Never thought we'd have a crab....

[Sassypants]

Hi all. More crabby newbies here. We were somewhat thrown into the intriguing world of crab care and guardianship. It's a rather long story, but basically what happened was a friend's son "won" two hermies at a fair. They were in the completely wrong conditions (KK, on gravel, etc.), and they weren't being cared for properly. While babysitting our friend's pets while they were away, we discovered that the smaller of the two hermies had died. We just couldn't bear to let the larger one face the same fate, so we "crabnapped" it (with our friend's blessing). We researched all aspects of correct hermit crab care, found a tank on Craigslist, and went to work.

That was back in mid-November. These days, Crabcakes is enjoying his very own 29 gallon tropical bachelor pad, complete with moss pit, hides, pools, second levels, lots of shells, good food and nice deep substrate. He happily trashes the tat on a nightly basis. He is gentle and inquisitive on the rare occasions we handle him, and he has never pinched. We can see why people become hermie aficionados, and we're already planning on upgrading to a 55.

We'd like to get Crabcakes some friends eventually, but I'm wondering if we should wait until a) he goes through a molt, and b) it's no longer winter here in the midwest. He's hasn't molted in the two months we've had him, and he looks a little ragged. He's been digging a lot lately, but hasn't gone down yet. Here's hoping that all goes well when he does. He's about golf ball sized, so he's done it successfully before.

Anyway, just wanted to say "Thanks!" for this forum. We got loads of wonderful information on crab care from this site. Crabcakes has you to thank for his little piece of crabby paradise.

[megmaholm]

Welcome!!

As far as getting Crabcakes a new friend, it's up to you. No need to wait until he molts, BUT winter shipping is hard on crabs so if you get one from a pet store, I think there may be a higher risk of health problems. You could always look on Craigslist and see if there are any up for adoption, or post a wanted ad. You can also check out the adoption section here (http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... m.php?f=13) and post your info in your state's thread.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! We're all here to help

[aussieJJDude]

Welcome to HCA! I really hope you like it here..
Megmaholm pretty much summed up what i was going to say, it's your choice. Just do what you feel is right.

(BTW, we would love to see some pics of your tank and crabs!)

[Crabinski]

That's how it starts you know, Sassypants: you rescue a crab or someone who knows less than you about crabs gives you one and it's off to the races! Hermit crabs are like potato chips...you can't have just one. As soon as you add that second crab, you're a goner. You'll want larger tanks, drool over the decor in others' crabitats, start to think of adding exotics -- it goes on and on and on. The upside is all we crabbers are afflicted with the same addiction and we're deliriously happy about it ! Welcome to CrabMania bwahaha !!

[hermieluv1]

Welcome! And yep, everyone is right! You will be hooked!

I recently adopted 8, and in below freezing weather. I put warmed moss in a medium kritter keeper, put that in another plastic container, piled hot moist towels around the keeper, and put a warm moist towel over it. All arrived in good condition.

[singlemomwithcrab]

Cute avatar Sassypants