HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1) How long have you had your crabs and how long have you been caring for this particular crab in distress?I've had my crabs for almost 2 months now, including this crab. 2) What size is your tank and what kind of lid do you have? 10 g glass aquarium with glass lid propped open to regulate heat and humidity and allow air flow3) What are you using for heat? Please be specific and include fixture type, watt or mat size and where the heat source is mounted.Right now I have a small uth placed on the back side wall of the tank. I've only used it once, since the temp has been warm outside I haven't had an issue regulating the heat4) What kind of substrate do you use in your tank and at what depth? Is it dry or damp and sand castle consistency?I use ee and play sand, about a 40/60 mix?, it's damp and sand castle consistency, doesn't fall in when you draw in it or when they dig down5) Do you dechlorinate your fresh water and if so, with what product? Do you offer aquarium salt water in addition to fresh water? Again, what product?Yes, I use HBH safe soak and spray?? for hermit crabs, I think that's the official name. I offer both types of water. Currently using HBH hermit crab salt, it's almost gone and I'm going to switch to a marine salt, I use the treated water to mix the salt water as well6) What do you normally feed your crabs?I've been feeding them mixes of these things:hard boiled egg including shell, unsweetened applesauce, raw almonds, dried cranberries, raisins, crab, pepitas(shelled pumpkin seeds), honey, organic fruit baby food, dried banana chips7) Do you bathe, mist or handle your crabs at all?yes, yes, and yes8) What are the temperature and humidity readings? Please be specific and include high low fluctuations if you're aware of them.No real fluctuations, temp generally between 75 and 80 at all times, humidity the sameI had a surface molter who is now in iso in another tank. He's been eating his exo, it's almost gone and he's been moving around in his makeshift hut. I'm curious how long I should leave him in iso after he starts to become more active? This is his first molt with me and my first molt ever so I'm unsure. Thanks!

As soon as mine start moving around the tank, eating and drinking, I will put them back with the rest. Mine really don't like to be alone very long. It's been quite a while since I've had a surface molt or an ISOed molt but that is how I remember it going.Peg

It's generally recommended to keep newly molt hermitcrabs isolated for at least seven to ten days after they have finished the old exo.You'll know their done with the old exo when all that is left are the leg tips and harder portions of the pinchers.You need to give the hermitcrab time properly harden before re-introducing it to the main tank otherwise it can suffer contact injuries and may even become the unsuspecting victim of cannibalism.It's actually not advisable to bathe hermitcrabs as your making the decision of which type of water they need in the shell and they work hard to maintain the shell water at a certain isotopic balance which gets destroyed when you bathe them forcing them to work that much harder to return it to where they'd had it.Hermitcrabs secret natural body oil that also gets removed when you force bathe them and because your removing the oil your actually drying them out which then forces them to work harder to replenish the oil adding even more stress to them.The majority of us here don't bathe our hermitcrabs instead we offer suitable size water dishes in the enclosure so that the crabs can bathe themselves when they choose.

Just a little piece of advice. When the HBH hermit crab soak and spray runs out I recommend that you switch over to fish water dechlorinator like API. They last way longer and are priced cheaper.