulled in tight, and of their eyes from the top down is the most accurate ID method. Where you are in the world, you could have Ruggies, Violas, Blues, and possibly even true Cavipes.

Violas. All three violas.

CallaLily wrote:I'll leave the species to someone else with experience with "exotics" but I wanted to mention that diluted white vinegar is a great, safe glass cleaner to use on your crab tank. I dilute mine half water, half vinegar. I spray it onto a paper towel, not directly in the tank.

Thanks. That's a nice tip. I'll take note of that

wodesorel wrote:Pictures of the claws when they're pulled in tight, and of their eyes from the top down is the most accurate ID method. Where you are in the world, you could have Ruggies, Violas, Blues, and possibly even true Cavipes.

I'm from the Philippines. The crabs were taken from the north eastern shores. The beach is a far from where I live, about 4 hours drive.

Here is a viola I had named Mango. They can be so many colors when they are younger, this one looks kind of redish, but I've had them in almost grey color, brown, and so on.

Welcome! I hope you like it here.

Like others said, I'm getting a viola vibe from the 1st and last crab, however the one in the middle does have a ruggie feel. (I am in no way an expert exotic ID'er.) But who cares, they are cute!

aussieJJDude wrote:Welcome! I hope you like it here.

Like others said, I'm getting a viola vibe from the 1st and last crab, however the one in the middle does have a ruggie feel. (I am in no way an expert exotic ID'er.) But who cares, they are cute!

Thanks for the warm welcome. Lol. I'll just try my best to give them a fun life.

Hi Jabarasi, where do you buy your crabs in the philippines?

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