New to Crabbies!

OwnedbyCrabbies · Post by **OwnedbyCrabbies** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:03 am

Hello everyone! I am so glad that I found a forum to join and learn more on how to keep my crabbies happy and healthy! We recently vacationed at Chincoteague Island, VA and my 6 year old son was interested in owning a hermit crab. Well, we purchased two crabbies so that we wouldn't have a lonely little one. We purchased them on the day that we were heading home so they didn't have to sit in their little carrier for days on end. We brought them home and went out the next day (we got home after pet stores were closed) to get an aquarium and all of the crabbie goodies. Although our new family members are in painted shells, they have a shell store of natural shells when they feel the need to change shells. Our crabbies are PP and we have Crabby (red shell) and Shy Guy (blue shell) It seems as though Crabby likes me and will always come out of his shell to enjoy climbing my arms and across my hands, and Shy Guy will do the same for my son. But not the other way around. They are just so much fun to watch when they are super active at night and even during their walks in the daytime. They are just so cool!I look forward to learning as much as I can to keep my crabbies happy and we intend on expanding our community to house many members!

OwnedbyCrabbies · Post by **OwnedbyCrabbies** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:23 am

I forgot to post pictures! Sheesh! What kind of new post would that be without some crabbies!! Shy Guy Crabbie

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:27 am

Hello and welcome to the forums here at LHC.com on behalf of the staff.If you have any questions please feel free to ask as that is what were are here for. Your pictures aren't showing for me unfortunately.Newly purchased hermitcrabs should be isolated meaning left alone for a minimum of four weeks to give them time to de-stress and molt if need be as they have likely had to put of molting for several weeks and if they go too long the molt inhibiting hormone will build up to toxic levels either throwing the crab into a surface molt or just outright killing it so as hard as this is going to be you and your son are going to have to go completely hands off for the next month the only thing you can do is change out the food and water.What size enclosure do you have?What are you using for substrate?What is the substrate depth?What are you using for your heat source?What kinds of foods are you offering?Are you offering both dechlorinated fresh and salt water(aquarium salts should only be used)? If you could answer these questions for us it would help us to better help you in case you have an emergency and to help you get your setup going properly if you haven't already.Again welcome to the forums here at LHC.com

OwnedbyCrabbies · Post by **OwnedbyCrabbies** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:12 am

quote:Originally posted by Crabber85:Hello and welcome to the forums here at LHC.com on behalf of the staff.If you have any questions please feel free to ask as that is what were are here for. Thank you so much for the welcome!Your pictures aren't showing for me unfortunately.Oh, this is upsetting. I guess I will have to find a better way than using google to get a URL on my pictures Newly purchased hermitcrabs should be isolated meaning left alone for a minimum of four weeks to give them time to de-stress and molt if need be as they have likely had to put of molting for several weeks and if they go too long the molt inhibiting hormone will build up to toxic levels either throwing the crab into a surface molt or just outright killing it so as hard as this is going to be you and your son are going to have to go completely hands off for the next month the only thing you can do is change out the food and water.Thank you so much for letting me know this! I didn't know this at all and no matter how much research I am doing, I never came across an isolation from handling. Thank you for pointing this out! We will refrain from handling and just sit back and watch their antics for about a month or so. What size enclosure do you have?I have a 10 gallon aquariumWhat are you using for substrate?We are using a mix of sand and coconut fiberWhat is the substrate depth?Approximately 4 inches deepWhat are you using for your heat source?We currently don't have a heat source. There is a light in the aquarium lid that is very, very dim. My house is currently 77degrees, so I didn't realize I would need heat right now? I do plan on purchasing a heater to place under the aquarium in cooler months.What kinds of foods are you offering?We are offering the FMR hermit crab food as well as fresh fruits, veggies and some spring mix lettuce at this point. We have only had them since Saturday Are you offering both dechlorinated fresh and salt water(aquarium salts should only be used)?Yes! I did some serious reading on everything during my ride home (Hubby was driving) and I did read that they needed the salt water for bathing and the fresh water for drinking. I have dechlorinated water in a hermit crab dish with a sponge, the salt water was made using dechlorinated water mixed with the salt water mix from the pet store in the hermit crab section. (I cannot recall what it was called right now but you add 1tsp to 16fl oz.) If you could answer these questions for us it would help us to better help you in case you have an emergency and to help you get your setup going properly if you haven't already.If any help can be given or any ideas on how to make my crabbie home a better and happier place, please do share many experiences or opinions! I want to keep these guys as happy and healthy for years to come! Again welcome to the forums here at LHC.com

