Territorial Crabs?

Where we discuss the behavior of our hermit crabs, as in fights, pecking orders, shell swaps, etc. Please post all naked-crab posts in the Emergency forum.
Post Reply
User avatar

Topic author
crabbiepattiecake
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:37 pm

Territorial Crabs?

Post by crabbiepattiecake » Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:13 am

What do you guys do when a crab gets territorial, despite having plenty of space and food? I got a new crab, and one of my original crabs named Loki (he sure lives up to his name) starts to grab him whenever he would get near Loki’s usual designated areas. He doesn’t try to fight back though, he just gets scared and runs away. I always have to break them up because I don’t want either of them getting hurt. Any ideas on how to handle this, other than separating them in different tanks? Thanks!
Also I feel bad for Loki because he just seems more scared than anything, like he thinks the new guy is gonna take his resources or something :(

User avatar

JoeHermits
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2202
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:26 pm
Contact:

Re: Territorial Crabs?

Post by JoeHermits » Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:24 am

Have you tried dipping them both in freshwater? Neutralizing their scents often helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar

Topic author
crabbiepattiecake
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:37 pm

Re: Territorial Crabs?

Post by crabbiepattiecake » Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:57 pm

JoeHermits wrote:Have you tried dipping them both in freshwater? Neutralizing their scents often helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the tip, haven’t tried that yet! My new guy is in iso right now so I’ll definitely try that before I reintroduce him.

User avatar

Motörcrab
Posts: 2378
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2017 9:56 pm
Location: Coal Region in Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: Territorial Crabs?

Post by Motörcrab » Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:20 pm

Like Joe mentioned dipping them helps the new crab from smelling like an outsider.

We have had a purple pincher, Triple H and an E, Gunshow not see eye to eye for nearly a year. They generally stay peaceful but every few months they have words (bat antennas) and with get into some wrestling matches! Just the other day Gunshow was grappled with HHH To break it up, xenocrab misted them and Gunshow retreated to his cave and HHH took off running too! They act just like professional wrestlers! One week they are friends, the next week they are out for blood on one another!
Coenobita Curiosities offering crabby decor
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CoenobitaCuriosities

User avatar

crabbycasey
Posts: 768
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 10:23 am
Location: NC

Re: Territorial Crabs?

Post by crabbycasey » Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:47 pm

Motörcrab wrote:Like Joe mentioned dipping them helps the new crab from smelling like an outsider.

We have had a purple pincher, Triple H and an E, Gunshow not see eye to eye for nearly a year. They generally stay peaceful but every few months they have words (bat antennas) and with get into some wrestling matches! Just the other day Gunshow was grappled with HHH To break it up, xenocrab misted them and Gunshow retreated to his cave and HHH took off running too! They act just like professional wrestlers! One week they are friends, the next week they are out for blood on one another!
Triple H, lol. You just gave me the idea for my next crab...Undertaker!! Never thought of using wrestler names. Mankind, Kane...so many good ones!

Wanted to say to the OP too that I had great success with the dunking of all the crabs in the same pool. Good luck! Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post Reply