HCA: Hermit Crab Association

When on hermit crab care sites and this forum, you're likely to run into lots of abbreviations and slang. Some of the terms aren't very obvious. What follows is a list of the most common terms. If you come across any others and aren't sure what they mean, please just ask!PP-Short for Purple Pincher, a specific caribbean species (Coenobita clypeatus)E- Short for Ecudorian, a species of hermit crab (Coenobita compressus)Indo-Short for Indonesian hermit crab (Coenobita brevimanus)Ruggie-Short for Rugosus hermit crab (Coenobita rugosus)Straw-Short for Strawberry hermit crab (Coenobita perlatus)Viola- Short for Violascens hermit crab (Coenobita violascens)Iso- Short for Isolation Tank, which are tanks seperate from the main, used for molting, sick, stressed, or new crabs.KK- short for Kritter Keeper, which are small plastic tanks with bright colored lidsPPS-Post Purchase Stress, which is what hermit crabs get after their ordeal of being harvested out of their natural habitats, being transported from warehouses to distributors to countries, to petstores and kiosks to your house or more. Sometimes it can cause them to lose limbs or even die.B.P-short for Big Pincher, which is the large claw used for defense.Crabbers-Those who keep hermit crabs as pets.E.E.-short for Eco Earth. It's a type of substrate made out of coconut fiber.

Oh I'm glad you posted this I was thinking some people would get confused with crabber slang lol.

UTH - Under Tank Heater

Thanks for posting I finallay now what kind he is

Blue for Blueberries. Coenobita PurpureusSub short for Substrate ie:Sand,Eco Earth.

Still confused as to what a cavi is. There doesn't seem to be a site that has all the species info straight, and it bugs me. Livehermitcrabs.com I like to look at for the pictures and all the names lined up, but there's got to be an easier place with every type.

Glad to see this post.. things make more sense now LOL

@Frostfire a cavi in English is called a concave land hermit crab it's often confused for Violas but has several distinct features.

Dechlor or dechlor water= dechlorinated water that the crabs use to drink for fresh water.

Thanks this thread was very useful. Before I came to this site I didn't know about the variations and just thought a hermit crab was a hermit crab. I figured out some of the appreviations (PP, E, Straw) but didn't know a lot of the others.

IO.....Instant Ocean. Marine grade salt a lot of us use for our saltwater.

tat = crabitat