Commonly Posted Questions/Concerns and their Answers

[KittyCaller]

“Help! My crab’s not eating!” No need to panic. Hermit crabs are nocturnal, and do not always eat a very noticeable amount, especially new crabs. However, if you want to be absolutely positive your crab is eating, there are a few ways to do so. If you’re using sand, you can smooth the area around the food dish. Tracks will be left when the crabs go up to eat. Crushing pelleted food makes it more appetizing, also. Appetite stimulating is easy! Offer your crabs plenty of different foods. A wide variety of food odors will encourage even the pickiest of crabs to eat. Some foods you can purchase right from the pet shop, such as the generic hermit crab foods, and also fish foods. You also can go right to a health food store and purchase plain "nori" or seaweed, which is a wonderful source of natural sea iodine. Dried fruits such as apricots, coconut, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, apple, papaya and mango make wonderful treats for your hermit crabs and their odor will entice picky eaters. Such foods can be purchased at health food stores, or pet shops, often in the bird section. Please keep in mind that when molting or in premolt, crabbies tend to eat very little or not at all. This is perfectly natural and will not harm your crab in the end. Please do offer food during this time, but don’t be surprised if your crab hasn’t seemed to touch it.“I heard I need to give my crabs salt water. Can I use table salt?” No! Table salt is definitely not a good idea. For one thing, it contains manmade iodine, which is poisonous after a while to hermit crabs. Instead, you can buy a package of salt intended for pet use at a pet store or online. Just mix the salt into some dechlorinated water as the instructions direct. Remember, you must offer BOTH salt water AND fresh water, in separate dishes. It is advisable to offer all breeds of hermit crabs both types of water for optimum health!

[KittyCaller]

“My crab fell out of his shell! Is he dead?”Not necessarily. He could have pulled what is called a “topside molt.” One way to tell if this is the case is a sniff test. Take a quick whiff of the inside of the tank. If it smells fishy, then your crab more than likely passed on. If it smells more like iodine or a chemical smell or nothing at all, it could be a molt. If it is a molt, then all you’ll see on the “body” is the appendages and thorax. The eyes and abdomen will be suspiciously missing. You can also gently check a leg. If it’s hollow, then you’ve stumbled upon your crab molting and you’re not looking at a dead crab, but an exoskeleton. Please, if you don’t smell a fishy scent (commonly called the “death smell”) and are reluctant to touch the crab, it is best to wait it out. You can cover the crab with half a soda bottle to protect him and do the sniff test again later that day. It generally does not take very long at all for the death scent to start to set in, and it is an obvious one.“My new crabs keep burying! What’s going on?”First, congratulations on your new crabs! Second, it sounds like your crabs are “de-stressing.” Crabs have a long, stressful journey before they make it to your tank. They go from their natural habitat, to a distributing company warehouse, to a pet store and then to your tank. In order to help get used to the shock of it all, new crabs often dig down into the substrate. They may also take the time to molt, but not always. They may stay under sporadically, or they may stay under for several weeks. It all depends on the individual crab. During this time, it’s best to leave them alone in an Isolation tank (usually called ISO). Provide plenty of food and water and extra shells, but avoid picking them up. In the end, it’s really best for the crab. In the meantime try keeping everything as calm and quiet as you can. It can help speed things along, believe it or not.

[KittyCaller]

“A pet store employee told me that hermit crabs can drown and I should use this green gel (or Cricket Quencher)”Generally, many people have found it best to disregard a lot of the info pet store employees give regarding hermit crab care. While it’s true that after a rather short period of time (half an hour or less) a completely submerged crab can drown, please do NOT use anything other than water for drinking or bathing purposes! It will kill your crabs. The green gel, or cricket quencher as it’s often called, is pretty much useless. The crabs can’t carry it around in their shells (which they do with water) it does absolutely nothing to add to the vital humidity, and as far as I know, there’s no proof the hermit crabs can drink the stuff anyways. Please instead provide plenty of dechlorinated water. If you’re worried about smaller crabs drowning, you can add some natural sea sponges. These sponges are available at most craft stores and are relatively inexpensive. Hermit crabs MUST be able to fill their shells in order to stay hydrated. Be sure to offer water at all times.“My crab is losing his legs!!! What should I do?!”Sadly, the dropping of legs can be a side effect of stress. There isn’t a lot you can do, but isolate the crab, keep the conditions as optimum as possible and try to keep things as peaceful as possible. Do not bathe your crab during this time, don’t mess with him much either. You can change the food and water, but don’t be too surprised if he doesn’t seem interested. If you crab has lost both claws, do not try to hand feed him at this time. Wait to see if he pulls through, and then you can offer foods like applesauce, mashed banana and/or honey. Often a new crab with "PPS" or post purchase stress, will lose limbs. This is why it is best to allow all new crabs about 3-4 weeks in an isolation tank, preferably with a new friend, before introduction to your main tank.