HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My isopods are thriving and I'm super happy about it!

You can't see the babies but they are cute little teeny doodlebugs

We have a 5 gallon tank that we received in an adoption and turned it into roly poly heaven!

Substrate is some sand, EE, moss, crushed eggshells and leaf litter. They have cholla and a couple of little hides. I sprinkled worm castings and Hermit Crab Addiction's "balanced basics" food mix, which incorporates leaves as well as protein sources. There are also some crushed crickets in the mix as well.

The temp in my apartment is never below 72, however, I will probably attach a heating pad in the winter or insulate it a little.

Moist, humid tat, spritzed daily or every other day as needed. Damp moss helps with the moisture level.

Congrats! I hope your pods are enjoying they're new heavenly home!

I've always had a hard time telling what they're eating with the exception of leaves and egg shells (I throw in half shells so it's easy to see). Can you tell if your pods are eating the crickets? I'd be interested in getting some for my crew if you think it's a hit.


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It is hard to tell! I can only tell by the holes in the leaves, lol. I just added crickets for the first time a couple of days ago but I will let you know!

soilentgringa wrote:It is hard to tell! I can only tell by the holes in the leaves, lol. I just added crickets for the first time a couple of days ago but I will let you know!

I know! I think back to when I would complain about not knowing if my crabs were eating or not... Now I can't believe I ever doubted my little fatties! Now if my pods could just be obvious like the crabs so I'd know their preferences! I can't wait to hear if your pods like the crickets!... Well if you can tell anyways haha.


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Oh man I wish I had a macro lens but we just got to watch one molting in my large tank! (55g)
It is so cool!

That is exciting! It's funny, I get just as excited when my pods do things like molt as I get when the crabs do it. When I was just getting started with the pods one molted in my hand!! I am unsure what the outcome was for the little guy since it's virtually impossible to keep up with individuals but it was an awesome experience!


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Ok so I broke down and brought dried crickets (and mealworms, grasshoppers, and red shrimp... How was I supposed to pass it all up? Lol). Did you put your crickets directly on the sub or did you put them in a dish?


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Oh hey! I meant to tell you Moonbeam, I put them in a little dish and I check the isopods like every other day, they are pretty chill to do their own thing. Those crickets were GONE in less than a week and there were like 5 polies in the dish pickin' crumbs. I sprinkle leaf litter throughout and Hermit Crab Addictions "balanced basics" mix. There is cuttlebone strewn through as well as earthworm castings. There have been many gravid polies and teeny little baby specks.

Been trying to think of what to feed my pods that wouldn't mold while we're out of town for four days. Totally forgot about crickets, I have a can of dried ones

soilentgringa wrote:Oh hey! I meant to tell you Moonbeam, I put them in a little dish and I check the isopods like every other day, they are pretty chill to do their own thing. Those crickets were GONE in less than a week and there were like 5 polies in the dish pickin' crumbs. I sprinkle leaf litter throughout and Hermit Crab Addictions "balanced basics" mix. There is cuttlebone strewn through as well as earthworm castings. There have been many gravid polies and teeny little baby specks.

Awesome! I will definitely be throwing some in tonight! I've got crushed egg shells, a couple of chunks of cuttle bone, earthworm castings, leaf litter, and wheatgrass seeds all over the place. I can't wait to add the crushed dried bugs and maybe some chunks just to see ohh and check out my wheatgrass growing! I have no idea if it benefits the pods at all other than maybe giving them more shelter/hiding spots?
Also, I have no idea what the tall thing growing is. My critter keeper is turning into a rolly polly jungle!


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Some pics from tonight. I can't see any in my crab tank, bet they were snacks or hiding in the cholla...

Soilentgringa, I tried out the dried bugs. I ground down a mixture of crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms. I put it on a little dish with this salad mix that came with a recent adoption.
They LOVE it! Within a few hours I checked on them and at least 30 isopods came crawling out of the dish! I didn't even know I had that many isopods left in the pod tank! I wish I knew where the salad greens came from but maybe someone will see the label and know. Either way I'd definitely recommend this meal for the pods. I've never seen them attack anything like this!


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Yes! We just took about 15 of them out and put in the main tank. I assumed the little guys in the main tank had been eaten but found some that were just a little bit bigger than baby size digging in the sub.

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moonbeam wrote:Soilentgringa, I tried out the dried bugs. I ground down a mixture of crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms. I put it on a little dish with this salad mix that came with a recent adoption.
They LOVE it! Within a few hours I checked on them and at least 30 isopods came crawling out of the dish! I didn't even know I had that many isopods left in the pod tank! I wish I knew where the salad greens came from but maybe someone will see the label and know. Either way I'd definitely recommend this meal for the pods. I've never seen them attack anything like this!


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They're from The Hermit Crab Patch, as far as I know. I may need to get some for when I finally get an isopod colony going.

soilentgringa wrote:Yes! We just took about 15 of them out and put in the main tank. I assumed the little guys in the main tank had been eaten but found some that were just a little bit bigger than baby size digging in the sub.

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That's awesome! I have yet to find any babies in the big tank. I'm surprised at how good they are at hiding. I thought my colony in the main tank was gone but then I rearranged and they all came crawling around out of nowhere! Now if they'd just breed...

megmaholm wrote: They're from The Hermit Crab Patch, as far as I know. I may need to get some for when I finally get an isopod colony going.

Thanks megmaholm! I knew someone would recognize the label. I can't speak for the crabs. They're pigs and eat everything but I assume they like the mix. The isopods? They can't seem to get enough!


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