HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was "gifted" a crab who originally came from a brutal pet store setup and subsequently ate the only crab he was placed with in his former home. I named him Hannibal (the cannibal) and hoped that a molt and tons of good protein and calcium would turn him around. He has molted now, and eaten voracio...

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:When you say indy do you mean Indiana or is it some other lingo?

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I meant "independent," as opposed to the big chain stores. (I updated my post to reflect that.)

I had a molter (Chirpy) down for 19 days and on Halloween, just as the trick-or-treaters started to arrive, I saw a mound of earth behind my wood focal point start to roil. Slowly, slowly a long red leg with a pointy black nail emerged, then another and another. The legs reached forward for purchase...

Just be careful with jute. I bought some at a craft store to make a net and when I removed the plastic, it smelled awful! Like gasoline or oil. I think it had been treated with something petroleum based. I aired it out for weeks, but it's still awful, so I didn't use it. I found some other jute that...

I was having continuous temp issues until I bought some foam EPS insulation from Home Depot (about $7 for six sheets 48" x 14 1/2" at 3/4" thick). I wrapped them in thermal duct tape and covered the back and sides of the tat. It's made all the difference. I have an Ultratherm UTH (better than the Zo...

From the picture it does look like the natural green color of the shells...mine look like that. What is your substrate and humidity percentage? The inside of the shells is your biggest concern. Are the insides clean and smooth?

Thanks for responding. It's so valuable to get input from crabbers all over and talk about crab behavior.

I grew up in the south but moved to western New York 15 years ago. I still miss the high temps and humidity. (Crazy, I know.)

My theory on this involves the rainy season vs. the dry season. Hurricane season ends in October and the Caribbean gets much drier. The risk of flooded sand from storms goes way down so being below the surface to molt after October is safer and more comfortable. Similarly, during the rainy season th...