How can I get my crabbies to warm up to me?

[whatthemath]

I've only had them for two weeks or less. They're in a 20g long. The humidity is grand and the temperature is at an acceptable range, but I'm gonna buy a heat lamp to try and stablize the temp in the high seventies, as opposed to lower-mid 70s. One crab is buried and the other two tend to stay on top of the substrate under the moss pit. Generally at night I lift up the moss to check on them and then kinda wake them up and they crawl around the tank and such. Sometimes I see them hanging around the tank and eating and such. But I never see them around either water bowl. I have a few things for them to climb on and half the substrate is sand, but I never see them on the sand.

Just wondering if this is normal and how I can get them to be more active. And also how I can get them to warm up to me instead of hiding in their little shells when I reach down by them. Maybe they're still getting situated, I'm not sure how long it takes them to destress and get comfortable.

[patrickmichael]

how many do u have and how big?

[whatthemath]

I have three! ^^ All the same species, I believe. I plan on getting one or two more in a week or so. Two are around the same size... Maybe half dollar sized. Medium I guess. The buried one is a wee bit smaller.

Still not sure if they have established a pecking order. I've only reeaally seen two interact so far.

[patrickmichael]

yea i would get one or two more. u might want to try looking in your online local classifieds for "adoptions"

[aussieJJDude]

i found that mine were not active too. about a month later i wish the were not active, they are to noisy
gotta love the Aussies, total tank trashes and so loud!

[whatthemath]

So hopefully they will become more active with time! I just checked on them and one was out roaming around and I think the two bigger ones are interacting a bit now.

And I definitely want to try and adopt one this time. I went to petsmart last week and had the lady show me all the crabbies. Awful, awful conditions. They were piled on top of each other under crab huts. Maybeeee a ten gallon tank for like thirty crabs. One was even naked. I don't know if he was dead, but it was a terrible sight to see. There was a fly in there too. I felt so so bad for them.

[patrickmichael]

yea adoption has many benefits. The crabs i've adopted have been very healthy. i read that 6 hermit crabs is the min. for a healthy crab society. but i dont think u r ready for 6 so they r better off if u take your time . i have 8 and i've had mine for about 8 months (i def have my hands full).

[whatthemath]

Yeah I would love to have more and more. Buuut I do realize that they will grow pretty big later on and I would rather not buy a tank bigger than 20g if I can avoid it. I'm not sure how big of a tank 4-6 crabs would need when they are full grown. haha

[kuza]

A 29 gallon has the same size around but an extra 6 inches of hight. If they multiple levels and lots of plant cover you'll see them climbing around more. Also don't have bright lights on behind you in the room cause you're like a giant to them so they do get skittish when they are new or after a molt.

If you want to be more hands on with them you can get a feeder spoon and treat to feed them at the hermit crab patch site.

[patrickmichael]

yea, you will realize eventually that they need a lot of space; we're talking about animals who are known to travel hundreds of miles.

[whatthemath]

Would you care to tell me more about this patch site, as I'm sitll new to a lot of this stuff? I've honestly never heard of that before, even after quite a bit of research.

[kuza]

We use a few sites for food and shells

Food and shells:
http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/Default.asp

Shells:
http://naplesseashellcompany.com/

[DragonsFly]

Yeah I would love to have more and more. Buuut I do realize that they will grow pretty big later on and I would rather not buy a tank bigger than 20g if I can avoid it. I'm not sure how big of a tank 4-6 crabs would need when they are full grown. haha

I was told that a 55 g would be the minimum recommended size to keep a jumbo in; but (thanks to the extreme generosity of Court here on the board--thank you thank YOU!) we now have a 55 for the rescue, and I'm sitting here looking at it and frankly, it seems tiny to keep animals that have natural drives to roam freely to scavenge (and therefore certainly are built to thrive on real travel for exercise and stimulation). Once I get the depth of substrate required in it, even tinier. If you plan to keep these crabs for their full captive live span (30-40 years), I think you will need to steel yourself for the eventual acquisition of a much larger than 20 gallon tank. On the other hand, lots of people stumble into hermit crabs for all kinds of different reasons, without the slightest clue that they can live to be 30 or 40 years old and grow to the size of baseballs, so if that long-term expense and commitment just turns out not to be for you, rest assured that there are people right here on the board who can provide your crabs excellent homes in the future.

