HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a new jumbo hermit crab named Thor. His claws are very large soI am nervous to hold him. I want to know how often they generally pinch.

@Hermitcrabgirl, I have several jumbos and they are all gentle, I have never been pinched by them and they seem to go out of their way to be as gentle as possible with the smaller crabs in the enclosure as if they know how big they are in comparision and how easily they could hurt a smaller tank mate.

I pick mine up from behind on the shell. I might get scratched but never pinched (yet ) p.p. crabs are pretty calm. Or at least mine are. No one runs away anymore when I'm in the tank.

I had the painful experience of getting pinched. My middle finger almost broke @_@ my boy's pincers are like wrenches.

Like with all of the crabs we keep, jumbos SHOULD only pinch if they get the chance. If you stick your finger into their pincher, they will pinch you. When you do hold them, place them in the palm of your hand and let them walk around naturally. Holding them for an extended amount of time by their shell will cause them to reach and claw for anything they can get ahold of, including a finger, to try and get a good footing. It is just instinct and they don't do it to show aggression.

If you've seen my crabs then it is virtually impossible to hold them on top of your palm without getting piched They're bigger than my palm, bigger than my whole open hand actually lol.

Just to give you an idea on their size