Escaped Hermit Info. Gathered from other Posts.

[Guest]

I JUST lost my hermet, little dude. I checked everywhere, the sight helped a lot. I checked under the chairs, because it is dark. I did not see him under there, and then I was struck with an idea. I got a flashlight, and checked under the chair. and there he was, thowing a party.

[ErikRasmussen]

I may or may not have lost a crab last night. I have placed the water dishes out with towels and some little things of honey. I am about to go searching and have turned on the furnace hoping the heat would attract him, since it is about to get cold. (i made sure he wasnt in there first). I am concerned about the rat that has been living in my kitchen, he has been outsmarting me and all my traps, i just hope that if my crab did escape that the rat wont go for him. But then again my crab might not have escaped at all, but i am nervous about it. Thanks for all the help guys!

[KellyCrabbieLove]

When I lost my first 2 crabs I sat in the dark in the last place he was and waited. My husband and I waited and watched. Suddenly there was a moving dot on the floor. I still have him today. the kk I had brought him home in 2 nights before got knocked off my dresser (cats I think) while I was out getting supplies for a tank, along with a few friends. The next day I couldn't find him again and went digging not knowing better. He is an E and wildly resilient and doesn't show signs of stress despite what I do to him. He ended up being named Houdini for his disappearing act.

Try waiting in the dark with like a TV on. Worked for us.

[ErikRasmussen]

I shall, do they get attracted to the light of the tv? or is that just to keep me awake? lol

i also put honey in the tank to see if he was digging but i really dont think he was because i actually did something i had never done before, i actually took everything out and dug around, (i didnt have any molting crabs and if he did dig down it would have been his first night plus he jsut got up from a motl) and i swear i dug up every inch of that tank and couldnt find him so i either missed him or he escaped.

[KellyCrabbieLove]

The glow from the TV makes it so you can see him if he crawls across the floor.

[KellyCrabbieLove]

How did he get out?

[Crabinski]

Have you found him yet?

[ErikRasmussen]

Its all here.

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 7&t=101591

[rothers27]

I got my first hermit crab on a whim at the beach. We brought him home and had a make-shift home for him initially. I actually had planned on just using the little carrier thing they give you but I soon realized after some research that I needed a tank and some serious supplies to keep him alive. So my husband and I put him in a bit cardboard box with sand and taped the flaps up, so it was maybe 2 feet tall. never ever thought he would escape. He did! Somehow he scaled that cardboard and climbed out. The next day we spent hours looking for him. We tore the place apart. We had the couches on their sides and looked inside the boxsprings. Everything. I was so upset that he was missing and I knew that if we didn't find him he would die wherever he was.

The only place that there was left was the stove (we had totally moved the refrigerator and tipped it and everything). I was putting off the stove because it's kind of gross and greasy and it's just one of those things I don't like to touch.

We ended up pulling it out (and ripped the flooring in the process). My husband then gave up and went to the bathroom. I put my head on the stovetop and I heard this banging and clanking sound coming from inside the stove. I screamed at my husband who thought I was nuts. Long story short, we finally located him on the bottom of the stove, on the inside, in this very narrow "tunnel" that I don't know what is for. It was SO hard to get him out too, but he would have never got out on his own. Plus it was so dark in there.

To this day, Blazer LOVES to be buried. He is always buried. He has spent almost the entire 3 months I've had him buried. Surprisingly, he surface molted though yesterday.

He escaped one other time and I found him inside a very high wicker basket. Somehow he scaled that thing. I put wicker in the tank though and he's not interested, he only climbs if he can't be buried and he only climbs to find somewhere to bury himself.

[marandashermies]

I have had a few escape, but caught them in the act and just waited until they let go so I could put them back in. However, I did have one escape and I had no idea. I came home from work and was doing water/food changes in the tank. I went to the kitchen to grab the new food, walked back into my bedroom and low and behold, there was a cute little crab sitting there staring back at me. I screamed. I wasn't expecting to see anything, especially one of my hermies on the floor!!!

My thought process was, he got out during the night or during the day. He stayed in my bedroom under the bed, and when he heard me messing with the tank, he decided to come out from under the bed, so I could put him back in his warm, humid, food filled home! I am still paranoid and check under my bed and always watch where I walk. I also agree with the cat thing. Whenever my cats are going crazy or dash under my bed, I check to make sure they are not going after a crab. I think they would be the first to find them, so follow the cat or cats! look under dark spaces and loudly mess around with the tank. They are smart, I believe they associate me opening the tank with new food and come a runnin'!

