Temperature and Humidity

[Guettopig]

So I'm thinking about getting some hermit crabs to keep me company at my dorm since larger animals aren't allowed. I've read just about everything about how to care for them etc. but I have a single question about the temperature and humidity. Hermit crabs are tropical animals and I literally live on a tropical island, like I see them at the beach all the time and the temperature here is almost always from 70 to almost 90 degrees Farenheight (probably butchered that word XD) and the humidity from 70% to 80% everyday.

Now my question is, Can I keep hermit without the need of a heater or lamp since I live in a tropical island?

[C_fiesta]

Welcome to the crab world!

If you use the AC (or your roommate uses the AC), you'll definitely need back up heat and humidity because the AC will keep it too low for them.

I don't know what others will suggest, but you have to monitor the actual temp and humidity inside the tank and just be ready to possibly fork over the money for a heating unit.

Also, since you'll probably face many moves back and forth from college, you should know Hermit Crabs are definitely do-able while at college but are not easy. We have many members who were and are college students with pet hermit crabs. I was interested in them during college but decided to put them off until after I graduated.

Here's the "downside" to hermit crabs while at school, I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just hoping you consider these situations: 1) They may not be allowed, which might mean you have to part with them suddenly 2) Your roommate could oppose the sounds/odors 3) Despite what a quick Google search tells you, they are not cheap pets. Get ready to spend at least $100 up front and an additional $10-$30 monthly. 4) Since you'll have limited space, you will need a smaller tank (probably only a 10 or 20 gal) so you can only keep a few (2 if in a 10, and 3-4 in a 20). 5) The moving back and forth makes it tricky. Sand is heavy and you will generally have to remove it from the tank every time in order to safely transport the tank. Which leads to the most important of my reasons 6) Crabs molt unpredictably and you can almost bet one will be down when you need to move. And you can't move the tank with molters down because you might disrupt/collapse their tunnels causing them to suffocate. You would ultimately have to dig them up (which you're NEVER suppose to do) and overall it just makes molting more risky altogether.

But like I said, many ex-college and current students have successfully kept crabs, I am not trying to deter you, just offer you a few things to consider in case you hadn't already.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Hermias_mom]

Welcome to HCA!!!

One last thing to consider - do you live on this tropical island all the time? If you'll be flying home at any point, you'll need to check airline restrictions for shipping crabs or carry-on as live pets. If they go in the cargo compartment (where airlines often put cats/dogs, etc), then heat, pressure, temperature, and humidity fluctuations could be serious issues. And flying adds a whole new level to the difficulty of transporting tank, substrate, supplies, etc. from home to school and back. If you fly between countries you'll need to consider import restrictions into your home country, or export restrictions (from your home country to your school). The transport/export of crabs can be illegal depending on these restrictions. Most countries take these restrictions quite seriously, you can't just get around them. And then imagine trying to deal with all that while transporting a molter you've dug up in the middle of a molt (and hope they don't later die of stress induced by the interruption) and it's just not something fun for me personally to contemplate.

But then, I don't know your circumstances. If I were contemplating getting crabs while at school on a tropical island, these are the things I'd consider. Best of luck!

[Guettopig]

Welcome to HCA!!!

One last thing to consider - do you live on this tropical island all the time? If you'll be flying home at any point, you'll need to check airline restrictions for shipping crabs or carry-on as live pets. If they go in the cargo compartment (where airlines often put cats/dogs, etc), then heat, pressure, temperature, and humidity fluctuations could be serious issues. And flying adds a whole new level to the difficulty of transporting tank, substrate, supplies, etc. from home to school and back. If you fly between countries you'll need to consider import restrictions into your home country, or export restrictions (from your home country to your school). The transport/export of crabs can be illegal depending on these restrictions. Most countries take these restrictions quite seriously, you can't just get around them. And then imagine trying to deal with all that while transporting a molter you've dug up in the middle of a molt (and hope they don't later die of stress induced by the interruption) and it's just not something fun for me personally to contemplate.

But then, I don't know your circumstances. If I were contemplating getting crabs while at school on a tropical island, these are the things I'd consider. Best of luck!

I live in a tropical island permanently, for now, its my homeland so I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon

[Hermias_mom]

Welcome to HCA!!!

