Think 1 is molting and not sure what to do with other 2

[Tmyoung80]

New crab owner. My brother bought my son 2 hermit crabs Back in June or July. It was 1 small one and 1 a little bigger. I knew nothing about them. He got them on the boardwalk so before summer was over I went to get a bigger cage and got talked into getting another crab. I got one the size of the bigger one and got a few shells and food to last through the winter. I finally started doing some research and realized I had to get them out of the wire cage they came in. (The bigger cage I got was wire as well with gravel). I got a 10 gallon tank with hermit crab beach sand from petsmart. I also got a heat mat on the side, 2 huts, saltwater bowl, fresh water bowl, a couple different kinds of food. I put a few shells in for the bigger ones because the look like they are both 2 big for their shells. The 1st night in the new tank the one was definitely checking out one of the new shells and that same one buried himself just a little bit. The smaller one buried a little bit right next to him. The other bigger one stayed under the other hut by himself not buried at all. I thought they would just change shells and that was it. Then I started reading about molting. And 2 days after putting them in the tank I put more shells in of all sizes. the one that was checking out shells the 1st day started checking out smaller shells then went back into hut. At 1am I saw shells moved around and him eating. 4:30 am I didn’t see him. Then saw he flipped over a bigger shell and was burying himself all the way under the sand between the shell he flipped and another one. I figured he was molting and let him be. About 9 am I noticed the smaller crab on top of the mound he was under starting to dig. So I moved him and began getting the wire cage together and moved the other 2 crabs in there back with gravel. Again this is my 1st time owning hermit crabs. Now I am nervous because I read they could molt together and I also read they could eat each other. I know I can’t keep them in the wire cage so I will be getting another tank tomorrow to set them up in the meantime I guess. Can I put them back in the 10 gallon with the other one or should I stick to my plan and get another tank. Can they molt together? Do they eat each other? Do you isolate them when molting? Do they molt in their shell? Do they come out after molting? How long is a molt? Any helpful information would really be helpful. What if the small one was trying to molt with it, will it be ok until I get another tank tomorrow? Help I don’t want to mess this up for them also don’t want to make it more stressful for them. Sorry for long post and thanks in advance.

[curlysister]

Hello and welcome to the site and to crabbing!
If you haven't already checked out our care sheets, start with the 'basics' one, then go from there. The Basics outlines everything you need for a basic tank - the one pictured on the page is a 10 gallon.

viewtopic.php?f=120&t=119273

Here is our 'molting' care sheet - it tells you everything you need to know about molting.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=92527

The reason that we use deep substrate (at least 2-3 times as deep as your largest crab) is so they don't come across each other when digging underground. That's also why we don't over crowd our tanks. Crabs can absolutely stay in the main tank to molt, no need to isolate anyone. Here's the guide to how many crabs of what size can be kept in what size of tank.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92541

I hope that this and the care sheets help! Feel free to keep asking questions!

[HermitGuy3]

Yes to what CurlySister said. Do you have flukers substrate or calcium sand? If you have calcium sand you need to remove it immediately. You can dig up the crab and put him on ISO. Please look at the basics care sheet as soon as possible.

[Tmyoung80]

I used Fluker’s all natural premium hermit crab sand substrate, sand mixture with coconut fiber. Is that ok? I have about 2-3 inches. I now know I need more but I should wait until the one is done molting, right? Should I put the other 2 back in the tank or just set up another tank for those 2 for now. I didn’t know about boiling the shells or dipping them in water before putting them in the tank. I am assuming I should just start over but what do I do with the one under that is molting? I everything I have read says do not touch them while molting. Saw a starter tank/kit last time I went to the store to get shells and climbing things for them. Should I set that up and boil the shells and dip them in fresh water before I put them in the new tank? I wish I knew what I know now 2 days ago. Or could I build up the substrate in the main tank (all but where the molting one is) then dip them in water and put them back in the main tank? I put the 2 in the wire cage last night and put saran wrap around it. I really want to figure out what to do so I can get them out of there and in a tank. How much water do you dip them in? Fully submerge them? The little one digging on top of where the molting crab is, is that something to be concerned about or is that normal? So sorry for all the questions but at 1st when we were gifted them I was just feeding them and giving them fresh water trying to keep them alive. But after a while I really started to take an interest in them and started to do research on them and try to get all the right stuff to make them happy and their tank livable for them.


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[JoeHermits]

Fluker’s substrate is fine. If you’re on a budget playsand and coconut fiber are a better deal if you need a large amount of substrate

To add more you can gently pour it in, however you need to be careful not to pack it down or you risk collapsing burrows

I wouldn’t bother dipping the crabs at this point unless they’re not getting along. I do okay with just getting they’re legs wet but some people fully submerge them in dechlorinated water

Boiling is the easiest way to clean shells, but if they’re already in I would leave them unless visibly dirty. Dipping shells in saltwater does make them more enticing, and to do that just fully submerge them in normal strength saltwater

Crabs also tend to burrow more horizontally than vertically, but if you only have a couple inches of substrate it might be good to grab that digger and encourage a different spot until your substrate is at least triple their height


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[HermitGuy3]

I would say that you should boil the shells anyways, because it mostly to kill unseen parasites. Don't get the starter tank from the petstore. You say you got shells from the petstore? Usually the shells there are not appropriate and will probably incite shell jacking. You should get some Mexican turbos for them, or petholatus turbos if there shell opening is bigger than 1.3 inches. I recommend Nessastores for mexican turbos and TheShellStore for petholatus. Also, you should get as big a tank you can afford, you can find really cheap ones on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist.

