Should I get a second crab?

[christinetaylormohn]

Hi all,
I am a new crab owner trying to do justice to my childhood crab that I definitely did not take care of correctly.
I did my research to make the best crabitat I could afford within my space. I got two PP crabs - Benny and Joon. Benny was immediately more lovely than Joon, but they both ended up burrowing within the day of being placed in their new home. From other forums on here, I assumed I should leave them alone and wait for them to come out.. but they never did. I flattened the substrate to make it easier for me to tell if they were coming out at night, but as far as I could tell, they were not. A couple of weeks later, I finally ended up digging out Benny because he was easier to find. He was alive, drank some water, took some food, and went back underground. Over a week or so later, I still hadn't seen Joon, and I was getting worried, so I dug around, found her, and she was dead. I had them over a month at this point. I have no idea how long she had been dead, but I had thought that I was supposed to leave them alone and they would come out eventually. I feel terrible.
Question - Should I go ahead and get Benny a new Joon? I know they are social. I moved the habitat to a more remote part of the apartment, and he hasn't gone back underground since I pulled him out (I had to make sure he wasn't dead like Joon). He has been eating, climbing, all of it. I am worried that he will get lonely, but I am also worried it is too soon. It has been 4ish days.
Also.. should I be worried that whatever took Joon will also take Benny?
Thanks for making it this far. I just want to do right by my crab. Photo of Benny munchin on his worm turds. He's so cute.

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[SpearmintConure]

Hi There,
As much as I understand the worry of not seeing our crabbies, we must never disturb them when they're underground. Moulting is an extremely delicate process, and even accidentally moving some of the top sub can collapse a moult tunnel and kill a crab.
My crabbies once took 4-5 months to moult.
I am very sorry for your loss of Joon.

I would absolutely get another hermit crab, they're very very social and will become upset if alone, not store-bought if you can.
I notice a few things that I would like to point out if thats ok :
The painted shells should be removed from the tank, as they are toxic for crabbies.
It looks like pellets/hermit crab food in the bowl, which isn't recommended due to it not fillin gout the food needs. Rather make it yourself: https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... p?t=124302

You say you got these with the best tank you could fit, and i'm curious as to how big this tank is if you don't mind sharing that, sometimes space will be fought over and cause stressed out crabbies.

Other than that, big welcome to Benny!

[christinetaylormohn]

Thank you for your response! In the future, I will be sure to just leave them be. I hate to think I caused it.

-Do they not come out for food or anything during a molt? Should I be watching for signs of coming to the surface during a molt, or can they go that long without food/water?

-I am slowly working on building my good food collection. He loves the worm poop and acorns, and has been going crazy over the moss. I have also ordered some other dried goods to mix it up that should be here soon. Thank you for the link! It's definitely helpful.

-The tank is around 8 gallons, I think. 12X12X18. I added a pic. I'm wanting to get more mounted dishes to open up floor room.

-I will take out the orange painted! It was my childhood crabs. Unfortunately, he hasn't left the painted store shell yet even though its very top-heavy. But he's been scouting the unpainted ones I've put in there.

-I will definitely get him a buddy. Where would you recommend getting one? Are the store ones not as healthy?
Sorry for all of the questions, but thank you for your time.


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[christinetaylormohn]

Hi There,
As much as I understand the worry of not seeing our crabbies, we must never disturb them when they're underground. Moulting is an extremely delicate process, and even accidentally moving some of the top sub can collapse a moult tunnel and kill a crab.
My crabbies once took 4-5 months to moult.
I am very sorry for your loss of Joon.

I would absolutely get another hermit crab, they're very very social and will become upset if alone, not store-bought if you can.
I notice a few things that I would like to point out if thats ok :
The painted shells should be removed from the tank, as they are toxic for crabbies.
It looks like pellets/hermit crab food in the bowl, which isn't recommended due to it not fillin gout the food needs. Rather make it yourself: https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... p?t=124302

You say you got these with the best tank you could fit, and i'm curious as to how big this tank is if you don't mind sharing that, sometimes space will be fought over and cause stressed out crabbies.

Other than that, big welcome to Benny!

I don't know if I have to use the quote feature to directly respond to you or not. This is my first time using this forum/app.
Sorry for the double post if quotes aren't necessary.
...
Thank you for your response! In the future, I will be sure to just leave them be. I hate to think I caused it.

