Habitat Questions

[jcousino]

My kids brought home two crabs from a Myrtle Beach gift shop last week. We have been reading up on care and have them in a 10 gallon tank. So far they seem very shy and generally hiding in their coconut huts. When approached they quickly retract to their shells. Not really seeing much activity or feeding yet. But then again since we are new not sure what to expect. So couple questions:

1. Habitat what am I missing? 10 gallon tank with a substrate of coconut fiber. 2 coconut hides, 3 larger shells, food & water dishes. More decorations, too much. Moss pits? Open to any and all ideas. Can email pics if you would like to see my setup.

2. Should I be heating the tank? As I am in Michigan the house tempo can very. The hottest we have been in about 73 degrees. I bought the Zilla Heat Mat Terrarium Small Heater, 10-20G 8 Watt but not installed yet. https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/shoppin ... 0-20G/5088

3. Currently feeding a pelleted food and fresh fruits and veggies. How much is to much food? Should crabs be eating every day?

4. How do you make crabs less shy?

5. Anything else you can think of that I am missing?

Appreciate all your suggestions and advise!

[crabby33]

A 10 Gallon tank will work but a lot of people mix in play sand because they find it holds the shape better. You’ll need about 6” of substrate. You will need three extra shells for the other crab. Not enough shells can lead to shell fights that can result in death.

Crabs LOVE moss pits! Yes, you should heat the tank but get an under tank heater. Not a heat lamp. Place your under tank heater on the back of the tank to heat the air, not the substrate. The consensus is that with hermit crabs, you want to move away from the reptile mindset.

You want to stop feeding pellets. They’re believed to be toxic and not recommended. A natural diet is preferred over store bought and it’s cheaper to feed them stuff from the store. Just make sure to wash any non organic produce. Also proteins are very important for the molt cycle and they should have access to it every day. Hermits are considered hands off, so excessive handling is not recommended and they should only be handled when necessary.


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[jcousino]

Thank you!

When feeding protein do you cook the meat as if you were eating it?

And for moss pits do you have s good setup or resource I could view?

[crabby33]

You can cook it. That’s what I prefer to do. I currently don’t have a moss pit in my tank for you to view but I would like to do that.


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[odelayheehoo]

Thank you!

When feeding protein do you cook the meat as if you were eating it?

And for moss pits do you have s good setup or resource I could view?

I don't cook any meat, the crabs like it better when raw, but cooking it is fine too. I like to keep my moss on the substrate, but it dries out faster and gets dirty too.

[curlysister]

Be sure to check out the 'care sheets' section. Lots of really good info there, info about food and water etc.
Your pools/ water dishes need to be deep enough that the crabs can fully submerge but also have a way that they can crawl out. Water needs to be treated with a dechlorinator like Prime. Then the salt needs to be mixed with the dechlor water to make the salt water - needs to be marine salt like Instant Ocean.
Check the 'shells' section for proper shells to buy. HCA recommends 3-5 extras per crab.
I cook the meat that I put in the tank, but that's personal preference.
You will need to get a thermometer / hygrometer so you know the temp and humidity inside the tank - this is very important, and will determine how much you need to heat it. I live in a house where the temp varies greatly, so I have four UTH's, one on each side and two on the back. I plug or unplug as needed to keep the temp where it should be. Crabs need higher humidity in order to breathe, too low will kill them. Digital thermometers/ hygrometers are generally considered more accurate.