HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Xenocrab and I just finished the nursery tank for Mary Akers captive bred babies we are adopting next weekend at Crab Con. We have been planning this tank for months slowly getting everything we needed before starting the build. We finally started it last weekend and finished it up today!

We are extremely happy with how it turned out! We think it is very bright, cheerful, and fun!

Xenocrab make all the jute and hemp vines, decorated the flower pots, and moss pit. I made the baby wheel, backdrop, and did a majority of the zip tying. We both worked together with the the overall layout! Fleabag even helped!

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WOW!!

Wow! I want to live in it.

Thanks for the great response! We love how this turned out!

We were also told the shell we currently have sorted may be too big for these guys. If you look at the pictures with the lighthouse there is one shell sitting on the upper ledge. We are still having a tough time with realizing how tiny these babies actually are!

These are the shell we thought would be a good size. Mary told us the periwinkle shell 11 o'clock to the dime about what size shell they are currently wearing!

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I love it! It’s so perfect!

Omg it looks amazing! Do you have any on progress photos?

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I have a few pics of the start of the tank. After those pics, it went fast. It's all set up and stabilized. We are ready for CrabCon in 5 days!

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The small palm trees were make out of half round pieces of cholla cut to be flat. The larger ones were from one small diameter piece of cholla that I cut lengthwise into quarters. The leaves we're from vines we got at Hobby Lobby and pulled apart into smaller pieces.

Xenocrab crab braided all the ropes/vines. We wrapped the tension rods with the ropes and zip tied the ends so they stay in place.

Once we figured out placement of the tension rods. They hold the backdrop in place. We started experimenting with placement of the hanging chollas so it is still easy access for maintenance Al also food and water changes. Once we figured out those locations we zip tied everything in place to hold everything.

The longest part was the prep work, building the background, making the braids, and making the baby wheel and getting it to spin freely after a few changes.

I'm really hoping they use the micro wheel. It spins freely for us. With how tiny the babies are I'm not sure they will have enough body weight to spin it. At least it is there for them to try.

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That wheel is just too precious! You two really are the king and queen of crabby do-it-yourself, always the best ideas! I can’t get over that baby tank!

We are adopting 4 E's and we know how active they are. Super active and curious. So, we wanted to make sure they had as much climbing things as possible. Everything is secured safely and they can climb and explore as much as they want.

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Outstanding! I think it’s crazy creative!

Thank you! We put a lot of thought into the tank. We love all our crabbies and try to do our best for all of them. My husband brings out a creative side in me that I didn't know that I had. It's an absolute honor to adopt these precious babies and, like our other crabbies, we want nothing but the best for them.

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I saw this on Instagram, and it really doesn't do the tank justice! You both are soooo creative! I love it!! It's so adorable! Great job!