HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I brought home two pp's today and plopped them in a tank with nice big saltwater and freshwater "pools". One of them made a B-line right for the salt water and jumped head-first into the bowl. He was content to soak it up for a while, then he started wandering around the pool. He was soon joined by his pp buddy, and they have been having a pool party for the past 2 hours. There are plenty of ways for them to climb out, but they don't seem to even be trying. Is this okay? How long can they be in the water and not drown?

As long as they want to be. They'll get out when they've had enough. The only time it's dangerous is when the crab is very lethargic from premolt, or decides to actually molt in the dish.

Oh, thank you! I was worried they could turn into salted prunes, lol! I guess their gills let them breathe just like fish, then? The water isn't over their heads, I can see their eyeballs poking up, and it looks like they're having a good time!

They arent UNDER the water, right? As long as they can get out and are not submersed, just let them enjoy their pool party. Pet stores dont always give their hermies salt water, so its possible that your new pets were really missing it. Just keep an eye on them.And no, they can NOT breathe like fish, they have "modified gils" and require moist air to breathe. Not enough humidity in their air will cause them to suffocate, and being under water can cause them to drown. So make sure they can get out when they are ready. Maybe take them out manually and sit them near the pool... see if they head back in on their own or go elsewhere.

Thanx, Ren1216. No, they aren't completely underwater, I'd say they have most of the top half of their bodies above it. I did try taking Gramps out when he first went in--I thought he fell in, but he headed back in straight away.His buddy just came out, but he's still in there. He's going on 4 hours now. I'm sure they were missing the saltwater, the petstore had them in a wire cage with a single water dish, and the sponge in it was too big to let anything else squeeze by. It was soooo hard not to take them all home!

I recall reading a post a while back (at HCRU, i think) in which a member described observing one of her Es submerge and stay under the surface of the water for an extended period of time -- close to an hour, I think. Quite surprising! Perhaps it indicates that they may not be as prone to drowning as we fear.

Crabs have the ability to dump carbon directly into their shell water, which is how they can stay in closed burrows for a month at a time or more.If their eyes are out of the water, their gills are as well.