HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Does anyone ever really see their hermit crabs? I have 4. The newest one comes out sometimes. I can always see where it is. The other three I never see. One I haven’t seen in months. That’s the one I got months ago. Out of the last three I’ve never seen one. The other one I only saw yesterday for the first time since I got him. He was in a hide. Then this morning there’s a huge pile of substrate where he is. Anyway, I don’t want the little one to get lonely. I have no idea if the other ones are even alive…the other two. If they are dead I need another one so he’s not lonely. What do I do? I have 6 inches of substrate so I have no clue where they would be.

It's common for hermit crabs to just hang out underground, even if they're not molting. Depending on the size of hermit crabs you have, it's best to leave them underground for at least 6 months or longer, because if a hermit crab is dead, then unfortunately there is nothing you can do If the crab is molting and you try to dig up the hermit crab, it could potentially hurt them

I’ll wait until summer is over. This morning when I went to adjust the heat the tank was a mess! Piles of sand, hides pushed up and down, driftwood knocked over. Is that normal?
Second question, I wanted to moisten the sand…so I have to just wait for about 4 more months? Will the sand be ok?

Alyw77 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:11 pm

I’ll wait until summer is over. This morning when I went to adjust the heat the tank was a mess! Piles of sand, hides pushed up and down, driftwood knocked over. Is that normal?
Second question, I wanted to moisten the sand…so I have to just wait for about 4 more months? Will the sand be ok?

If there's piles of sand everywhere and things knocked over, that probably means a hermie or 2 has come up in the night to get food and water. You can buy security cameras and put them by the tank if you want, and then you can see what the hermit crabs are doing at night.

It depends on the current texture of your sand, if it's super dry, then you could maybe mist over the sand a bit (not too much because you don't want to flood it ), but if your sand is a play sand consistency, you should be okay for a bit. The main thing is you want it thick enough that the hermit crabs can dig through the sand without the sand collapsing.

That’s great news! I mixed very well plays and and the coco fiber. So it’s not dry sand. When they kick it up it looks like dirt. I watch the humidity and have moss. So I don’t think anything is tying out. I’d just like to be able to wet it more maybe during summer. By the way I found one of the large shells sitting in the middle of the food dish. Lol

Alyw77 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 05, 2023 4:08 pm

That’s great news! I mixed very well plays and and the coco fiber. So it’s not dry sand. When they kick it up it looks like dirt. I watch the humidity and have moss. So I don’t think anything is tying out. I’d just like to be able to wet it more maybe during summer. By the way I found one of the large shells sitting in the middle of the food dish. Lol

I'm guessing your hermit crabs should be up by the summer, if they're small. Lol, hermit crabs put things in the weirdest places! I put a piece of meat in my crabitat, and one of my hermit crabs, Boba, grabbed it and hid under the food dish so nobody could steal it from him!

Hahaha! And yes, the tank has been a mess lately. Also the freshwater dish is empty almost every day. They aren’t tiny. Only one small one.

Hermit crabs are diurnal, but most activity is done during the night. Hermit crabs seem to enjoy digging just as much as climbing. As hermit crab enthusiasts, when we have crabs under, we refer to our tanks as Pet Sand. It's a common occurrence.

yep, I've got Pet Sand right now, too. Although at least one isn't molting--I've been hearing it digging around down there every night for a week!

The more cover they have, the more comfortable they'll be sitting out where they can be seen. In the wild being visible and in the open can be dangerous, so while they're adapting to captivity they'll often stay very hidden due to the stress of everything. A busy tank with lots of hidey holes and levels and faux plants to tuck into will usually see a lot of activity. I see so many barren starter hermit tanks that I always like to mention this as a possibility! The crabs also take some time to adapt to their new environment before they'll start getting bolder, there's a lot of new smells and sounds to get used to. Having the tank in a quieter part of the home can help, as can positioning it so we don't cast shadows into the tank as we move around.

I like busy tanks, this was one iteration of my ruggie tank and its only gotten a bit more filled in since then. She is out and moving most of the day whenever she's not molting. I can hear her toes clicking on the lid right now! https://www.instagram.com/p/CBsrjwdMvdo ... M2MWFjZDg=

I have driftwood, moss, hideouts. A lot in the tank. I never hear a single sound. I never see them. I had four in there. It’s been a long time. What do I do? I can’t sift for them. I don’t mean to sound crude…but when do I give up? I feel like I’m taking care of nothing.

Alyw77 wrote:I have driftwood, moss, hideouts. A lot in the tank. I never hear a single sound. I never see them. I had four in there. It’s been a long time. What do I do? I can’t sift for them. I don’t mean to sound crude…but when do I give up? I feel like I’m taking care of nothing.

One word: POPCORN

LOL

Every hermit I've ever had never says no to popcorn. Many of mine will drag themselves out in the open to be the first one at the dish to get it. You can use plain popcorn, or some popped in olive oil is good too. I also mix it up with other stuff they like, like dehydrated eggs, tumeric, red pepper flakes etc. Give it a try to see if you can't lure them out.

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Are you being serious? I just popped some for them.

Alyw77 wrote:Are you being serious? I just popped some for them.

Oh yes! Just make sure there's no butter, iodized salt, etc. My mom bought me a silicone popcorn holder thing from Temu with a lid specifically for me to pop the crabs popcorn lol. Usually I grind it up a bit in my food processor too so they can't drag huge kernels into their hideouts ha!

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Ok. Nothing yet. And of course I used what I had…movie theater buttered popcorn. We’ll seee