Hello:)

lovemycrabbies · Post by **lovemycrabbies** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:16 am

Hi guys I'm Katie and my crabby clan is Bubba, Scout, Lil Bit, James, Lilly, Linda, and Carolína. They are all PP's. Now their stories: Bubba- Bubba walked up to me while I was sitting on a patio in the bahamas. I had been wanting a hermit crab for weeks because we were traveling without my yellow lab or any other pets, so of course I was so excited and kept him.Scout- an hour after Bubba showed up, Scout walked up too Lil Bit- My mom found Lil bit in the middle of the road while running.James- We found James outside of St. James Methodist church in the Bahamas*Now I know what you're going to say; you should not have taken those crabs out of the wild, you can get fined, ect. However, hear me out. When we kept them, it was before I had done the research that I have now done. I was craving a pet and took the absolute best care of them that I could and worried over their wellbeing every moment. Also, in the bahamas they use these amazing creatures as fishing bait, and my mom thinks that thats what bubba and scout had been intended for because they were no where near the beach; they were near the fishing docks.When we got back to the states, I couldn't resist and went out and got Lilly and Linda. Then later came Carolína I love them all so much and think they are amazing. Im excited to have found this site because I still have a lot to learn(as we all do)!-Katie

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:11 pm

Hello and welcome to the forums here at LHC.com on behalf of the admin staff.I've keeping hermitcrabs since I was seven back in '92 and have been learning new things about these wonderful little creatures ever since.When I first read how you came across your first two hermits I was alarmed to say the least because wild hermitcrabs although not federally protected are still protected through various organizations and local law inforcement meaning only locals have the right to use them as bait or food stock.Depending on the area your in in the Bahamas you can get away with taking a couple of hermitcrabs off the beach though it is not advisable since taking them from their natural habbitat puts so much stress on them which is why there is such a high mortality rate in groups that are harvested daily by liscensed harvesting companies.Some people would argue that buying hermitcrabs from a pet store or other supplier isn't any different from us just going out and collecting them ourseleves since they are all wild anyway.Yes that is true all hermitcrabs are wild though the ones we purchase are in the first stages of domestication meaning we have already begun to strip them of their wild habbits and tendencies by just simply putting them into captivity and by the time we've had them for two or more years they have all but lost their ability to scavenge for food because we feed them on a daily basis with things that are not natural to them such as store bought flakes and pellets which are often times loaded with pesticides used as preservatives like Copper sulfate, Iron sulfate, Ferrous sulfate, Ethoxyquin, Bha and Bht.I guess what I'm trying to say is there really is no differnece between fresh caught hermitcrabs at the pet store or ones we happen upon in the wild...However it's really frowned upon by certain local governments for tourists to take any wild animal off the beach so please don't do it. I can see why you'd want to keep the hermitcrabs being that they were no where near where they should have been it's a basic instinct in most people to recuse an animal that looks like it might be lost or could die if help isn't rendered and for that I commend you though I personally would have taken the hermitcrabs to the nearest beach and released them but hey thats just me.lolThis first link is our basic supplies list that will help you get your enclosure in order if you should need any help.An ideal enclosure should be no less than ten gallons with a good humidity retaining lid like glass and a substrate depth of no less than six inches or ten if you have hermitcrabs golf ball sized or larger.The substrate should be sandcastle in consistency to allow for burrowing and molt pocket carving.The temp and humidity should be between seventy-five and eighty-five degrees and percent so that the hermitcrabs can breath properly.This second link will take you to one of our two safe foods lists please take a look when you get the chance.A good rounded diet should contain protiens, healty fatty acids(oils), calcium, nitrogen, cellulose(another word for fiber) and chitin which is the hardening agent that hermitcrabs use after a molt to reharden.This list in the link will help you to cover all of the dietary needs of the hermitcrabs.You need to provide both fresh dechlorinated and dechlorinated marine grade salt water for drinking and bathing.For a dechlorinator you can use API, Topfin or if you can't find a dechlorinator that does not contain additives you can use Stress Coat it wont hurt your crabs I've been using it for more than a year now with no ill effects to my crabs.For a salt water mix you can use Instant Ocean, Oceanics or Red Sea aquarium salts.I'll let you digest this and then either I or someone else will get back to you.

lovemycrabbies · Post by **lovemycrabbies** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:09 pm

Hello Let me clarify some thingsThe people using the hermit crabs for bait are the locals, and in the bahamas they think of them like insects and get a laugh out of "us americans" having them as pets.I have never given them any sort of store bought flakes or pellets. I realize they need certain nutrients, so I am working on a well rounded diet for them. We were actually living in the bahamas, and while we were not residents, we were definitely no tourists I realize most people would think that they had to take care of these "poor lost or dying creatures," but the truth is they were perfectly fine and near the beach(sort of), but I chose to keep them. Some people may not agree with this, but thats what I did and I do not regret it at all They have brought me so much joy during my struggles; they were a gift from god that I needed.Im a bit of a nerd I must admit and a worrier and I love caring for things and making things "perfect," so I have actually done quite a lot of reading and found most of this info, but thank you so much for the dietary help

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:47 pm

just read all the bold printed things in the forums. so many sites are out there with a lot of bad info or out dated info.If you crab makes it through 1 molt then you can breathe some sigh of relief, although it is a never ending process of what now and what did i do, when a crab up and dies for no reason. the one thing we all do here and really stress is a one month hands off period, no handling, no playing, just feed and water, keep them quiet and calm. helps them to dis stess and acclimate.

lovemycrabbies · Post by **lovemycrabbies** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:52 am

okay I hope I didn't come off as rude:/ sorry... it just felt like you were looking down on me. Do you think these sites are reliable? hermit-crabs.com <- this is the site I have mainly been using. hermitcrabassociation.com <- this is one I found while looking for salt water info. hermitcrabassociation.com <-have not looked much on here yet. and this page. I know there is ALWAYS more to learn(and I am very open to learning more), but I have also done research and given them the best care I can

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 6:38 am

Yes I think those are good! Hermitcrabassociation can be a bit... how should I say this... a bit rude and pushy with their beliefs. A bit of their info has been found false (Like wetting your sand. You should probably mist it, not soak it! I have a friend that has got her sand all moldy from this info...) And this is one of the best crab sites you can find! Oh and welcome!