One last thing to consider - do you live on this tropical island all the time? If you'll be flying home at any point, you'll need to check airline restrictions for shipping crabs or carry-on as live pets. If they go in the cargo compartment (where airlines often put cats/dogs, etc), then heat, pressure, temperature, and humidity fluctuations could be serious issues. And flying adds a whole new level to the difficulty of transporting tank, substrate, supplies, etc. from home to school and back. If you fly between countries you'll need to consider import restrictions into your home country, or export restrictions (from your home country to your school). The transport/export of crabs can be illegal depending on these restrictions. Most countries take these restrictions quite seriously, you can't just get around them. And then imagine trying to deal with all that while transporting a molter you've dug up in the middle of a molt (and hope they don't later die of stress induced by the interruption) and it's just not something fun for me personally to contemplate.

But then, I don't know your circumstances. If I were contemplating getting crabs while at school on a tropical island, these are the things I'd consider. Best of luck!

I live in a tropical island permanently, for now, its my homeland so I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon

Awesome! I'm so jealous! Wish I lived in on a tropical island!!! Wild hermit crabs roaming the beach... that sounds wonderful!

If you happen to take pictures of these wild crabs roaming the beaches or climbing trees, and upload them to the Forum, we will all drool!

[Guettopig]

I'll be in a private room with no AC and no roomate, also I already asked te landlord ao i'm waiting before buying any hermit crabs. I already own a cage large enough for 3-4 hermit crabs (3 is my plan). I also won't be moving the cage till the end of the semester, hopefully they're not molting then But I ready they only molt ever 10 months, is that true?

[Guettopig]

Welcome to HCA!!!

One last thing to consider - do you live on this tropical island all the time? If you'll be flying home at any point, you'll need to check airline restrictions for shipping crabs or carry-on as live pets. If they go in the cargo compartment (where airlines often put cats/dogs, etc), then heat, pressure, temperature, and humidity fluctuations could be serious issues. And flying adds a whole new level to the difficulty of transporting tank, substrate, supplies, etc. from home to school and back. If you fly between countries you'll need to consider import restrictions into your home country, or export restrictions (from your home country to your school). The transport/export of crabs can be illegal depending on these restrictions. Most countries take these restrictions quite seriously, you can't just get around them. And then imagine trying to deal with all that while transporting a molter you've dug up in the middle of a molt (and hope they don't later die of stress induced by the interruption) and it's just not something fun for me personally to contemplate.

But then, I don't know your circumstances. If I were contemplating getting crabs while at school on a tropical island, these are the things I'd consider. Best of luck!

I live in a tropical island permanently, for now, its my homeland so I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon

Awesome! I'm so jealous! Wish I lived in on a tropical island!!! Wild hermit crabs roaming the beach... that sounds wonderful!

If you happen to take pictures of these wild crabs roaming the beaches or climbing trees, and upload them to the Forum, we will all drool!

If my family takes a vacation this Christmas or next summer I'll see if I get any good pics
I've always been fascinated by them as a kid, I am afraid of the bigger ones though, you don't know when those big pincers will pinch but I'll get used to em if I'm able to get some as pets

[Guettopig]

Welcome to the crab world!

If you use the AC (or your roommate uses the AC), you'll definitely need back up heat and humidity because the AC will keep it too low for them.

I don't know what others will suggest, but you have to monitor the actual temp and humidity inside the tank and just be ready to possibly fork over the money for a heating unit.

Also, since you'll probably face many moves back and forth from college, you should know Hermit Crabs are definitely do-able while at college but are not easy. We have many members who were and are college students with pet hermit crabs. I was interested in them during college but decided to put them off until after I graduated.

Here's the "downside" to hermit crabs while at school, I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just hoping you consider these situations: 1) They may not be allowed, which might mean you have to part with them suddenly 2) Your roommate could oppose the sounds/odors 3) Despite what a quick Google search tells you, they are not cheap pets. Get ready to spend at least $100 up front and an additional $10-$30 monthly. 4) Since you'll have limited space, you will need a smaller tank (probably only a 10 or 20 gal) so you can only keep a few (2 if in a 10, and 3-4 in a 20). 5) The moving back and forth makes it tricky. Sand is heavy and you will generally have to remove it from the tank every time in order to safely transport the tank. Which leads to the most important of my reasons 6) Crabs molt unpredictably and you can almost bet one will be down when you need to move. And you can't move the tank with molters down because you might disrupt/collapse their tunnels causing them to suffocate. You would ultimately have to dig them up (which you're NEVER suppose to do) and overall it just makes molting more risky altogether.

But like I said, many ex-college and current students have successfully kept crabs, I am not trying to deter you, just offer you a few things to consider in case you hadn't already.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I'll be in a private room with no AC and no roomate, also I already asked te landlord ao i'm waiting before buying any hermit crabs. I already own a cage large enough for 3-4 hermit crabs (3 is my plan). I also won't be moving the cage till the end of the semester, hopefully they're not molting then But I ready they only molt ever 10 months, is that true?