As for the size of their society, although we can be fairly certain that a crab alone is lonely and therefore suffering stress, I don't think there has been any systematic research done at all to determine what number is best in captivity, and I'm certain that that number will depend a great deal upon the environment in which they are kept and the individual crabs in question (if you'd like some more info on this, I did graduate research on the effects of captivity on animals, and would be happy to share what I know about various types of animals in captivity, and speculate about how that likely applies to land hermit crabs). My instinct is to say that three is probably a good number to start with (certainly at least two), and may be a good number to continue on with, especially considering their longevity and eventual growth. I certainly would not recommend more than 6 to the average crab keeper. And I really, really beg you, if you do decide to get more, to NOT fuel the cruel and destructive wild animal trade by buying them, but to check online classifieds, and here on the board, for adoptions. You can also post your own "wanted" ad free on online classifieds and get adoptees that way. There is really no reason to buy when there are unwanted crabs out there desperate for better conditions than they are currently being kept in.

As for your original question of getting them to "warm up" to you, the fact is that these are wild animals taken from their natural home, and you are a giant scary predator to them. If you were being held captive by a giant intelligent T. Rex, would you feel all fine about being handled or stared at by him? Some people would eventually be okay with that, if over a great deal of time, the T. Rex never did injure or eat them--but some people would always be wary or downright terrified. The same applies to the crabs; some may eventually get used to interacting with you, and some will never want to have anything to do with you (and there's no way to know really which type a given crab is, other than time and observation). Associating yourself with treat foods may or may not help them to get "chummier" with you (again, depending on the crab). But the situation is further complicated by the fact that it is really more like being held captive by a giant predatory ALIEN than a T.Rex, an alien whose natural atmosphere is somewhat suffocating to you--so every time the alien takes you out of your enclosure, you are both scared AND uncomfortable. The bottom line is that crabs are better conceived of as a fascinating exhibit to watch than a sort of "pet" to play with or do a lot of interacting with. The fun consists of providing them with the best possible conditions, with a variety of healthy food, and with a stimulating environment, so that you can observe their behavior (as opposed to trying to so much control it).

Finally, your phraseology about getting them to "warm up" is probably apt, at least with respect to being more active. If you can get the temperature up to around 80 in the daytime (perhaps with a drop at night to 75 or so, some variation is good for them, but not much lower than 75), then you will probably find that they become more active in general. And, as somebody already said, if you provide them with a more stimulating environment, that will also encourage more and different kinds of activity. Be sure to watch the interaction between temperature and relative humidity; as temps go up, relative humidity will tend to drop, and vice versa, so aiming for a balance of between 75 and 85 on both measures (75-85 degrees Fahrenheit for temp, 75-85% relative humidity) is a good target. Also, bear in mind that humidity gauges are notoriously inaccurate; since this is an essential measure for the life of your crabs, you need to calibrate your gauge with the "moist salt in a bag" method; you can find directions for doing that here on the board.

Oh--and the Hermit Crab Patch is a great site for supplies. They have pre-made foods and supplements trusted as safe (many foods and treats sold for hermit crabs are actually dangerous for them), and other stuff like humidifiers, decor, etc. I've also had great experiences with Naples; I recommend them, too.

[patrickmichael]

there has been quite a bit of research done on crab behaviour(its publicly available look for it) and if u have had less than 6 and then now u have, oh say, 8; one might notice a change in crab hierarchy

[DragonsFly]

LOL; all okay; Patrick has no way of knowing that I have a Ph.D. and extensive knowledge of a range of animal behavior, particularly of captive wild animals, and have looked at what is available on hermit crabs but am still seeking some more systematic and better-documented knowledge. I don't see good, systematic, well-controlled research yet on the behavior of captive hermit crabs, but if Patrick (or anybody else) does know of some and would like to provide some references, I would be more than happy to look it over, too! Always seeking better information.