Cant keep hermit crabs alive?

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Wrensbird
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Cant keep hermit crabs alive?

Post by Wrensbird » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:59 pm

Hello! I kept hermit crabs as a kid, and I've always loved them. This year I've decided to get back into the hobby.

I rescued a hermit crab this January who was never given access to salt water or nearly enough humidity for 6 years. I brought him home, redid his enclosure and got him a friend. Unfortunately both died within 3 months in my care. I then got three new hermit crabs about 7 months ago, and two have died so far. I got a new hermit crab to make sure the last remaining crab wasn't lonely and that's where im at now. Ive lost 4 hermit crabs this year alone and I dont know what to do.

The crabitat is a 20 gallon long tank, with a mix of sand and coconut fiber and sphagnum moss in some areas. I keep their humidity above 75% and temperature during the day at least 76° Fahrenheit to about 82° under the heat lamp, and about 70° at night. They have cholla wood to climb on, and grass nets. They have 9 extra empty shells around the tank and always have access to salt water, fresh water, food, and supplements. I get my hermit crab food and supplements shipped to me from The Hermit Crab Patch, and give them a wide variety of food. I also cut up organic veggies for them.

With all of this, I can't keep them alive. I try everything I can to make the habitat ideal for them but they only live a few months at most. Additionally Ive had a mite problem that I took care of a few months ago, but they somehow came back. I love hermit crabs so much but the heartbreak of losing so many crabs this year has made me want to quit keeping them. Does anyone have suggestions on why this keeps happening? Or anything I could do differently?

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curlysister
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Re: Cant keep hermit crabs alive?

Post by curlysister » Tue Oct 13, 2020 11:16 pm

The fact that they passed away so soon after you got them, probably had a lot more to do with their previous conditions than yours. Unfortunately, many crabs just run out of energy and no matter how perfect our set ups are, they can't over come what they have been through.
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wodesorel
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Re: Cant keep hermit crabs alive?

Post by wodesorel » Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:54 am

When I've had weird losses in the past, I toss all the sub and moss and start fresh with a cleaned up tank. It's a hassle, but either something had been off in there or it reset the juju of the tank or something, and the deaths always stopped.

The mites usually aren't anything to worry about, they are unsightly, but they just want warmth and humidity. They won't hurt the crabs and will eat waste and food that is laying around. True predatory crab parasites are exceptionally rare and haven't been seen much in the US since exotics became scarce.
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