Need info on Halloween moon crabs

[hairycrab]

Hello I have a question. I'm planning on getting Halloween moon crabs to put with my hermit crabs sometime in the distant future and am doing lots of research. I have some questions about them. 1# Do they get along with carribean hermit crabs? 2# Does handling stress them out as it does hermit crabs? 3# Do they require the same care as hermit crabs? 4# What exactly does "they require lots of attention" mean? If anyone knows, please tell me. I'm very experienced with hermit crabs and have been owning them for about four years now.

[Rawrgeous]

As far as I know the 2 cannot be housed together as the Halloween crabs are a more violent species and will kill the hermits. Otherwise I'm not very knowledgable on their care, but I know there are a few members that can provide insight on them.

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[KayedeeLove<3]

Not a good idea!

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[hairycrab]

Well that's very unfortunate. I didn't know they kill hermit crabs, since I've heard about people mixing their hermit crabs with moon crabs. Where did you hear that they're aggressive enough to kill hermits?

[soilentgringa]

They require different setups and care. It is not recommended to house them together.

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[Rawrgeous]

Here, and after a quick forum search I am mistaken, there was no post on somebody trying and having long term results. That being said even if care requirements were similiar these 2 animals are both omnivores and will be competing for the same resources. I did read a post stating they are more territorial than hermits and have been known to attack fellow tank mates (of the same species) in small enclosures under 60 gallons. If you search the forum I know there's a thread somewhere with a link to a good forum posted somewhere for them. Otherwise, I really don't know much except they're super cool looking!

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[hairycrab]

Ok, well thank you very much for the info. If anyone else knows or ever finds out anything else about them please let me know.

[PinchersAndShells]

I've actually been doing quite a bit of research on them recently as I plan on getting them as an adult. I do not think that mixing them with the hermits are a good idea, and here's the few reasons why:

-Halloween moon crabs need the same thing reptiles do, which is a hot side and a cooler side, hermits need the whole tank to be around the same.
-Halloween moon crabs can dig tunnels up to 3+ feet underground, so they need a lot of substrate, plus when they go under there's the chance of them running into any molting hermits, which would make an easy meal, as they're more aggressive than the hermit crabs.
-They need salt and fresh water they can climb in and out of too, but the dishes cannot be too deep because the halloween moon crab does not swim.
-Halloween moon crabs are notorious for being messier, so keeping the food in one general area would be a challenge.

A few things about the HMC:
-They like to fight
-They have similar substrate requirements when it comes to hermit crabs, a recommended mix for substrate is EE, playsand, organic black soil, and a few natural stones as they use them on the walls of their burrows.
-Males SHOULD NOT be housed together, I'm not 100% sure how likely they are to fight, but based off of other crab species they will probably fight until one dies, that being said, they should not be alone, so many like to house one male and one or two females.
-Their space requirements are giant, considering the amount of digging they like to do.
-They need natural decor above ground, to hide and climb, they are even more of escape artists than the hermits are as well.
-Temperature level is mid 80s and the humidity should be 70%.

IMO, I would keep them separate. I don't think they would work well together especially when it comes to the substrate and water depths.

[PinchersAndShells]

I've found a few good resources to use too, if you're interested.

[tymeacrab]

Halloween and Vampire crabs should never be placed in the same habit of Hermit Crabs for they are entirely a different species and real crabs are extremely cannibalistic to any smaller or weakened crabs, infact in areas where these crabs are found in abundance (many introduced), Hermit Crabs declined to zero, this is do the these crabs ability to smell and locate a molter up to ten miles away, in comparison it's like placing a Chihuahua in the same kennel enclosure as a Coyotes.

[tymeacrab]

I forgot this is a link of an online store that sells both Halloween and Vampire crabs, and they do have a small care sheet info.,

http://www.backwaterreptiles.com/invert ... -sale.html

[hairycrab]

Well I guess as sad as it is it's true and I'm a little sad now since I can't mix a big crab with my fuzzy little babies. i have just one more question: Are FEMALE moon crabs aggressive to hermit crabs?

[PinchersAndShells]

Halloween and Vampire crabs should never be placed in the same habit of Hermit Crabs for they are entirely a different species and real crabs are extremely cannibalistic to any smaller or weakened crabs, infact in areas where these crabs are found in abundance (many introduced), Hermit Crabs declined to zero, this is do the these crabs ability to smell and locate a molter up to ten miles away, in comparison it's like placing a Chihuahua in the same kennel enclosure as a Coyotes.

Agreed, the only other kind of crab I've ever heard doing well in the same enclosure as land hermit crabs are usually marine hermit crabs in a smaller tank inside of an extremely large one. (Like keeping a 150 gallon with hermits in it, and putting a smaller 10 gallon inside for the marine hermit crab.)

If you plan on keeping them separate my good care sources are
Two parts: http://www.petful.com/other-pets/halloween-moon-crabs/ and http://www.petful.com/other-pets/how-to ... oon-crabs/
Then here's a blog from someone who had them: http://hmcadventures.blogspot.com/
Caresheet: https://www.animartpetstores.com/sites/ ... 0sheet.pdf
If I find any more I'll keep you updated

[PinchersAndShells]

Well I guess as sad as it is it's true and I'm a little sad now since I can't mix a big crab with my fuzzy little babies. i have just one more question: Are FEMALE moon crabs aggressive to hermit crabs?

I'm not quite sure, finding people who take care of halloween moon crabs by themselves is hard enough as is, so I don't know if anyone has ever attempted that. If you're planning on doing it, I wouldn't suggest starting off with putting the HMC in with with all of your hermit crabs, maybe a few, so if it goes wrong not all of them have the same fate.

[hairycrab]

Well based off another question I asked somewhere else about mixing HMC and vampire crabs, I know now it's not a good idea to mix HMC (or vampire crabs) with any other species, especially hermits because even female HMC can be aggressive to ones outside their species. I guess it's only really safe to mix different species of hermit crab. Anyway it doesn't really matter anyway cuz I wouldn't be getting any other pets for a long time! And I'll get a separate tank for any different crab species.