-Do they not come out for food or anything during a molt? Should I be watching for signs of coming to the surface during a molt, or can they go that long without food/water?

-I am slowly working on building my good food collection. He loves the worm poop and acorns, and has been going crazy over the moss. I have also ordered some other dried goods to mix it up that should be here soon. Thank you for the link! It's definitely helpful.

-The tank is around 8 gallons, I think. 12X12X18. I added a pic. I'm wanting to get more mounted dishes to open up floor room.

-I will take out the orange painted! It was my childhood crabs. Unfortunately, he hasn't left the painted store shell yet even though its very top-heavy. But he's been scouting the unpainted ones I've put in there.

-I will definitely get him a buddy. Where would you recommend getting one? Are the store ones not as healthy?

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[SpearmintConure]

I don't know if I have to use the quote feature to directly respond to you or not. This is my first time using this forum/app.
Sorry for the double post if quotes aren't necessary.
...
Thank you for your response! In the future, I will be sure to just leave them be. I hate to think I caused it.

-Do they not come out for food or anything during a molt? Should I be watching for signs of coming to the surface during a molt, or can they go that long without food/water?

-I am slowly working on building my good food collection. He loves the worm poop and acorns, and has been going crazy over the moss. I have also ordered some other dried goods to mix it up that should be here soon. Thank you for the link! It's definitely helpful.

-The tank is around 8 gallons, I think. 12X12X18. I added a pic. I'm wanting to get more mounted dishes to open up floor room.

-I will take out the orange painted! It was my childhood crabs. Unfortunately, he hasn't left the painted store shell yet even though its very top-heavy. But he's been scouting the unpainted ones I've put in there.

-I will definitely get him a buddy. Where would you recommend getting one? Are the store ones not as healthy?

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

No worries, im also still working my way around this forum's buttons and bits haha.

When they go down for a moult, they have a little moult sack, which stores water to help break their exoskeleton. They're super super good at making sure they have all the right nutrients and whatnots before they go under

An 8 gallon won't be able to fit even one hermit crab, it sounds like a lot of space but trust me when I say they use all of it! You generally want to go with 10 gal per crabby, so 20gal for 2, 30gal for 4 and so on. You'll be able to find nice ones on marketplace, gumtree, and other sites like that (saves you a pretty penny too )

I have all my old hermies painted shells on display if you want something to do with them!

The petstore industry is very very sad, so i'll touch on it lightly. The hermit crabs in store have been taken from the wild. they are ill, unhealthy, and are prone to death after purchase. And if we buy them to try and 'save them', another handful are put in its place.
Much rather adopt from a healthy home, or from the official LHCOS or HCA forums

[curlysister]

Crabs aren't as social as was once thought. What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is now recognized more as resource sharing. So you could get another crab if you want, but many crabs have lived long healthy lives alone.

The number of crabs you can have in what size tank depends on the size of the crab, HCA doesn't subscribe to the ten gallons per crab rule - there is a care sheet that explains it all. I had my two crabs in a ten gallon tank for 3 or more years, then upgraded to a 20, then to a 40 a few years later.

[Jenny55]

Hi all,
I am a new crab owner trying to do justice to my childhood crab that I definitely did not take care of correctly.
I did my research to make the best crabitat I could afford within my space. I got two PP crabs - Benny and Joon. Benny was immediately more lovely than Joon, but they both ended up burrowing within the day of being placed in their new home. From other forums on here, I assumed I should leave them alone and wait for them to come out.. but they never did. I flattened the substrate to make it easier for me to tell if they were coming out at night, but as far as I could tell, they were not. A couple of weeks later, I finally ended up digging out Benny because he was easier to find. He was alive, drank some water, took some food, and went back underground. Over a week or so later, I still hadn't seen Joon, and I was getting worried, so I dug around, found her, and she was dead. I had them over a month at this point. I have no idea how long she had been dead, but I had thought that I was supposed to leave them alone and they would come out eventually. I feel terrible.
Question - Should I go ahead and get Benny a new Joon? I know they are social. I moved the habitat to a more remote part of the apartment, and he hasn't gone back underground since I pulled him out (I had to make sure he wasn't dead like Joon). He has been eating, climbing, all of it. I am worried that he will get lonely, but I am also worried it is too soon. It has been 4ish days.
Also.. should I be worried that whatever took Joon will also take Benny?
Thanks for making it this far. I just want to do right by my crab. Photo of Benny munchin on his worm turds. He's so cute.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

