let me know what you think
hi everyone!
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Guest
Topic author
hi everyone!
ive been keeping snakes for years but decide to try hermit crabs i just got 2 yester day heres them in there cage!!
let me know what you think
let me know what you think
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Guest
Topic author
Welcome to the HCA! We're glad you are here. You will find this website full of information on caring for and enjoying your hermit crabs.
Thanks for sharing a picture of your new crabs. You might want to consider purchasing a 10 gallon glass tank for them when you can. You do need to monitor their heat and humidity too. You can pick up inexpensive humidity gauges and thermometers at your local pet store in the reptile isle. Providing heat for your crabs can be done several ways. For your critter keeper they make little lights to rest on top or you can purchase an under tank heating mat. Keeping your sand moist and having your fresh and salt water bowls filled will keep your humidity levels up. When I was a new crab owner, this site
http://hermit-crabs.com/ helped me alot.
Again, welcome to the pack. We're glad you're here!
Thanks for sharing a picture of your new crabs. You might want to consider purchasing a 10 gallon glass tank for them when you can. You do need to monitor their heat and humidity too. You can pick up inexpensive humidity gauges and thermometers at your local pet store in the reptile isle. Providing heat for your crabs can be done several ways. For your critter keeper they make little lights to rest on top or you can purchase an under tank heating mat. Keeping your sand moist and having your fresh and salt water bowls filled will keep your humidity levels up. When I was a new crab owner, this site
http://hermit-crabs.com/ helped me alot.
Again, welcome to the pack. We're glad you're here!
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Guest
Topic author
also i have temp and humidity guns so thats how i will moniter that 
Welcome to the HCA!
Yep, your hermies like both fresh water and salt water. Do you know what species they are? From what I can see in your picture, it seems like you have at least one PP (purple pinchers). I love my PP's...sweet babies. Also, hermit crabs like to dig and burrow, so you'll want to add some more sand (as deep as your biggest hermie's height at least) and wet it a bit to sand-castle consitancy.
feel free to ask any other questions!
Caroline
Yep, your hermies like both fresh water and salt water. Do you know what species they are? From what I can see in your picture, it seems like you have at least one PP (purple pinchers). I love my PP's...sweet babies. Also, hermit crabs like to dig and burrow, so you'll want to add some more sand (as deep as your biggest hermie's height at least) and wet it a bit to sand-castle consitancy.
feel free to ask any other questions!
Caroline
26 LHC: 6 PPs, 5 Es, 1 Straw, 6 Ruggies, 2 Indos, 1 Blueberry, 4 Violas, 1 Aussie
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Guest
Topic author
yep, you've got two beautiful purple pinchers! Nice natural shells too, my jumbo PP Big 'un prefers shells like the one your second hermie is wearing. They appear to be very friendly! You'll need to provide them with bigger shells for them to shell-shop with, they'll pick the one that fits them the best a live in it. Natural shells, like the ones your crabbies are wearing now, are a thousand times better than painted ones.
What are you planning to feed your hermies?
Caroline
What are you planning to feed your hermies?
Caroline
26 LHC: 6 PPs, 5 Es, 1 Straw, 6 Ruggies, 2 Indos, 1 Blueberry, 4 Violas, 1 Aussie
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Guest
Topic author
all of them are natural because i think painted shells are unatural.-
Guest
Topic author
If you’re looking to save money, Wal-Mart and most craft stores have great packages of shells for really cheap. You can’t use all the shells in there, but you still end up getting more for your money. Just be sure to boil them in salt water and let them cool before you give them to the crabs. Another way to save is play sand from Wal-Mart or Toys R Us or hardware stores. You can make the sand really deep for cheap! I also find using fresh foods that I have around the house already to be cheaper than commercial food. As long as you make sure they get enough of the things they need!
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Guest
Topic author
Hi and welcome!
I just joined yesterday, but I've been hanging around for a while now. I recognized your setup as the one I originally had, and I want to try to help.
As soon as you can, I highly recommend a bigger, better tank. That one wasn't big enough for the one crab we had at first, and all those air holes make it really hard to keep the warmth and humidity in. First thing I would do to help this is to put a warm, wet towel over the top to help with the humidity. It's not a long-term fix, but it'll help in the mean time. Make sure to keep it moist or it doesn't do a lot of good.
Even though this will help with your humidity, I still say to spritz them often with dechlorinated water. They have gills, so they need that moisture all the time to breathe. The gauges are important, but you probably won't have the space to put them in that little area. So if you do get them before you get the new tank, you can put them in but don't make it permanent unless you want to buy another soon.
I agree about getting a heat source, but only if their space isn't warm enough. I think I read that they like a temp of 75 at least. It's heading into summer most everywhere, so if it's warm enough you may not need one yet. You will by winter, but the big glass tank would be higher on my priority list right now.
I'm sure your tree falls over if they try to climb it, ours did. I took one of those 3M sticky-things that don't wreck the wallpaper and I stuck it on the clean tank floor. Then I stuck the tree to it and covered it with a whole lot more sand. Mostly I didn't want to stick the crabs to it, but wanted the tree to stick to the "floor". Works pretty well. The crabs can climb it without it falling now.
But the only reason I had a crab in that small space was because we had an emergency surface molt and that was the only other crab appropriate place for the one who wasn't molting. As hard as I tried with that setup, I really found it just doesn't work well. It seems great at first, but the more I read on this site, the more I realized it wasn't going to work long-term.
I hope that some of this helps, and hope that ou have a lot of fun crabbing. Also, have you named your little guys yet?