[curlysister]

I would say that you should boil the shells anyways, because it mostly to kill unseen parasites. Don't get the starter tank from the petstore. You say you got shells from the petstore? Usually the shells there are not appropriate and will probably incite shell jacking. You should get some Mexican turbos for them, or petholatus turbos if there shell opening is bigger than 1.3 inches. I recommend Nessastores for mexican turbos and TheShellStore for petholatus. Also, you should get as big a tank you can afford, you can find really cheap ones on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist.

There really aren't any parasites that would be living in shells that would harm crabs.
There are for sure some pet stores that have appropriate shells.
Many people - myself included - start with a smaller tank and then upgrade. There are a number of reasons for doing that, like cost, space, interest, availability, etc. I had my crabs in a ten gallon for 2 or 3 years, then a 20 gallon for 2 or 3 years, then a 45 gallon for about 8 or so years, and now in a 65 gallon.

[Tmyoung80]

Thank you guys so much. I have learned so much in the last two days from here. Turns out it wasn’t a molt he was just under for 2 days. I did set up another tank yesterday for my other two. I will be fixing the main tank today. Putting more substrate in and adding the climbing stuff I got. I got a 2nd floor to add and I was thinking of putting the shells up there. Would that work? I also ordered Mexican turbo shells yesterday so hopefully that will help with changing shells. I also got another heat mat for the back of the tank. I got the temperature and humidity gauges. The humidity is low, what are good ways to get it up? I am hoping now that I know and got everything they need it will make them happy and they will changes shells and molt like I know they need to do. I will also be on the look out for a bigger tank because with everything they need I feel like this tank is way too small. I appreciate everyone helping me get started. The more I learn about the hermit crabs the more interested I get. I look forward to watching them grow. Will it take them time to get use to the new tank since they have been in the wire cage since they were given to me over the summer? They survived with no humidity and sometimes it was cold in the room they were in. They are troopers if they made it this far and deserve a good life.


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[HermitGuy3]

There really aren't any parasites that would be living in shells that would harm crabs.
There are for sure some pet stores that have appropriate shells.
Many people - myself included - start with a smaller tank and then upgrade. There are a number of reasons for doing that, like cost, space, interest, availability, etc. I had my crabs in a ten gallon for 2 or 3 years, then a 20 gallon for 2 or 3 years, then a 45 gallon for about 8 or so years, and now in a 65 gallon.

I thought boiling was to just get rid of bugs and germs that could invade your tank from the outside and potentially hurt your crabs?
There are definitely some stores, but most don't have shells that the crabs will wear once they get picky.
I did say as big as you can afford, because they entire islands to roam in the wild, so we should get as big of an enclosure as we can accommodate for them.

[HermitGuy3]

Yes, you can just put the shells in a basket for them to dig through and pick.
Are the gauges digital?
You can get bigger pools to up your humidity, put wet moss pits, make sure your tank is sealed, and put more substrate so you have to humidity less space.
You can try a method known as ppds to acclimate them. If they have been in proper conditions for a decent while I wouldn't do it though.
Here is how to do it.
https://youtu.be/-Heriyvv2mo?si=XyERy7-8rMXsYmse
The main thing is trying to give them proper nutrition before they molt so they have a better chance of surviving.

[curlysister]

Yes, you can just put the shells in a basket for them to dig through and pick.
Are the gauges digital?
You can get bigger pools to up your humidity, put wet moss pits, make sure your tank is sealed, and put more substrate so you have to humidity less space.
You can try a method known as ppds to acclimate them. If they have been in proper conditions for a decent while I wouldn't do it though.
Here is how to do it.
https://youtu.be/-Heriyvv2mo?si=XyERy7-8rMXsYmse
The main thing is trying to give them proper nutrition before they molt so they have a better chance of surviving.

There is no evidence to support PPDS over just putting crabs into a tank with good conditions, deep sub, and good nutrition. No one method has been shown to increase survival rates. Many long term crabbers feel it's better to put them right into a good tank, rather than prolong the time they are in less than ideal conditions.

[curlysister]

Thank you guys so much. I have learned so much in the last two days from here. Turns out it wasn’t a molt he was just under for 2 days. I did set up another tank yesterday for my other two. I will be fixing the main tank today. Putting more substrate in and adding the climbing stuff I got. I got a 2nd floor to add and I was thinking of putting the shells up there. Would that work? I also ordered Mexican turbo shells yesterday so hopefully that will help with changing shells. I also got another heat mat for the back of the tank. I got the temperature and humidity gauges. The humidity is low, what are good ways to get it up? I am hoping now that I know and got everything they need it will make them happy and they will changes shells and molt like I know they need to do. I will also be on the look out for a bigger tank because with everything they need I feel like this tank is way too small. I appreciate everyone helping me get started. The more I learn about the hermit crabs the more interested I get. I look forward to watching them grow. Will it take them time to get use to the new tank since they have been in the wire cage since they were given to me over the summer? They survived with no humidity and sometimes it was cold in the room they were in. They are troopers if they made it this far and deserve a good life.


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Sometimes crabs dig to de-stress, sometimes to molt, and sometimes just for fun, LOL.
When the temp increases, the humidity will go down. What are your temp and humidity readings? What do you have for a lid on your tank?
It does not take time to get used to being in good conditions - personally I think that the sooner they are in the good conditions the better!

[JoeHermits]

I thought boiling was to just get rid of bugs and germs that could invade your tank from the outside and potentially hurt your crabs?
There are definitely some stores, but most don't have shells that the crabs will wear once they get picky.
I did say as big as you can afford, because they entire islands to roam in the wild, so we should get as big of an enclosure as we can accommodate for them.

Bugs and germs aren’t normally classified as parasites, if that clears up any confusion. When we refer to parasites we usually refer to macroscopic animals such as lice, mites, or worms that will live on or in the hermit crab.


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