[Hermias_mom]

Here's a link to the HCA care sheets, in case you haven't read them yet. http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... m.php?f=51 Have a look and see if you have questions, we'll be happy to help!

You mentioned that you have a cage for them, which if you're tropical with no A/C, this should be fine, but it would need to be a pretty big cage to accommodate 3 small/medium hermits (15-20 gallons per small/medium crab is the space recommendation in the care sheets). Also, I'm not sure how your cage would accommodate the deep substrate crabs require to molt. Minimum recommended substrate depth is 6" OR 3 times as deep as your largest crab, whichever is deeper. Not sure how you'd get that into a wire sided cage. Also, as crabs grow, they require deeper substrate, and if you get an Ecuadorian type hermit crab (instead of a purple pincher(PP) which is the standard variety), they need a minimum of 10-12" deep substrate or deeper, even when they're small. The substrate should be mixed to sandcastle consistency with dechlorinated water (saltwater is recommended to reduce mold, although freshwater is fine too) in order to hold their molting caves properly. So the substrate will need to stay moderately wet (not too wet, just until it holds the caves) all the time.

There's a crab size guide in the care sheets. If your crab is a jumbo, it may require the equivalent of a 55-75 gallon aquarium, minimum, the larger the better, so it can move around and walk. Crabs can double in size in a year, easily, so a 10 gallon tank now can easily become a 20 gallon tank next year for the same number of crabs, etc. They grow slower when they're large/jumbo size, but the smaller crabs tend to grow quickly when in good conditions. Crabs can live 10-20+ years in captivity, and have up to a 6" leg span when full grown. That's one big crab. Having a crab live 10-18 years in captivity is not at all uncommon. So IMO, crabs should be considered a long term pet, somewhat like a tortoise or large bird, or a horse even.

When crabs are small, they molt all the time. Tiny and small crabs can molt back-to-back for months. 4-6 weeks is a typical time a small/medium crab might be down, but then they can come up for a few days/week or so at night (so you may not even know they're done), and then they go back down and molt again. The larger crabs (large and jumbo) may take 10 months-18 months or more to molt, and they often wait longer between molts. But each crab is individual, every molt is different, and there really is NO WAY to predict how long each individual crab will take to molt each time he/she does it. And if they're down, digging them up to check on them is the worst thing you can do, and can lead to death, if the molt caves collapse.

[C_fiesta]

No that's not true. There's no set schedule. The little guys can molt as often as back-to-back which seems like forever, but really their molts are 1-2 weeks long. The bigger guys will molt every month to every other. And the huge might molt 2-3 times yearly. And the larger the crab, the longer the molt...4-6 months is common for the medium/larges.

You mentioned a cage. I hope you don't mean a wire cage. The metal in the saltiness of their enviroment can cause the metal to rust and produce toxins. Also, they need at least 6" of substrate (or 3X the height of the largest crab), which wouldn't hold in a wire cage. Everyone here (that I know of) uses glass aquariums for good reasons.

Just more things to consider.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[C_fiesta]

Here is our article on molting which will help clear up the time required and exactly what molting entails
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92527

Here is our article on basic hermit crab care, just in case you haven't seen it yet
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 53#p852153

Again, really excited that you're considering Hermit Crabs as a pet. I just want you to be ready for all that entails. I finished college about three years ago and I know that money, time, and space is tight, so I want you to know what you're getting into.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Hermias_mom]

No that's not true. There's no set schedule. The little guys can molt as often as back-to-back which seems like forever, but really their molts are 1-2 weeks long. The bigger guys will molt every month to every other. And the huge might molt 2-3 times yearly. And the larger the crab, the longer the molt...4-6 months is common for the medium/larges.

You mentioned a cage. I hope you don't mean a wire cage. The metal in the saltiness of their enviroment can cause the metal to rust and produce toxins. Also, they need at least 6" of substrate (or 3X the height of the largest crab), which wouldn't hold in a wire cage. Everyone here (that I know of) uses glass aquariums for good reasons.

