crab not eating

[denverthecrab]

Hi.I am a new hermit crab owner. My friend got me one just the other day as a surprise present.So far I have set him up in a big terrarium with sand, two food dishes, a fresh water dish, a salt water dish(I just used a big sea shell), some moss, and a big climbing log.My concern is that I have not seen my crab Denver eat or drink! I place him in the water/food and he just crawls away.For food I have given him-the pellets that came from the pet store with himnew pellet, meal worm, shrimp medley from Petsmartvarious fruits( coconut, watermelon, strawberry, blueberry, melon)oat cerealsunflowerseedsHe refuses to eat or drink anything and I'm really worried he's hungry or dehydrated. He was really active when I first got him, but now he just sleeps in the corner of the cage.If anyone has any help I would much appreciate it!!!!!! I am very worried.

[jenok]

Sometimes you won't see them eat or drink cuz they'll do it at night. Try scrambled or boiled eggs a lot of crabs really like them. No seasoning. There are 2 different list of foods that you can give located in the Zoea forum. Also in the archived library you can look under the food and water section for great ideas. Change your food every day or every other day anything they smell for an extended period of time will make them not want to eat it so they get a variety in their diet. When we get our crabs from the store they are extremely stressed so it may need a few days in a better environment Which it sounds like you've created to chill out before it eats. The tank conditions should be warm and moist temp 75-82 degrees F and humidity around the same. When humidity gets below 70 they have a hard time breathing and will eventually die. Do a lot of reading up on here because crabs aren't as easy to care for as the pet store tells you.

[denverthecrab]

Thank you for the advice!I will definitely do some reading and try rotating out the food.As for temperature, right now I have a 40W blue daylight on him and the house air conditioning system keeps the temp around 76. Would you suggest I purchase a thermometer to ensure he's at the right temp?Also, I try to take him out of his tank and crawl around on the table for a little while every day. Could that be stressing him more?

[jenok]

Probably so. On this forum it is usually suggested once you get them in the proper tank environment to leave them alone as best you can for the first month. This lets them get used to the new environment if they want to dig down and bury under the substrate they can usually molting once they do. I would suggest getting a thermometer and hygrometer so you can consistently check the temp and humidity. Also you may find it helpful to create a new topic in the LHC forum Asking for suggestions on your tank setup. When doing so list everything you can about your tank and what you have in it along with the types of food, water ect.... what sub do you use how deep is it things like that.When we get crabs they all come from the wild so think about a crab just hanging out in its nice warm humid environment then someone snatches it up takes it to cramped living areas with little humidity or warmth forced into a pretty shell usually painted so we will buy it. The place it comes from and the pet stores do not properly care for them providing the humidity and warmth needed also not giving them anywhere to dig underground and molt. They have a molt inhibiting horomone that they release until they can find a good spot to molt but at the same time if it has been to long since that molt sometimes the hormone has built up enough in their system they can't molt and will eventually die. That is why its important to have the sand or EE eco earth/coconut fiber deep enough and moist enough they can tunnel and molt.