I am so sorry you lost Joon but I def agree on a new Joon (great names btw). Its def a learning process so dont be hard on yourself. And I love that you call it worm turds, made me lol

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[christinetaylormohn]

I am so sorry you lost Joon but I def agree on a new Joon (great names btw). Its def a learning process so dont be hard on yourself. And I love that you call it worm turds, made me lol

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So glad I could give you a laugh
I am definitely looking into getting him a new Joon (also, thank you I was pretty proud of myself) but I want to get a larger habitat first. I've ordered a new one and I want Benny to get established before I introduce a new friend

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[christinetaylormohn]

Crabs aren't as social as was once thought. What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is now recognized more as resource sharing. So you could get another crab if you want, but many crabs have lived long healthy lives alone.

The number of crabs you can have in what size tank depends on the size of the crab, HCA doesn't subscribe to the ten gallons per crab rule - there is a care sheet that explains it all. I had my two crabs in a ten gallon tank for 3 or more years, then upgraded to a 20, then to a 40 a few years later.

Thanks so much for your input I am definitely looking into getting him a friend, but I am not rushing into it since he seems content by himself. I am looking into a larger habitat so that it can fit two crabs

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[christinetaylormohn]

No worries, im also still working my way around this forum's buttons and bits haha.

When they go down for a moult, they have a little moult sack, which stores water to help break their exoskeleton. They're super super good at making sure they have all the right nutrients and whatnots before they go under

An 8 gallon won't be able to fit even one hermit crab, it sounds like a lot of space but trust me when I say they use all of it! You generally want to go with 10 gal per crabby, so 20gal for 2, 30gal for 4 and so on. You'll be able to find nice ones on marketplace, gumtree, and other sites like that (saves you a pretty penny too )

I have all my old hermies painted shells on display if you want something to do with them!

The petstore industry is very very sad, so i'll touch on it lightly. The hermit crabs in store have been taken from the wild. they are ill, unhealthy, and are prone to death after purchase. And if we buy them to try and 'save them', another handful are put in its place.
Much rather adopt from a healthy home, or from the official LHCOS or HCA forums

Thank you for all your input! I am definitely looking into getting him a friend, but I want to make sure they both have enough space, first. I gave ordered a new habitat (Benny finally upgraded shells so I'm sure he'll moult soon) and I am going to wait until he is established into the new tank before putting in a new crab.

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[BugsSnow&Milly]

Crabs aren't as social as was once thought. What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is now recognized more as resource sharing. So you could get another crab if you want, but many crabs have lived long healthy lives alone.

The number of crabs you can have in what size tank depends on the size of the crab, HCA doesn't subscribe to the ten gallons per crab rule - there is a care sheet that explains it all. I had my two crabs in a ten gallon tank for 3 or more years, then upgraded to a 20, then to a 40 a few years later.

Hi everyone!

I’m down to one crab, Milly who is 4 (to me). I’ve had 4 mits over the past 8 years, but now that she is alone as of October, I’m worried about whether she needs a companion.

20 gal, medium to large sized purple (3.5-4 in shell)

I’ve seen lots of mixed reviews, but Milly has always been very active and seems to be enjoying the place and food to herself. Does anyone have personal experiences or updated research that might give insight to which option is best? To add another or not?

It might help to know that I’ve been debating on adding to my tank again since I am out of state for summer and two passings were from a lack of proper care with sitters. 🥺

Thank you

[HermitGuy3]

It is your choice if you want to add another crab, just make sure that they have plenty of preferred shells and space.

[curlysister]

Her shell is that size in diameter? A jumbo crab has a leg span of 3.5 inches or more. If she is that large, your 20 gallon tank may not be large enough to safely add more crabs.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92541

[BugsSnow&Milly]

Woopsies. She is 2.5ish inches, was trying some conversions... Thanks for the info on that!
With that being said, I’m wondering if it will harm her not having another buddy or if some crabs can live alone?

Thank you

[HermitGuy3]

Crabs do not need friends. That is a myth. It is enrichment, but they do not need it.