Newbie but worried-

[DBGlunkk]

My family recently adopted two hermit crabs. They were in horrible dry conditions, so I did some research on my own and got a 20 gallon tank, some net, temperature gauge/heater mat, 2 water dishes (They only had tap water) the correct water conditioners, shells, some fake plants-
The smaller of the two was buried the whole time and hadn't seen him, so we carefully got him out to put him in better conditions- later finding out its possibly molting. When we figured that out we went out and got one more hermit crab, so the other larger one wouldn't be too lonely.
The next day, The new hermit crabs disappeared, assuming its now molting since so itty bitty? (Didn't have a lot of sand to dig down in at the pet store).
When this happened, we watched and looked around for possible places where he could have dug himself and we can't locate any from just looking around.
We went and got another one- from a different pet store with better conditions, and he is chillin' around just getting settled in I suppose. Came face to face with the larger one and they did fine.
I tried to handle the larger one, he gets real scared and acts as if he hasn't had much human contact. As for the two "molting" ones, I still haven't seen.

I might add in, the adopted two came with powder food, and the two pet stores fed pellets.
I have put a variety of watermelon, apples, baby food, meal worms, raw broccoli/carrot slaw, potatoes, as well as some pellets and powder when I seen they weren't touching the food-

Any tips or corrections on what I'm doing? We're new to this but trying to do the best we can for them!



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[daws409]

Welcome to HCA!

First off never dig up a crab! The way I read it, you were doing it to offer better conditions. You're crabs sound like they are de-stressing which is normal for newbies. Just because they dig down doesn't mean they are molting. They dig for fun, to chill, to molt, and to de-stress. As far as tank conditions go sounds like everything is working great. I however suggest filling out the template so we can make suggestions for your setup.

Template link: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=46102

Copy and paste here so it stays together.

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[Hermias_mom]

Sounds like you really care about your crabs - that's wonderful! We'd be happy to help you out. I recommend copying and pasting the template questions here like Daws says - they're originally designed for folks that have emergencies, but you can talk about whatever concerns you have. It's a good place to start.

FYI, if this third crab goes down, and your first crab is left alone again, I'd recommend making him a modified hamster wheel or something instead of buying more crabs. 4 crabs in a 20 gallon is pretty much the limit that most folks recommend, and that's assuming they're all pretty small. If you have large or jumbo crabs, you'll need more space per crab, deeper substrate, etc. Here's a link to the crab and habitat sizing guidelines. It can be overwhelming to try and get things figured out all at once, but we are here to help. Kudos to you for adopting!

Crab and habitat sizing guidelines: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92541
Hamster wheel (these are super cool!): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... l&start=60

Some helpful care sheets:
Crabitat conditions: The first 7 posts under the TOPICS section (the pinned posts): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=26
Food & Water: The pinned posts here (posts 2-6): http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=25
Molting: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=23
The shell guide: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 24&t=92552

[DBGlunkk]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

- Sand & EE , about half the tank.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

- The gauge is in the middle of tank, stuck to the window , I make sure both temperature and humidity is between 72-82

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

Not sure what it's called but a hermit crab heating thing that sticks to the bottom and plugs in.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

- Both types of waters , prebottled noncholorinated salt water and tap water with conditioner drops. Mixed in a gallon jug-

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Replaced everyday , they weren't eating the broccoli, apples, baby food, potatoes, mealworms etc, so I gave them in addition to that moistened pellets.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

2 a week, 2 a couple days.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

Not sure.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

20G - Vent lid? I have a book over one side to keep the temperature up.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 crabs, 2 small small, 1 small, 1 small/med

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

I have 3 for each, working on getting more.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Haven't had to

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

Yes, in microwave with conditioned water

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Working on getting a bigger tank- my situation was already described in original post.
Another question is with hands off interaction, do I not remove them from the tank? Also should I be worried I'm not noticing any food gone?


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[GotButterflies]

Hello! I replied with GB for GotButterflies

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

- Sand & EE , about half the tank.

GB: Okay, not sure how much that is Minimum should be 6" or 3 times the size of your largest crab (whichever is deeper). It should also be mixed with dechlorinated marine salt water or dechlorinated freshwater to make it sandcastle consistency.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

- The gauge is in the middle of tank, stuck to the window , I make sure both temperature and humidity is between 72-82

GB: Temperature and Humidity should be a minimum of 80.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

Not sure what it's called but a hermit crab heating thing that sticks to the bottom and plugs in.

GB: Okay, the uth should be removed from the bottom ASAP! We use those on the back of the tank above the substrate to heat the air. When placed on the bottom, it not only becomes a fire hazard, it can cook your crabs. Please fix asap.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

- Both types of waters , prebottled noncholorinated salt water and tap water with conditioner drops. Mixed in a gallon jug-

GB: Okay, the prebottled salt water is not any good. It isn't marine salt water. You need marine salt water, which mimics ocean water. Most of us use a product called Instant Ocean. Please get this asap. What conditioner do you use? It needs to remove chlorine, chloramine and neutralize ammonia and heavy metals. The dechlorinator would be used to mix both fresh and marine salt water. Most of us use Prime as a dechlorinator. Pools for the hermit crabs should be deep enough for the hermit crabs to fully submerge in, and safe enough for them to get out of.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Replaced everyday , they weren't eating the broccoli, apples, baby food, potatoes, mealworms etc, so I gave them in addition to that moistened pellets.

