New and needing answers!

[Mothbro]

Greetings to all!

I’ve had crabs in the past and they thrived and lived very comfortably for years.

Now I’ve got crabs (pun intended) again, my reading and research shows information has changed.

So I’m supplying some pictures, pointing out specifics and just generally wanting to know what I can do to correct anything in their crabitat to make sure the little scrunts live happily and thrive.

So in the (poor) picture provided (please ignore reflections, couldn’t be helped.)

- They’ve got the 5:1 sand and coco fibre substrate.
- 2 bowls deep enough for submerging of fresh water and salt.
- their food bowl is a mixture of store bought feeds I combine (dried fruits, freeze dried shrimp etc) also a cattle fish bone which they love to nibble.
- half a coconut shell, drift wood and a reptile hut for hiding. Along with some reptile “fake vine” which they love to climb.
- temperature and humidity according to the therm/hygrometer are constantly in the acceptable or over levels.

Now for the questions: My substrate seems to be dry on the surface levels? When I had the first batch of crabs I used 100% coco fibre and they loved it and it always stayed moist? Should the substrate be constantly damp/moist? Or do I just need to keep misting it to correct this?

The crabs: I got 3 lil cuties. They’re active very sporadically But for the most part barely move, despite their conditions (as far as I know) being just fine for them? My old crabs where out and about almost 24/7 Is it normal for them to be so inactive? I’m worried they’re unhappy.

Please read my post and give any and all information you have to help me make my crabbies live their best lives.

P.S How do I tell what size my tank is? I have no clue of its size, maybe they need a bigger tank to be more content? I don’t know.

Thank you everyone in advance!

Just realised I don’t know how to use forums and post the picture I took so... Help with that or please.

[crabs_lex]

for pictures you can download the tapatalk app and its pretty easy to figure out how to upload pictures from there

for food it is important to give them a very wide variety and hit all of their needs
here is a safe food list
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... 25&t=92557
here is a nutrition guide
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... 25&t=92554

your substrate should be around sandcastle consistency you can always give it a good spray and mix it around a bit but be extremely careful if you have crabs molting mine sometimes gets dry on the top but that's if so I usually just mist it well and mix the thin top layer

how deep is your sub?

your crabs might be moving more at night or where did you get your crabs from because the conditions they were originally in in the first place could have roughed them up a bit and might be in bad shape

what are your temps and humidity levels?

It might be a good idea to look around this site at topics posted and especially the care guides but if you have more specific questions feel free to ask

for tank size you can actually google an tank size calculator and you can measure your tank and put it in and it tells you the size

[JoeHermits]

Drying out on the surface is normal. Coconut fiber gets soggy pretty easily, which is why your previous substrate stayed moist.

As for activity, they may just be nervous in their new environment. Acclimating takes time, but having hiding places and cover can help.


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