new LAND HERMIT CRAB OWNER!!!!

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:58 am

Crazycrabber - you blocked them from each other with books? How? Really curious how that works. I would think books would be easy to climb, would get wet and ruined and fall apart. Were they books you just didn't want any more? If there is a next time, plastic CD cases or a cutting board or the good old 2 liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off might be easier to use. And it is important that whatever you use goes all the way from the top to the bottom of the tank, under the sub. Because you are right, they can climb and move things and get into the most unexpected places. I don't often hear of molting crabs being dug up and attacked in adequately sized enclosures. It can happen, it is just unusual with PPs who are not dealing with over crowding. There are some exotics that I have read about that you don't want to mix because one set loves to dig like crazy and the other set molt in very shallow pockets but that isn't what we are dealing with.

Bory.Garcia · Post by **Bory.Garcia** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:30 am

you guys are on a roll haha . thnksok so i just got out of work so i havent checked up at my buddies just yet !!and doo believe all 4 of them areeeeee Ecuadorian hermies !! light brown with eyes that look like commas - he has been surfacing the past 3 night ive had him today is my 4th night with them, but when he goes down and doesnt come back up when would i really consider he may be molting?-also soon i will be getting a lid for my tank but -but i want to know what is the best lid for their crabitat and should i get a heater or a screen lid with a lamp of like 15 watts?-my humidity is never lower 65 its always -mainly 75 when im home but i dont want to worried about it going lower than 75 so whats my best best ?

crazycrabber · Post by **crazycrabber** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:05 pm

i just used a really big book that fit perfectly and left zero space on the sides, top, and bottom of the cage. and yeah i didn't want them anymore and they got messed up. i chose to sacrifice the books in order to keep the molter alive. i did have another tank set up at the time, but i thought the playsand in it was chemically dangerous. now i realize i was wrong, and i realize how easily the death could have been avoided. the tank i had set up was to eventually be their permanent home. it was a ten gallon with cholla wood, pebbles in water, decoration shells, sandcastles, plants, playsand, eco earth, extra shells, etc..... at least my two new ones and the one i have always had live in a better cage without horrible conditions now. that was a horrible time period in their history. and i won't let it happen again! yeah, problem was the molter started molting before i had the proper sized tank ready and not with what i wrongly thought was dangerous playsand. and also since the molter was under the water dish i couldn't clean it and add new water. so i had to bring the other one a water dish every night and dunk him in and let him drink and bathe. and it was hard to clean the food as well. and the guage wasn't accurate anymore, so i had to buy a new one. that was a bad time.

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 2:45 pm

Wow crazycrabber, sounds like you learned a great deal the hard way. So sorry for your loss, glad to hear you've got things worked out though for the current ones.Bory - having Es changes things a bit. They are much more sensitive to environmental changes. You need to up your temperature and humidity for them to thrive. Both 85 is what I have read and have learned from experience. They also need constant access to marine grade salt water like Instant Ocean or Oceanic, there is another one but I can't remember. It needs to make essentially sea water and no you can't just get ocean water due to the contamination levels. They need a pool of it deep enough for them to get into and submerge up to their shell opening or deeper. They are also very active and run much faster than you would expect, even backward.Get a heater (UTH) or two not a heat lamp. They are not safe for smaller enclosures (under 30 gallons). For the lid, I am a fan of a tight fitting thick mesh lid with plexiglass to cover it. Especially with Es who are so able to get into crazy places fast, I find it important to insure they cannot escape. They are not the brutes that PPs are but they move much more quickly and get into more trouble, at least mine do.The other thing I have noticed with Es is, at least mine molt more frequently and for shorter periods of time than my PPs. They also seem more likely to attack one another. It is important to have shells available for them on the surface since often they come up without shells from molting and will need one asap so they are not vulnerable. Usually they stay down to molt for at least a couple weeks, often closer to a month depending on size.

Bory.Garcia · Post by **Bory.Garcia** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 3:25 am

well I have greatly come to find out my new addition to the fam I got 2 days ago (my tiny) is indeed a PP for a little guy he does a very big very purple left claw and 'black dots' as I call it on his legs with a redish tink .-I have notice they aree very quick haha and yes there are very playful they are alwayysss on top of each other trying to climb . and you are inded correct I always come to find my salt water dish is always sandy by the time I wake up/get home I have the dish with about 1 ich of salt water and fresh water with easy escape.-would I have to consider getting another PP due to the fact I have 3 medium E's and one tiny PP?-and once again I wake up to find (lalo) dugged up once again haha I am just concerned because these are my first little guys and I just want to be safe and sure... well as I said once again dug himself and if im not wrong which I highly doubt it (lalo) comes out to the surface roughly 9pm he tearrssssssss the food up he climbs and roams around as well !

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 2:44 am

As time goes by you will learn your crabs habits. Mine never dig holes except when it's time to molt, mine never use hide huts, so I don't buy them any more. They like to be in the open. Mine don't bother each other when they go to molting only when they come up. Some of us don't iso our crabs when they molt because it's to hard to catch them before they go down.. some crabs don't give signs.. Mine didn't.. He was there and then one day he was gone and was gone for 2 months! Then I have to bathe them so they smell the same or the molter will be attacked because he smells yummy! To better understand things you need to just read the forum points on here, it answers all your questions. Remember to that one thing that works for one person may not work for you.

Bory.Garcia · Post by **Bory.Garcia** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 2:57 am

thanks laurie.well since ive brought them home they are crazy active and run around like heck I have 3 medium E's and one tiny PP . one of my E's (lalo) has dug himself every day ad come outs anywhere from 9:30-11:00 I have it recorded lol except for today lalo came up at 9:16am and yea they all seem to have their own ego haha