GB: Hermit crabs need a wide variety of foods. Some commercial foods are not safe. Please check to see if yours is. Also, foods need to be organic if possible. Hermit crabs are sensitive to pesticides and fertilizers. Also, they do not tolerate seasonings on foods.
Commercial food list:http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92555
Safe food list:http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92557
Unsafe food list:http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92556
Food Pyramid:http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

2 a week, 2 a couple days.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

Not sure.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

20G - Vent lid? I have a book over one side to keep the temperature up.

GB: Sounds like you have a mesh lid. You can use press n seal, or plastic wrap on your top to keep humidity and heat in.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 crabs, 2 small small, 1 small, 1 small/med

GB: Be sure to not get any more crabs.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

I have 3 for each, working on getting more.

GB: Great, more shells is always recommended! Here is the shell guide: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 24&t=92552

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Haven't had to

GB: You just need to clean out crab poo and spilled food.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

Yes, in microwave with conditioned water

GB: Sponges really aren't necessary any more.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Working on getting a bigger tank- my situation was already described in original post.
Another question is with hands off interaction, do I not remove them from the tank? Also should I be worried I'm not noticing any food gone?

GB: I am very hands off with all of my crabs. I never handle mine. Hermit crabs are prey animals. We are scary to them. When I was younger I didn't know any different, and I used to handle mine. I'm 41 now. To each's own. Hermit crabs eat very little. It is not necessary to feed them large amounts. You probably won't notice much gone.


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[DBGlunkk]

Thank you. So I'm suppose to put the heater above the substrate, so pretty much on the empty glass?


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[daws409]

Thank you. So I'm suppose to put the heater above the substrate, so pretty much on the empty glass?


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Yes... We want to heat the air, not the sub.

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[DBGlunkk]

Ok thank you. Never done anything like this before. And the temperature should be what?


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[Hermias_mom]

Thank you. So I'm suppose to put the heater above the substrate, so pretty much on the empty glass?


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Yup, you've got it correct. The idea is the heater heats the glass, the glass heats the air inside the tank, the air inside the tank heats your substrate (substrate will be naturally cooler the deeper you go away from the surface). There's only one brand of under-tank heater that really does this well, that is Ultratherm brand UTH from reptilebasics.com or from beanfarm. There may be others brands out there that work, but this is one brand that most of us use for two main reasons - 1) we know it works. 2) it can be insulated without creating a fire hazard. You will probably want to insulate it at least part of the year, even if you live in Florida, USA, so odd are you should buy a heater that allows for this. Insulating really helps the heat get directed inside of the crabitat, otherwise it radiates equally on both sides, and you can get a lot less heat directed into your crabitat. In the summer, and depending upon your house conditions, an uninsulated UTH may be able to get you up to 80F reliably, but in the winter, it usually requires a bit of insulation. I use a thermostat in addition to the UTH, so that I can set it at 80F and not have to worry about my crabs getting too hot or cold - my Zilla brand thermostat works really well to control the temperature. Unlike with the UTHs, there ARE other thermostats out there that work just as well, but Zilla is the one I personally have experience with.

Two brands of UTH that really don't work for crabbing - ZooMed and All Living Things, although the list is long. I have experience with those two, and was NOT impressed, especially for the money I spent on them. They're just not designed to be used as crabbers need to use them, I guess...

Recommended size for your Ultratherm: forum recommendation would be to buy the biggest heater that will fit across the back of your tank above the level of the substrate. Try not to let your substrate get higher than the level of your heater, or it will dry out your substrate and could cook crabs, create pockets of intense heat (because sand is an insulator), and crack your tank glass. [Just not a good plan. ]

And press-n-seal or plastic wrap really does do wonders to hold in humidity - I love the stuff!

And in case you're wondering, I'll say ditto to everything GB said above. She and other crabbers helped me set up my 10 gallon tat 3 months or so ago, and were super helpful. The care sheets can be a lot to wade through, but they are SO worth it! Let us know if you have further questions!

[Hermias_mom]

Ok thank you. Never done anything like this before. And the temperature should be what?


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80F minimum. No higher than about 85F. Optimally 80-82F. Humidity - minimum is 80%RH, higher is fine. Over about 90% humidity increases likelihood of your habitat growing mold. The mold won't bother the crabs but could bother you. This is one reason folks recommend changing out food every day

[DBGlunkk]

Sorry, another question. How much water is too much? What is 'submerge' because I'm scared there will be too much water for the smaller crabs but I took the sponges out and placed a small rock in each.


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[Hermias_mom]

Sorry, another question. How much water is too much? What is 'submerge' because I'm scared there will be too much water for the smaller crabs but I took the sponges out and placed a small rock in each.


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Submerge, means they can go swimming if they want - they need traction on the bottom (scallop shells, glass stones, anything that won't contaminate the water) and a way to exit. You just need a way for them to climb back out. Most folks on here use craft mesh and double-stack the containers. Here's a link to how to create double bubblers, but the nested containers should be of interest to you even if you aren't using airstones. There's two ways to do it in this post - LJJ siliconed her rock into the containers (have to let it DRY before adding water and make sure you use the right silicone), and at the end of the thread is a pic using craft mesh.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... le+bubbler

I dropped my littlest crab in my freshwater pool and then waited with great anxiety to be sure he could get back out, and he climbed out fine. Probably kinda stressful for him, and I don't think I'll be doing that again, but I figured it beat having him die because I didn't set up the pool right.

[GotButterflies]

Please don't feel like you are bothering us asking questions...that's what we are here for - to help one another! If you have questions..just ask

[soilentgringa]

Hi! Welcome! It looks like everyone has covered everything so instead of overwhelming you with more info I will just recommend reading care guides or checking out threads when you have time.

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