Miko · Post by **Miko** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:28 am

welcome i am in the same boat as you right now as i have only had my lil guys about a month -2 months, you can look in my link in my siggy, im down to 2 out of the 3, im replacing all painted shells when i get paied, and im going tonight to get some good sand, i have 2-3in, and every one here is saying we will need about 6in so they can dig, also when you get the heater you will want to side or back mount it DO NOT put it on the bottem as this can make it to hot for when they molt...... but i sounds like you off to a better start then i am!! good luck with them and i know its going to be hard to stay hands off my 5yo daughter wants to play with them all the time

OwnedbyCrabbies · Post by **OwnedbyCrabbies** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:33 am

quote:Originally posted by Miko:welcome i am in the same boat as you right now as i have only had my lil guys about a month -2 months, you can look in my link in my siggy, im down to 2 out of the 3, im replacing all painted shells when i get paied, and im going tonight to get some good sand, i have 2-3in, and every one here is saying we will need about 6in so they can dig, also when you get the heater you will want to side or back mount it DO NOT put it on the bottem as this can make it to hot for when they molt...... but i sounds like you off to a better start then i am!! good luck with them and i know its going to be hard to stay hands off my 5yo daughter wants to play with them all the time I read about all of the bad things with the painted shells, so we went out and purchased a whole bunch of natural shells and have a pile of them for the crabbies to choose from. With a youngster, it is certainly hard to keep them hands off. Especially since the crabbies are just so cool and fun! We have the two crabbies and are hoping to increase this to four soon. We want to make sure that everyone is happy with a community and that everyone has a friend. Thank you for the advice on the heater. I will look for one of those. As for the substrate, I will have to actually measure how much I have. It certainly looks like a whole lot of room for a crabbie to dig if it so chose to do so.

Miko · Post by **Miko** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:38 am

yep np when you get you new one (ther other will tell you the same) put then in a diff tank for about 4 weeks just to make sure there not sick and to let the destress be4 putting the in with the other 2, i made that mistake and one died on me after only having it for 4 days..Crabber85 knows alot and has helped me out alot as well as every one else on here.

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:14 am

Your substrate needs to be 2.5 times deeper than the height of your biggest crab - at least that's what I've heard. They need to dig really deep to molt!Here is some info about how many crabs can be in different sized aquariums (stolen from JMT on HCA):JMT's Crabs Per Gallon: wrote:5g: teenies only.10g: 2 large OR 4 medium OR 6 small OR 8 teenie20g: 3 large OR 6 medium OR 9 small OR 12 teenie30g: 4 large OR 8 medium or 12 small OR 16 teenie40g: 5 large OR 10 medium OR 15 small OR 20 teenie55g: 2 jumbo OR 6 large OR 12 medium OR 18 small OR 24 teenie75g: 3 jumbo OR 8 large OR 16 medium OR 24 small OR 32 teenie92g: 4 jumbo OR 10 large OR 20 medium OR 30 small OR 40 teenieInfo on what to feed them:http://landhermitcrabs.com/eve...510198 ... 7Substrate depth:http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com...-Substrate-a/133.htmhttp://landhermitcrabs.com/eve...5101988/m/1201086752

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:14 am

Oh and welcome!! I love this forum. And my crabs do too, because it helps make their life better!

OwnedbyCrabbies · Post by **OwnedbyCrabbies** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 11:28 am

Thank you for the advice on how many will fit into each type of aquarium. That will certainly come in handy!