Again, welcome, and have a great day!
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Gee, I guess you have a lot more info than I started with! Next time I'll try to type faster!
They are very cute! And it seems they will have a great place to live and play with all that space. Sand is awesome, but avoid Calci-sand- it clumps and molds and is just not easy. Play sand really is the easiest- I just switched mine over and it's so much better! Have a great one!
I just joined yesterday, but I've been hanging around for a while now. I recognized your setup as the one I originally had, and I want to try to help.
As soon as you can, I highly recommend a bigger, better tank. That one wasn't big enough for the one crab we had at first, and all those air holes make it really hard to keep the warmth and humidity in. First thing I would do to help this is to put a warm, wet towel over the top to help with the humidity. It's not a long-term fix, but it'll help in the mean time. Make sure to keep it moist or it doesn't do a lot of good.
Even though this will help with your humidity, I still say to spritz them often with dechlorinated water. They have gills, so they need that moisture all the time to breathe. The gauges are important, but you probably won't have the space to put them in that little area. So if you do get them before you get the new tank, you can put them in but don't make it permanent unless you want to buy another soon.
I agree about getting a heat source, but only if their space isn't warm enough. I think I read that they like a temp of 75 at least. It's heading into summer most everywhere, so if it's warm enough you may not need one yet. You will by winter, but the big glass tank would be higher on my priority list right now.
I'm sure your tree falls over if they try to climb it, ours did. I took one of those 3M sticky-things that don't wreck the wallpaper and I stuck it on the clean tank floor. Then I stuck the tree to it and covered it with a whole lot more sand. Mostly I didn't want to stick the crabs to it, but wanted the tree to stick to the "floor". Works pretty well. The crabs can climb it without it falling now.
But the only reason I had a crab in that small space was because we had an emergency surface molt and that was the only other crab appropriate place for the one who wasn't molting. As hard as I tried with that setup, I really found it just doesn't work well. It seems great at first, but the more I read on this site, the more I realized it wasn't going to work long-term.
I hope that some of this helps, and hope that ou have a lot of fun crabbing. Also, have you named your little guys yet?
Again, welcome, and have a great day!
-------------------------------------------------------
Gee, I guess you have a lot more info than I started with! Next time I'll try to type faster!
They are very cute! And it seems they will have a great place to live and play with all that space. Sand is awesome, but avoid Calci-sand- it clumps and molds and is just not easy. Play sand really is the easiest- I just switched mine over and it's so much better! Have a great one!
Last edited by Guest on Wed May 31, 2006 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
that's a good way to choose crabs! The more inquisitive, I think, the more likely they are to be healthy.
in my experience, commercial food has not been a hit with my crabs, but my biggest problem with it is it SMELLS to high heaven. Your crabs will enjoy all kinds of fresh foods that are easy enough to get (you probably have tons in the pantry that you eat!), like fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, peaches, apples, etc), fresh veggies, unsalted/unseasoned meat, certain flowers and tons of other stuff (honey, cuttlebone, nuts). I enjoy trying different things with my crabs, its interesting to see which crab likes what.
Caroline
in my experience, commercial food has not been a hit with my crabs, but my biggest problem with it is it SMELLS to high heaven. Your crabs will enjoy all kinds of fresh foods that are easy enough to get (you probably have tons in the pantry that you eat!), like fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, peaches, apples, etc), fresh veggies, unsalted/unseasoned meat, certain flowers and tons of other stuff (honey, cuttlebone, nuts). I enjoy trying different things with my crabs, its interesting to see which crab likes what.
Caroline
26 LHC: 6 PPs, 5 Es, 1 Straw, 6 Ruggies, 2 Indos, 1 Blueberry, 4 Violas, 1 Aussie
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starmaiden
- Posts: 419
- Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:41 pm
- Location: Washington State
Hi and welcome uro1001!
You may know this already but thought I'd go ahead and mention it because it's so critical: Don't use table salt with your hermies, use marine aquarium salt mixed according to directions on the bag for their salt water. Table salt will kill them!
You may have to mix one gallon at a time to get the right ratios. Aquarium salt mixes usually are mixed by the gallon and it's just too hard to mix the tiny amount necessary for their water dish and get the ratio right. Or you can buy the stuff that's ocean water that's just been filtered. It comes in 5 gallon jugs from Catalina Water Company and is sold by Petco.
Be sure to check out the links for Caresheets, FAQs, and Shopping that are on >>>this side>>> of the screen.
You may know this already but thought I'd go ahead and mention it because it's so critical: Don't use table salt with your hermies, use marine aquarium salt mixed according to directions on the bag for their salt water. Table salt will kill them!
You may have to mix one gallon at a time to get the right ratios. Aquarium salt mixes usually are mixed by the gallon and it's just too hard to mix the tiny amount necessary for their water dish and get the ratio right. Or you can buy the stuff that's ocean water that's just been filtered. It comes in 5 gallon jugs from Catalina Water Company and is sold by Petco.
Be sure to check out the links for Caresheets, FAQs, and Shopping that are on >>>this side>>> of the screen.
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starmaiden
- Posts: 419
- Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:41 pm
- Location: Washington State
Oh and I forgot! Epicurian Hermit provides great recipies and a safe food list for your hermies if you want to make their food yourself. Its fun to try things and see what they like to eat! My crab's current favs are peanut butter, mango, banana, unsulfered molassis, shrimp and fresh coconut.
Link: Epicurian Hermit Food List
Link: Epicurian Hermit Food List
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Topic author
