Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

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alifigueroa
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:16 pm

Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by alifigueroa » Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:39 pm

Hi everyone,I'm a new member from the Philippines, and I've wanted hermit crabs and have been reading about how to take care of them, for many years. But I didn't want to plunge into the hobby unprepared. A few months ago, I started reading more and more about keeping crabs, and took the plunge yesterday. In the local pet center, rescued three Coenobita violascens which had been in a bare, bone-dry aquarium in a freshwater aquarium store. From another store, I rescued a large Coenobita brevimanus, which was in a pet carrier, which was half-filled with sand and seawater and had a bunch of corals. These are 'exotic' crabs, but in our country, they're very inexpensive, as they're native species, and common around the beaches.None of the local pet stores know how to take care of them. They're purchased mostly by children as disposable pets. I hear they're sometimes even sold on sidewalks by ambulant vendors, around the city. There used to be a lot of stores selling hermies in painted shells in malls, but those shops have disappeared, and I'm glad they never got very popular here.There's a small community of hermit crab enthusiasts, but it's not a common hobby here at all, so I'm eager to find out how to best take care of my new babies.I photographed two of them when I brought them home, but they're now in a 10 gallon tank, with about 4 inches of sand and coconut peat (half-half mix), a large piece of driftwood, two ceramic water dishes, and a plastic food dish. I fed them some cuttlebone, mangoes, carrots, and white rice. Didn't see them eat, but they messed up the food area, and the all food looks shredded.They were very active when they got here last, but have spent the day resting, the violas perched on the driftwood, and the brevimanus curled up in shallow hole he dug in a corner.The hard part is leaving them alone for a month, while they acclimatize. In the meantime, I'm already contemplating building a much larger crabitat.

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Marshmelo76
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:16 pm
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Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by Marshmelo76 » Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:57 am

Welcome! I'm glad you rescued these babies
55 gallon
9 crabs
PPs - Krabbie Patty, Sheldon, Hulk, Captain Jack Sparrow, Lilo, Hermie, Barbossa
Es - Krusty, Stitch
~Melody

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finalfantasyxii
Posts: 285
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2011 3:23 pm

Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by finalfantasyxii » Sun Aug 11, 2013 8:58 am

Welcome to LHC! Your crabs are beautiful.
Y'all can call me Sara
Certifiably Crab Crazy
http://s1051.photobucket.com/albums/s432/herder79/

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Crabber85
Posts: 1911
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:04 pm
Location: The Matrix, it has us all.

Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by Crabber85 » Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:44 am

Welcome to the forum and the family here at LHC on behalf of the staff.I really want to get my hands on some violas and brevies but since I live in the states they are not readily available and when they are they are expensive about thirty dollars per crab ouch I know but the price is worth it for such exotic hermits.lolAgain welcome to the forum and if you have any questions please feel free to ask as that is what we are here for.
Hi I have autism so I tend to answer questions very directly and with little emotion so please don't think I'm being rude.
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alifigueroa
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:16 pm

Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by alifigueroa » Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:42 pm

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. My crabs seem to be doing well. They're active, especially at night. I'm just a bit worried that their shells look tight, so I put some clean larger shells in the crabitat. None of them have changed shells so far.The large brevi has been digging in the corner of the substrate. Is this a pre-molting sign? I'm worried that my 4" substrate (50-50 sand and coconut peat) is way too shallow for a molt.

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jgfceit
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:39 am
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Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by jgfceit » Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:49 am

The amount of substrate depends on the size of your crabs. The height is usually twice the size of your biggest crab.Could be pre-molting, but probably just stress. Leave them alone for a month, and they'll be fine.
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alifigueroa
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:16 pm

Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by alifigueroa » Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:29 am

The tunneling brevi's up and about now, so I guess you're right, and it was just stress.


whofeih
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:07 pm

Re: Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by whofeih » Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:50 pm

Hi alifigueroa, where do you guy your crabs in the philippines?

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Orin
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Re: Hi! New here, and new to hermit crabs!

Post by Orin » Sun Oct 02, 2016 1:12 pm

I can't figure out how to post a new intro in this section? :crabbigsmile:

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