Just more things to consider.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I've never used a wire cage for my crabs. But I can tell you something about the concerns with metal. Rust (iron oxide) is probably harmless, as coral reefs are established on old shipwrecks (JediMasterThrash did a good post about metals and iron oxide (rust), I think it's in the care sheets?). However, jury is still out on stainless steel - the chromium which is in the stainless steel is toxic, not sure how much of that goes out of the stainless when corrosion is prevented, so the stainless steel could be introducing chromium into the crab's environment. Aluminum fencing or wire should be fine, but it does corrode (not a problem for the crabs). What I would highly recommend you NOT do however, is use galvanized steel. I think wire cages are often made of this? It's very common in the hardware store, and used for chain link fences and other fencing. Galvanized steel is steel that is coated in zinc to prevent corrosion. The zinc is toxic, and as the crab climbs on the cage, it would get zinc all over itself, eventually ingest it, and the zinc levels in the crab would climb due to ingestion, and probably eventually kill it.

Powder coated metal (powder coating is where you spray an epoxy onto heated metal, and then the epoxy cures) is generally okay, in my opinion. It would be best if the crabs don't remove the powder coating, but if they do, as long as there's plain steel underneath (therefore iron oxide as a corrosion product), things should be fine. Powder coated metal mesh lids are often known as reptile mesh lids. If the black coating can't be easily scratched off (like paint), then it's probably powder coated epoxy.

Plastic for use with crabs is generally inert and harmless, especially polyethylene. Other types of plastic may not be so harmless, especially if they are heated or melted, but as long as they're not being eaten, they should be fine for the crabs.

[C_fiesta]

No that's not true. There's no set schedule. The little guys can molt as often as back-to-back which seems like forever, but really their molts are 1-2 weeks long. The bigger guys will molt every month to every other. And the huge might molt 2-3 times yearly. And the larger the crab, the longer the molt...4-6 months is common for the medium/larges.

You mentioned a cage. I hope you don't mean a wire cage. The metal in the saltiness of their enviroment can cause the metal to rust and produce toxins. Also, they need at least 6" of substrate (or 3X the height of the largest crab), which wouldn't hold in a wire cage. Everyone here (that I know of) uses glass aquariums for good reasons.

Just more things to consider.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I've never used a wire cage for my crabs. But I can tell you something about the concerns with metal. Rust (iron oxide) is probably harmless, as coral reefs are established on old shipwrecks (JediMasterThrash did a good post about metals and iron oxide (rust), I think it's in the care sheets?). However, jury is still out on stainless steel - the chromium which is in the stainless steel is toxic, not sure how much of that goes out of the stainless when corrosion is prevented, so the stainless steel could be introducing chromium into the crab's environment. Aluminum fencing or wire should be fine, but it does corrode (not a problem for the crabs). What I would highly recommend you NOT do however, is use galvanized steel. I think wire cages are often made of this? It's very common in the hardware store, and used for chain link fences and other fencing. Galvanized steel is steel that is coated in zinc to prevent corrosion. The zinc is toxic, and as the crab climbs on the cage, it would get zinc all over itself, eventually ingest it, and the zinc levels in the crab would climb due to ingestion, and probably eventually kill it.

Powder coated metal (powder coating is where you spray an epoxy onto heated metal, and then the epoxy cures) is generally okay, in my opinion. It would be best if the crabs don't remove the powder coating, but if they do, as long as there's plain steel underneath (therefore iron oxide as a corrosion product), things should be fine. Powder coated metal mesh lids are often known as reptile mesh lids. If the black coating can't be easily scratched off (like paint), then it's probably powder coated epoxy.

Plastic for use with crabs is generally inert and harmless, especially polyethylene. Other types of plastic may not be so harmless, especially if they are heated or melted, but as long as they're not being eaten, they should be fine for the crabs.

I think we wrote our responses at the same exact time. Haha. I'm sorry if you thought I was just copying you, I wasn't, I was busy typing!

It is beneficial to see two different crabbers offer essentially the same information.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Hermias_mom]

No that's not true. There's no set schedule. The little guys can molt as often as back-to-back which seems like forever, but really their molts are 1-2 weeks long. The bigger guys will molt every month to every other. And the huge might molt 2-3 times yearly. And the larger the crab, the longer the molt...4-6 months is common for the medium/larges.

You mentioned a cage. I hope you don't mean a wire cage. The metal in the saltiness of their enviroment can cause the metal to rust and produce toxins. Also, they need at least 6" of substrate (or 3X the height of the largest crab), which wouldn't hold in a wire cage. Everyone here (that I know of) uses glass aquariums for good reasons.

