HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Went to pick a shell up out of one of their holes and the substrate felt really wet. So I grabbed a long straw that I saved from the ice cream store this summer and stuck it down in, water pooled around the straw. I really don’t get it, where did all this water come from!? I did some quick research and found that the condensation builds up and can cause flooding but what I don’t get is... Really!? That much water? I used to mist once in awhile when I found the top layer of sand was dry but I haven’t done that in months, and I didn’t really go crazy. I feel like I’m back at square one. I really hope I don’t find any.... I can’t even say it! I’ll never forgive myself! How did this happen!? It really gets me how can some just do everything “right” but then we find dead crabs or floods or whatever, they are so hardy yet so fragile. I haven’t lost a crab yet but I’m scared to see what I’ll find today. If anyone one has any insight please share.

I heard some people
Put a brick of eco earth in or on the sand and lifted the hood to get rid of humidity. I hope this helps!

Please don't blame yourself! Things just happen! Even if we do everything right. I personally have never had this happen to me and I am not sure what to do. Definitely put you crabbies into an iso tank and I personally wouldn't keep th old substrate just in case. I hope everything goes well and your crabbies are okay! I will be praying!

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If anaerobic bacteria has developed, I would toss the old substrate and start out with new. If its been caught early enough, adding a dry brick of EE to soak it up (or paper toweling) or baking the substrate to remove some of the moisture would help.


The addition of EE will also help two fold. EE tends to help release water vapour into the air, which does help decrease the amount of water in the substrate. Unlike sand, EE also has a greater wicking potential, where with sand, water tends to pool on the bottom even if the top layers are dry... EE on the other hand, tends to have a lot more universal water distribution....

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:O Omg I spray for humidity too! This story is definitely a good warning, I never thought it could possibly lead to flooding with just a few spritzes every couple of days. Let us know how it goes.

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Uh-oh... I spray every day as my only source of humidity in my ten gallon... Is this going to happen to me? I use a mix of calci-sand, eco-earth, and regular sand.

ROSIEonFIRE wrote::O Omg I spray for humidity too! This story is definitely a good warning, I never thought it could possibly lead to flooding with just a few spritzes every couple of days. Let us know how it goes.

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CrabMommaChara wrote:Uh-oh... I spray every day as my only source of humidity in my ten gallon... Is this going to happen to me? I use a mix of calci-sand, eco-earth, and regular sand.

In most cases, no, spraying the tank will lead to flooding. Can it however, yes. Its something to be mindful of, and ensure to stay vigilant... but its not something of great concern IMO.

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Didn’t mean to start a panic. As long as you don’t have constant high humidity and constant condensation, you should be ok. If your concerned, take a straw down in your substrate to check. If a lot of condensation builds up all the time, it has nowhere to go except to the bottom and can build up.


Rod♡Salty♡Bob♡Squirt♡Crabina
»-♡-> Our Purple Pinchers <-♡-«
Who♡Fearless♡Crimson♡LittleBit

Oh, thanks for clearing that up!

CrabMommaChara wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 01, 2019 6:11 am

Uh-oh... I spray every day as my only source of humidity in my ten gallon... Is this going to happen to me? I use a mix of calci-sand, eco-earth, and regular sand.

How much calci sand do you use? It's not recommended as it can harden when wet. Otherwise is your substrate sandcastle consistancy? I'm just wondering why spraying is your only source of humidity.

It's a long story, but basically, I'm broke.
About 1/5 of it is calci-sand.

What a mess this has been! On top of being sick and having sick kids! Anyway, I just wanted to post an update. I had found two alive down in the wet yuck, bacterial bloom, one being Crabina, who I thought was topside and the other Rod. Rod was very close to the bacterial bloom, if not in it, and they were both pretty wet. I had them both in separate iso-bowl containers but I let them out in my 10 gal together. Rod seemed pretty sluggish, I don’t know if it was from me having to dig her up or bc I also had rinsed her in a bowl of decl. freshwater to get any yucky off that may have been on her. Crabina had climbed up to the top of the iso container I had her in, hanging off the air holes I cut the top like “let me out”, so I decided to let them both out with the others, none of them are soft so I hope this is ok that I did that. I’m hoping to have the tank set back up tomorrow. I’m not sure who one of my crabs is, if it is Bob or Squirt, I honestly thought I had lost Squirt to pps awhile ago bc I haven’t seen her in a while but really didn’t think much about it bc you never know how long they can be under. I didn’t mean to scare everyone with the tank flooding, just be very careful when misting. Misting when you think your top layer of sand is dry *might* not be a good idea, If your humidity is ok, don’t mist the top layer of sand. I actually stopped misting when I saw another member on here had a tank flood and was misting their top layer of sand. It’s crazy how much water can build up in such a short time, just be mindful of your substrate. I’m hoping if anything my posts can help someone else, you never know what could help someone else. The environments in which people live are all different and outside factors are all different. It hurts me to the core to lose a few of my hermit crabs, it really hurts. I feel like a little kid losing my dog or something, I never knew how much I would grow to love these little guys that I brought home in a wire mesh cage. Have to thank my most amazing best friend for being here for me through this, you’ve helped me so much from afar- @Overmountain1.

That's so sweet!
Hope Crabina feels better, and good luck in your future endeavors! we are waiting here to hear all about it!

Thank you. I noticed Rod has dropped a limb, I have her isolated now with some green sand, exo mix, and bloodworms. I hope she’s going to be ok.

Rod has shed her exo and hopefully is going to be ok. I wasn’t going to check on her tonight but I noticed her shell was propped up so I wanted to make sure she didn’t ditch her shell. At first I had saw her legs and it looked like crab abdomen but when I tipped the cocohut up she pulled back into her shell. I put her top back on and left her alone. I’m still praying for her.