Urgency question

[cooperjj]

Hello, I just bought my daughters 3 Caribbean hermit crabs in Myrtle Beach. I spent time researching proper care of hermit crabs as quickly as possible as I wanted to demonstrate to my daughters that it's not just buying a pet but learning about how they live, grow, feed, etc. Tried to do my best, but feel I made a mistake when it comes to substrate. I purchased a pack of Imagitarium Calcium Sand along with a brick of coconut fiber at the local Petco. Soaked the fiber to break it down and mixed in a 2lbs bag of the calci sand, then after setting them all up and thinking all is well, I started to find all the info on how bad calcium sand is for them.

So, I'm obviously going to change it out soon, but wanted to know if I should be doing it immediately or if it can wait 24 hours or so? I'm still at the beach and considered going down and getting a few big bags of fresh sand from the beach or running to hardware store to get play sand per recommendations here and elsewhere. I'm dedicated to making sure these guys have the best habitat possible, but any advice on if I'm putting them at risk by having them in there currently and need to change immediately or if I can do it in 24-48 hours? Thanks and glad I found this forum.

[wodesorel]

You can certainly wait a few days, but you may want to lower the level of substrate now to keep them from trying to bury and molt in the wrong stufd in the meantime. It's probably a good idea to wait until you get back home anyway as traveling with them underground can be dangerous.

[cooperjj]

Thanks for the reply. I only have about 3 inches in there currently, is that low enough or should I scrape it out some more to lower to 1-2 inches?

[wodesorel]

If they can cover more than half of themselves I personally would lower it.

[GotButterflies]

I have used both beach sand and quickrete all purpose sand mixed with cocofiber I have only bought sand when I couldn't make the trip to the beach.

[cooperjj]

If they can cover more than half of themselves I personally would lower it.

Ok, I have a couple bags of Flukers Sand from Amazon on the way today (I know it's pricey but wanted to start off with knowing I got good stuff) and some fresh bricks of eco earth. I'm going to redo their substrate later today or tonight, but keep it shallow enough they can't bury into it. I definitely appreciate the point about them burrowing and trying to molt while we are driving home (about a 6.5 hour drive). Any other points on how to keep them safe and happy in the car? I know not to leave them in there at all with car off, etc. Should I keep a towel or something over their cage to try and protect from direct sun light or any other considerations?

I have used both beach sand and quickrete all purpose sand mixed with cocofiber I have only bought sand when I couldn't make the trip to the beach.

Do you do anything to prep the beach sand first? Just curious if it's just safe to use right off the beach?

Thanks again! All three seemed pretty happy this morning, I changed both their water dishes and food dishes and sprayed them down with some fresh treated water. That seemed to get them moving around and exploring some more!

[cooperjj]

So I really hope I didn't speak to soon, but I just checked on them and noticed that two of them look to have buried themselves (lol). One is completely missing so far, and the other is about half way under the soil with top of his shell sticking out.

If they did, I have two critical questions:

1) Considering I did one whole brick of eco earth and that calci sand mixed together and am spraying their cage down once a day, is there still a very high risk of them getting encased in or their gills being packed?

2) If they are molting now, just how dangerous is it to move their whole habitat with us in the car on the way home? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the risk, or is it just not recommended period and to wait until they molt completely?


** Edit: Found the second one, he is the shy one and found a nice hiding spot on the underside of their driftwood climbing log, haha. But the other one is some what buried under their hide away house, not completely, but somewhat.

[aussieJJDude]

1. Probably not. Those calcisand bags are soo small that it probably is in such low concentration thats its almost negligible; not ideal but certainly wont kill them.
2. Danger in terms of being heavy and cracked glass. Removing everything from the tank would be ideal in minimising weight and stress on the silicone seams. If you come across a moulter in moving time - id reccomend a small container filled with moss or some EE and pieces of dried fruit - and a separate container of moss for each moulter you come across. Once home, setting up the tank is a priority to ensure they are in ideal enviroment asap. Contain moulters in their moving cups until they have finished, aka when they are coloured up and moving around.

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