Just more things to consider.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I've never used a wire cage for my crabs. But I can tell you something about the concerns with metal. Rust (iron oxide) is probably harmless, as coral reefs are established on old shipwrecks (JediMasterThrash did a good post about metals and iron oxide (rust), I think it's in the care sheets?). However, jury is still out on stainless steel - the chromium which is in the stainless steel is toxic, not sure how much of that goes out of the stainless when corrosion is prevented, so the stainless steel could be introducing chromium into the crab's environment. Aluminum fencing or wire should be fine, but it does corrode (not a problem for the crabs). What I would highly recommend you NOT do however, is use galvanized steel. I think wire cages are often made of this? It's very common in the hardware store, and used for chain link fences and other fencing. Galvanized steel is steel that is coated in zinc to prevent corrosion. The zinc is toxic, and as the crab climbs on the cage, it would get zinc all over itself, eventually ingest it, and the zinc levels in the crab would climb due to ingestion, and probably eventually kill it.

Powder coated metal (powder coating is where you spray an epoxy onto heated metal, and then the epoxy cures) is generally okay, in my opinion. It would be best if the crabs don't remove the powder coating, but if they do, as long as there's plain steel underneath (therefore iron oxide as a corrosion product), things should be fine. Powder coated metal mesh lids are often known as reptile mesh lids. If the black coating can't be easily scratched off (like paint), then it's probably powder coated epoxy.

Plastic for use with crabs is generally inert and harmless, especially polyethylene. Other types of plastic may not be so harmless, especially if they are heated or melted, but as long as they're not being eaten, they should be fine for the crabs.

I think we wrote our responses at the same exact time. Haha. I'm sorry if you thought I was just copying you, I wasn't, I was busy typing!

It is beneficial to see two different crabbers offer essentially the same information.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

No worries! I agree, it helps sometimes to see more than one crabber shares the same opinion. Or even if our opinions are different, that's the value of an online community, right?

[Guettopig]

Here's a link to the HCA care sheets, in case you haven't read them yet. http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... m.php?f=51 Have a look and see if you have questions, we'll be happy to help!

You mentioned that you have a cage for them, which if you're tropical with no A/C, this should be fine, but it would need to be a pretty big cage to accommodate 3 small/medium hermits (15-20 gallons per small/medium crab is the space recommendation in the care sheets). Also, I'm not sure how your cage would accommodate the deep substrate crabs require to molt. Minimum recommended substrate depth is 6" OR 3 times as deep as your largest crab, whichever is deeper. Not sure how you'd get that into a wire sided cage. Also, as crabs grow, they require deeper substrate, and if you get an Ecuadorian type hermit crab (instead of a purple pincher(PP) which is the standard variety), they need a minimum of 10-12" deep substrate or deeper, even when they're small. The substrate should be mixed to sandcastle consistency with dechlorinated water (saltwater is recommended to reduce mold, although freshwater is fine too) in order to hold their molting caves properly. So the substrate will need to stay moderately wet (not too wet, just until it holds the caves) all the time.

There's a crab size guide in the care sheets. If your crab is a jumbo, it may require the equivalent of a 55-75 gallon aquarium, minimum, the larger the better, so it can move around and walk. Crabs can double in size in a year, easily, so a 10 gallon tank now can easily become a 20 gallon tank next year for the same number of crabs, etc. They grow slower when they're large/jumbo size, but the smaller crabs tend to grow quickly when in good conditions. Crabs can live 10-20+ years in captivity, and have up to a 6" leg span when full grown. That's one big crab. Having a crab live 10-18 years in captivity is not at all uncommon. So IMO, crabs should be considered a long term pet, somewhat like a tortoise or large bird, or a horse even.

When crabs are small, they molt all the time. Tiny and small crabs can molt back-to-back for months. 4-6 weeks is a typical time a small/medium crab might be down, but then they can come up for a few days/week or so at night (so you may not even know they're done), and then they go back down and molt again. The larger crabs (large and jumbo) may take 10 months-18 months or more to molt, and they often wait longer between molts. But each crab is individual, every molt is different, and there really is NO WAY to predict how long each individual crab will take to molt each time he/she does it. And if they're down, digging them up to check on them is the worst thing you can do, and can lead to death, if the molt caves collapse.

I'm going to start with smaller hermit crabs so I can use the habitat I have, as they grow I'll change to a glass aquarium.
I'm actually really excited to own hermit crabs if my land lord lets me, so I'm ready and willing to sacrifice time, money, and patience to care for them, I obviously barely have any experience caring for hermit crabs aside from handling them from when I used to play with wild hermit crabs on the beach, but I gotta start somewhere I'll keep reading up on them and preparing mentally (I've read like 15 different articles already )
I think molting ia the scariest of all the things

I was wondering, hermit crabs molt just about anywhere in the wild, is it really needed to isolate them from the others when they molt? Or can they stay in the main cage?