HCA: Hermit Crab Association

What should I buy at PetSmart and what should I not buy? Any tips?

You might be better off looking for pet supplies on Amazon. I probably get 97% of my pet supplies on Amazon. The prices are usually cheaper and there's more to pick from (I have 2 dogs, 2 tanks of hermits, freshwater fish tank, and a Russian tortoise). Totally up to you tho.

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ok thx

at the store you can get your water dechlor and salt water mix and things to put in your tank
but it’s so much easier to buy online that’s what i do

Ok but is there ANYTHING to buy at petsmart?

I think crabs_lex was referring to Seachem Prime (a dechlorinator) and Instant Ocean (salt water mix). They can both be bought at PetSmart.

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Is it more than 12$ for both of the water conditioners put together? I don't want to waste money on something that isn't an emergency to get. Right now I have Thrive brand salt water conditioner and I use zephryhills bottled water for fresh water.

HermitCrabCHICA wrote:Is it more than 12$ for both of the water conditioners put together? I don't want to waste money on something that isn't an emergency to get. Right now I have Thrive brand salt water conditioner and I use zephryhills bottled water for fresh water.

Instant Ocean isn't a conditioner, it's a marine salt. You def will need it. Have you checked out the water care sheet? There's good info in there. The salt conditioner you have doesn't have all of the minerals crabs need like IO does. You mix 1/2 cup of this salt per gallon. I bought a 3lb box that lasted me over a year for under $10. Instead of using bottled water, which is more expensive, you're better off grabbing a bottle of Prime and treating your tap water with it. It is a dechlorinator, but also detoxifies heavy metals. I buy the larger bottle to use for my other critters, but you can buy a smaller bottle for under $10. And you only need 2-3 drops per gallon.

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HermitCrabCHICA wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 25, 2021 9:25 pm

Ok but is there ANYTHING to buy at petsmart?

For the first 3 years I kept crabs everything I bought was there so, yes, everything you need is there its just 3x as expensive as it needs to be. Just don't get anything marketed for hermit crabs.

Petsmart will price match certain stores, even online, so you may be able to shave a few bucks off that way. They price matched a Chewy cat food sale for me and I saved like $20 bucks. (Bottle babies couldn't wait for delivery.)

I've actually had much better prices at my local shops then at Amazon or online. It really pays to snoop around and price match. Everything I see on Amazon is 2x to 5x higher than it should be.

ok thx. I found some river shrimp and soaking salt for my crabby. BUBBLES LOVES THE CANNED RIVER SHRIMP! As soon as I give him some he races over!

You need Instant Ocean (or another marine salt), not soaking salt. Did you read the water care sheet?

ok