HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello! I saw that a lot of people used cuttlebone in their tanks and thought it was a good idea, so I recently ordered one. It turns out, mine was fresh from the beach and still had what was called cuttlebone backing. Most people buy cuttlebone from a pet store with the backing already removed for b...

My crabs are medium-large. About a week after, the crab went down to actually molt and is still under the sand now. My other crab that dug down just resurfaced yesterday and is looking a lot bigger. I had a solid month of not seeing my crabs because they were both molting. Everything is looking good...

Hello! If you want to raise humidity, you can buy a lid off Etsy if you don't have one already. I bought mine from a place called ZenAquariumLids and it is amazing. It is cheaper than others at around 25 bucks or more depending on your tank size. If you already have a lid, just use a spray bottle to...

Hello, today when I woke up I saw that BOTH of my crabs decided to molt. However, one of my crabs is already out of his burrow and done molting by around 11AM. He wasn't just testing the burrow either like I have seen my crabs do before, because he was fully submerged and he covered his hole back up...

Ok! Thank you! I think around 6-7in of substrate will work in the new tank because that is around 3 times their shell size. I just found a post on the HCA that shows how to add the mesh to the hamster wheel and can’t wait to make it! I have seen so many videos and pictures of crabs on hamster wheels...

Hello! I am about to upgrade the tank my 2 PPs are in and I am wondering what toys to add since I will have so much more space. Some of the toys I have currently are a giant fake plant they love to climb, a big piece of driftwood, sticks of cholla wood, and a DIY coconut that I cut in half and made ...

Ok! Thanks!

I have had it in there and my crabs love climbing upside down on the mesh lid. It is fun to watch!

Food is hard for hermit crabs because most commercial diets do not meet their needs. Making a mix of food is great. Make sure they have a source of calcium, protein, fruit/vegetable, and grain. This is a great list of safe foods for crabs. https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=...

I have 2 PPs. The shells in their tank are an argystroma turbo, a banded argystroma turbo, a banded petholatus turbo, a pink murex, an apple murex, and a Babylonia. I also have some shells that are the same size they are in. They are in 0.75in opening shells and the shells in my tank are 0.9in to 1....

Hello! My crab has been changing shells a ton lately and I don’t know why. I have seen him change into 4 different shells. Every time, he is in it for an hour, then just switches back. I have all my shells on my 2nd level and my crab would throw the shells back onto the main level. I don’t know if m...

Hello! I am about to install a heater and I just realized, where should I put my crabs while it happens. I do not know how much the heater will raise the temp, so I want to adjust the thermostat so it works well and I can leave it alone. I think I might take my crabs out of the tank just in case som...

It might have been because of the temp. I read Hermit crabs can lose legs due to stress because of low temperature. Your crabs could have been fighting too. Is another crab wearing the shell of the dead one? All of my crabs are the same size so they don’t fight. They established a hierarchy and leav...

This is a great list for shells that PPs like. https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... hp?t=48249
Maybe try soaking shells in saltwater. Try murex and pica shells. My crabs were in those when I first got them. Maybe tape the lid shut to prevent escaping.

I am about to order a heater from the bean farm (the 10 gal heater is finally back in stock) and I have a few questions about the setup. I currently have the tank on a wooden dresser. Would that catch fire with a heater on the back of the tank? I also have a big piece of Mopani wood in the back of t...