Do new crabs have an adjustment period?

[Guest]

Hello,I am sorry to trouble anyone and not properly introduce myself but... I brought 3 small strawberry hermits home yesterday morning, after spending the 16th preparing their home. They did not eat or wonder around at all. Around 3:30am, I took them from their hiding places and while 2 ran back, the 3rd stayed put. I am worried sick about Bam Bam, Santa and Golden Gate. I ground hermie food into 2 dishes, papaya in another and peanutbutter mixed with dry breadcrumbs in a third. I also cut 2 red grapes and placed throughout the aquarium. They have salt water with sponge as well as chlorine free water with sponge. The substrate is a mixture of coconut bedding and calci-sand. Humidity has flutuates between 70% and 85%. Temperature is 82 at the warm end and 75 at the cool end. I can't tell you how scared I am that they may die or I did something to kill them. I haven't slept much last night because I kept checking on them. Please, if anyone has any ideas, share them with me. I don't know what to do. Thank you for your time.

[Crabby Abby]

Hi Dkamauf,Welcome to LHC and congrats on the Straws.New crabs do indeed have an adjustment period. Their first month to six weeks after purchase is what we call the ISO period, it's when they are stressed and adjusting and sometimes in a very fragile state. To get to us they've been harvested from their native beach, sorted, packed and shipped in all kinds of weather to all kinds of places and placed in stores tanks equipped to varying degrees but almost always void of proper humidity. Strawberry crabs are imported so their journey is that much more traumatizing.Despite the best care not all crabs will make it through the PPS period but we've learned ways to minimize the adjustment and help them come through it better.If the store environment was a dry one with no gauge or damp substrate to measure humidity they likely were well below range. Start low around 60/65 and slowly raise it 5% each week until you get it in the proper range. I believe it's 80/85 for Straws but someone else can confirm that. To thrust them straight into proper range when they've had none is thought to cause a much more difficult adjustment for them. Maintain a hands off policy for the entire ISO period going into the tank only for quick food and water changes. No handling, misting or bathing of them even if they seem happy and active. Also darken the tank with a towel to dim the light and encourage rest rather than activity. It's likely been a while since they've had a good meal and while not all will have an appetite some good first foods are high protein seafoods like krill, sun dried baby shrimp, spirulina, human grade shrimp, and raw or organic honey offered in a bottle cap for an energy boost.Despite their inclusion in commercial foods the ingredients copper sulfate or ethoxyquin are known to be harmful in the long run so best to avoid them. They do best with a natural diet that includes regular offerings of protein, fruit, veggies and calcium anyway. The Epicurean Hermit is our best source of info on safe foods, woods, plants and flowers (as well as unsafe/inedible lists) to feed as well as recipes for new crabs, molters, etc. Well worth a book mark. Unless it's an all natural PB or home made breadcrumbs it likely contains ingredients that they shouldn't be eat.Sponges can help with humidity but do make sure if you plan to use them that you steralize them regularly and that they don't take up so much of the water dish that they prevent the crabs from getting in to rinse or refill their shells or soak their exo if they need to. They're not recommended for use with the salt water dish though as they get slimy. If you have them in the dish to enable the crabs to climb in and out easier you can drape a piece of a plant into the dish.