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:23 am

Oh no I don't think you were being rude and I apologize if I came off a bit condescending as that was not my intention.I keep forgetting that the emotion I intend to convey in a post usually comes out the complete opposite as I had intended it.lolI do wish we could do video chat as that would help to alleviate any misunderstandings as just simply writing something doesn't always get the real emotion or feeling across and can be misinterpreted very easily. As for the other websites you mentioned yes we are actually affiliated with the HCA or HermitcrabAssociation.com as our owner is a member there as well.Some of the members at HCA can be a bit rude at times but the admin staff are top notch so there is no worry there, if they see anyone especially the older members picking on a newer one they wont hesitate to step in and stop as is the same here at LHC.About 99% of our members are nice and respectful of everyone else though there will the random malcontent who is nothing more than a forum troll but don't worry we are all good at sending them back to the bridge that they came out from under.lol Hermit-crabs.com is actually also owned by the same person who owns LHC.com so you can trust the info on that site as well.If you could please give us a description of your hermitcrab enclosure as I'm very eager to know what kinds of things you've thought of to improve the enclosure. You should actually hydrate the substrate to sandcastle consistency when you first set up the enclosure but then after only mist the surface or if the substrate should start to dry out and you know no one is down molting or tunneling then you can poke a hole in each corner of the enclosure and slowly pour about 1/3 of a cup of dechlorinated fresh water down the hole the substrate will then wick the water out to the center of the enclosure after you've done all four corners this should ensure that you have evenly re-hydrated the substrate.If your tank is smaller than thirty gallons you may want to reduce the total amount of water from 1/3rd to 1/4th of a cup of water to avoid flooding the substrate.The only reason the substrate will grow mold and be soupy is if too much water has been added either through the hole method or by misting to often as what goes up must come down and eventually the water droplets will migrate to the bottom of the substrate and collect becoming the focal point of pollution and causing the substrate to be soupy or overly wet.

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:35 pm

P.S. Sach from SCP is selling things soon. if anyone is interested then here is the link. I totally want some of her stuff! http://www.sachscrabpage.probo...crollTo=16381&page=1

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:32 am

@Theodora, Sachs crab page is a useful place to visit but the info that they are giving is primarily coming from HCA and us as Sach is a member of HCA.lolIf you have any questions that Sachs message board can't don't hesitate to ask us here.

lovemycrabbies · Post by **lovemycrabbies** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 4:52 am

Crabber85- http://lovemycrabbies.tumblr.c...317/current-crabitat

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:09 am

@lovemycrabbies, I took a look at your enclosure and there are only two things than need to be changed 1: the sponges, it's a really common myth that hermitcrabs can drink from sponges which is actually physically impossible as they can not suck on the sponge, instead they pick up tiny water droplets their pincher and pass them to the mouth where the water is then drawn in through capilary action.If your using the sponges to help your hermitcrabs not to drown you can actually drape hemp net over the side to act as a ladder or use smooth river stones to build the bottom up.Sponges can grow a leathal strain of harmful bacteria in as little as twenty four to fourty eight hours after being placed in the water which means you'll need to have enough sponges to be able to remove and replace the existing sponge for cleaning on a daily basis.You can clean the sponge by soaking it in the hermitcrabs salt water mix for six hours then rinse it throughly with fresh water then allow it to air dry until it is completely dried.After the sponge has dried completely toss it into the microwave for two mintues this will help to kill any residule bacteria that might be left over sterilizing the sponge for further use.Please make sure that the sponge is dry as a damp or wet sponge will quickly shrink to nothing in the microwave.As for the second thing, your substrate depth looks a little shallow you might find that you'll need to add extra sub in the next four to eight weeks as the hermitcrabs continue to grow/molt which can be easily and safely done by not pouring in the substrate in from the top of the enclosure but rather by using a cup and pouring out the substrate slowly from inside the enclosure near the ground.This will help to avoid any possible pocket or tunnel collapses that are pretty common when adding in fresh/new sub.Everything else looks good though.

lovemycrabbies · Post by **lovemycrabbies** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:10 am

I actually did know that they do not drnk from them; i discovered this by watching them I love watching them eat and drink; however, they were in there to keep the little crabs from drowning. Usually I use rocks, but I thought I would give the sponges a try, but sense they grow bad bacteria I will be removing them immediately and replacing them with rocks.On the substrate, I actually redid my whole tank just after posting those pictures because my buried crabs all came up lol. Its not about twice as deep if not deeperI took all the crabs out to do it too

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 8:31 am

I didn't find out they didn't drink from them till like a few months after I got the crabs. lol

Tetra4CClyPtus · Post by **Tetra4CClyPtus** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:41 am

Hi lovemycrabbies !! It's me I haven't been on hca , because yes I agree with Theodora and we also pm talked about me with sach and hca !! This forum is the oldest and more open minded here

Jimmy · Post by **Jimmy** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 3:53 pm

@Lovemycrabbies- looking qt the link you posted Ithought that I saw two E's (ecuadorians) They have a different eye stalk shape than the PPs do and i think I see the tell-tale comma eye lookmin two of your crabbies. Welcome to the forums by the way!