[crabby1]

Maybe I should of continued the story where I started but of course that would make too much sense. Well I am moving literary next door so I didn't throw in too much substrate considering I couldn't carry a lot and wouldn't want to remove and sand or EE. So I bought four very,very tiny hermit crabs and not thinking clearly placed them in my large tank with my original 6. I have always quarantined new ones for at least 2weeks, even ones that came from the same petstore( you know 2in 1 box and 2 in another 5 gallon with everything the needed). Well when I put the 4 new tiny one's in ,but then a day later one of then wouldn't move from one spot much every day it just got the worst part is it look like her exo was hanging out of her shell with out her two large claws with she/he had her little legs outside her shell (the head must of been tucked in her shell). First thing I thought was another one of my crabs got apart of her, I mean thank God i have yet to have any attacks or bodily harm or even aggression of any sort. I have the tendency to go on, and on I'm sorry, it's a habit I will break.ok ill wrap this up. I picked up the seemingly dead claw less crab and there was no smell my b/f insisted that she couldn't be a victim of canabolism and that it was her exoskeleton which would have it's own dangerous set of side effects.I put a two liter bottle to protect her from the others when she stopped moving. And was upside down. Well I put an extra shell to crawl into if need be (my b/f said she's inside her shell molted and munching on her exo, this assumption he said was because of her two missing claws). So I put the extra shell and an egg filled with diluted organic honey. Well it started growing mold under the two liter bottle so my b/f and I took the thin layer of moldy EE, only to our amazement a whole intact rubbery claws and al I finely dusted her with EE. I put her original shell with the legs,another shell the same size and a egg shell with a little dechloronated water. Well about 5 days later a few fruit flies showed up,I clean up their fresh food every morning and besides they were concentrated in the two liter,everyone claims its the egg because there was albium in it or possibly leftover honey I didn't totally get out. While cleaning out the egg I saw a claw peaking through one I can tell is dropped. I feel so bad for the baby hermit. When are we going to able to get vets for these little, guys. Is there anything else I can do? Or are fruit flies attracted to dead animals? I believed it to be only old fruit and vegetables and they didn't even have to be old.or are they attracted to the crab? Thank God its not summer!!!!! I just would like to see how any of you would handle this? There is still absolutely no odor. I feel so helpless!!!!!!!

[hayhay528]

our E. Rick was found in front of our stereo rocking out in plain sight after spending 8 hours out of the tank while we were at work. we have a small house but he was on the opposite side from his tank. we also have 2 cats and 2 dogs..... i was so thankful nothing happened to him.
we had been using a piece of weighted cardboard as a topper while our plexiglass lid was being made. i still couldnt figure out how he got out because our tank is super tall..... he climbed the bubbler tube that leads into his s.w. pool!! and he does this almost every day now, often falling into the water, or getting his claws between the plexiglass and tank and climbing the rim of the tank, and then when i have to open the tank to change food, i have to wait for him to have his time on the rim before he will let me put him back in and close back up... haha he is so stubborn



this is him on one of his tank walks, lol.
p.s. i hate his colored shell. out of our 6, we started with 4 painted shells and 2 natural. we have 2, the 2 biggest, who still remain in their painted shells. this one is our E. so im assuming he will be the last to switch

[piratetoothgir]

I’ve lost many of my crabs, and they’ve all escaped at least once.
One of my E’s made it downstairs, and into my mom’s bathroom.

My PP made it to the treadmill in the room the crabitat was in, guess he wanted a jog. Other crabs I’ve had get loose just made it onto the floor, and I heard them escape.

[AwesomeHermit]

My little E might have escaped, might have not. I feel like he did though. What should I do? I am looking around and such

[aussieJJDude]

My little E might have escaped, might have not. I feel like he did though. What should I do? I am looking around and such

I would suggest leaving a small shallow bowl of water - they usually seek out humid places - inside a larger bowl that he can get into, but not out. Another good idea is to entice him with something smelly, like shrimp or his favourite food.

Check under furniture and appliances, as well as looking up curtains and such
Common areas seem to be bathrooms....

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