New Crab Owner In need of Advice

[hermitcrab24]

Altogether I have had three hermit crabs in two months. They were all Ecuadorians. Two passed away, one might still be with me. Her name is Starlite, and she has been buried for over a month and a half. I am going to petsmart to get purple pinchers, as soon as I know if Starlite makes it or not.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I haven't had much success with my hermit crabs, I am hoping that is because I had Ecuadorians, which I now know are hard to keep alive in captivity.

Any advice would be appreciated.

What do you think is going on with Starlite? Is she molting? She buried the day after I got her.

Bonnie

[CallaLily]

If you want to answer these questions, it will help us help you figure out what's going on. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=46102
I'm sorry for your losses and I hope we can figure this out.

[SaPen]

Yes, please tell us about your crabitat, food, etc. That's the only way we can know why you might be having issues. If everything checks out it could just be death from stress that occurred before he came to live with you, which isn't terribly uncommon in new crabs. Starlite could be molting or could be "destressing", which is basically hiding under ground to reduce it's stress level. Sometimes they can go down to destress and then after a while decide to molt.

[hermitcrab24]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
I use play sand, it is about 4 inches deep.
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
I have a heat and humidity gauge. they are in the back inside the tank, the humidity usually reads 80, and the temperature usually reads 75.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
yes, I have two side heaters, one 10-20 gallon and one 5 gallon.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
I use bottle fresh water from All Things Living. I use instant ocean salt with All Things Living fresh water dechlorinator.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I replace the food everyday, I feed organic apples, lettuce, cucumber, peaches, and a commercial food with powder calcium.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
over a month and a half. Ecuadorian

7. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon glass aquarium. mesh lid with a damp towel.


8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Right now, one medium sized, in the future, two, not sure on size.

9. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I have 5 extra shells in the tank, and more extra shells to switch out later.

10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Not that I know of, only vinegar to get rid of bugs

11. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I haven't been able to clean it because I have only been crabbing for 2 months, and have had many buried crabs.

12. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
Yes. Not at all so far, I squeeze them out everyday when I change the water.

13. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No

14. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? My hermit crab buried herself the day after I got her, but in the store she showed no signs of molting. I lost another Ecuadorian a few days ago. it was a horribly sad death, I hope to not go through it again with her.

[YYWW]

I think you'd need to describe the manner of the deaths in order to receive better advice. Could have been PPS.
Your substrate should be at least 6 inches, and preferably deeper for Ecuadorians as they're very active.
Please check or post the ingredients from the commercial food. Many/most commercial hermit crab foods contain harmful ingredients and should not be used.
Sponges need to be sterilized very often as they hold lots of bacteria. You should probably just toss and sterilize the water bowls/pools asap.


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[CallaLily]

Yes, please tell us what you can about the crabs that have passed. I agree with YYWW's advice and want to add that Es do much better in larger tanks as well. They are so active and dig a lot, imo a 10 gallon is too small. Es do best with temps 80-90F. The only other thing that stands out to me is diet. Is that just a sample of what you feed? Variety is key and adding more protein sources is important.

[hermitcrab24]

The commercial food I use is made by Jurassi Diet. I know these foods can be harmful, so I looked for one with few ingredients. I try to give it to them as little as possible, but sometimes I don't have time to prepare fresh food.

My first hermit crab, Peewee died in the middle of a surface molt, I only had her five days. My recent death with Buddy, was pretty bad. One day his shell was still on him but backwards, I thought he had lost him balance and fell over and had been tying to get up, so I flipped the shell. He kept trying to crawl out of the shell, so I put the rest of all the shells I had in his tank, thinking he did not like the ones that were already in there. He continued to crawl out of his shell, and he eventually fell out. He wiggled a little bit, but not a lot. He stayed like that for three weeks, not moving. Midway through the second week, his abdomen had a hole in it and started to droop. I watched him for 3 weeks, I finally asked someone about it, she said the smell might not have carried, so I took him out, and he was gone. It was very hard.

None of my hermit crabs have really been around long enough to eat, Buddy went in the food dish once, other than that my hermit crabs did not eat. Buddy threw some of the commercial food, but I don't think he ate it.

When I got them, I had no idea how different they were form PP's. I don't think I will get anymore Ecuadorians after the one I already have.

[CallaLily]

So neither had a successful molt with you and both were still pretty new? It really sounds like PPS.

Here's the thread on commercial foods which can help you in finding ones that are ok. viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92555. Of course, fresh is best but I know that's not always an option. Try to supplement with fresh as much as possible. You can also look into food mixes sold at THCP, Wodesorel's Garden, Alaska Hermit, and many other stores that sell safe dried foods made by crabbers. You can find links to some of those stores here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pa ... pping.html

Keep us updated on your E that's dug under and good luck with your future crabs. I also want to say, I think it's awesome that you're taking the time to triple check everything to give your crabs the best home you can.

[hermitcrab24]

Thank you so much. Turns out my food was on the unsafe list! I will look at the lists you gave me and try to find that to feed my crabs.

I will keep you updated every step of the way with my hermit crabs

[YYWW]

I think making your own mix is better than trying to find a safe one. I recommend making a large batch and freezing it, you will have all this food! One ziploc goes a very long way. You can use grains, nuts, hardboiled eggs, scrap meat and veggies from your kitchen, baby food, etc. There's a thread on food and recipe sharing that Has lots of pics and ideas to inspire you And if you make your own food you will always know what's in it!


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[CallaLily]

Yes, making your own is a great option. You could set aside time once a month or so to stock your freezer with daily servings. You could also do some of your own dried mixes.

But if that's not something you can or want to do, those online stores I mentioned have some great safe food mixes and prices are usually pretty good.

[hermitcrab24]

If I were to make my own frozen food, would I give it to them frozen or thaw it out?

[YYWW]

You can try both, but even frozen food becomes thawed, and then tank temperature, in a short time.
Going off what CallaLily said i also recommend patronizing one of those online stores, as well as making homemade. Sometimes there are foods that are good for crabs that you cannot prepare at home, or a nutrient for crabs that you need to supplement additionally.


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[hermitcrab24]

Are most foods on the crabbage patch pretty good? I thought the "Crabby Delights Meal Deal" looked pretty good.

[megmaholm]

Are most foods on the crabbage patch pretty good? I thought the "Crabby Delights Meal Deal" looked pretty good.

I have a ton of foods from them, and my crabs like everything. They really like the Meal Deal. Also, they sell a complete kibble by Colorado Critter Co that my crabs enjoy. It has a good variety and lasts forever.