Hey everyone! New and have a couple questions!

[Jusblazm]

First off, hello and a little bit about me! My names Ryan, I'm 22. I got a hermit crab for Christmas. I had always wanted one since I saw one in the mall as a young child. I'm glad I never got one though because I wouldn't have been able to care for him like I can now.

I wrote a lot I noticed so there is a TL;DR section at the end (Too long ; Didn't read)

My aunt (who I just met (I had a whole part of my family on my moms side no one ever knew (long story))) and I were walking through the mall and she saw me looking at the hermit crabs running around in the kiosk as we walked past (I hadn't told her what I wanted for Christmas) while shopping for her kids. She ended up going back the next day and buying me one. Now, yes it was in a mall kiosk so yes, he's painted. Idk if its a safe paint for him or not. I had to go to an art store to purchase big enough shells for him to fit into. I was told I could purchase shells at an art store as long as I boil them to clean them up. (It sucks that I moved out to Missouri from Washington State because I could have just driven to my favorite beach museum and bought fresh shells that they had just gotten from the beach) But, anyway he's still hanging out in his Spider-Man painted shell. I bought him a 10gal tank (Yeah, its kinda small, but I don't make a great amount of money and the tank was hard enough to find as it was (These PetCos and PetSmarts don't stock just tanks out here???), a friend, dish bowls for freshwater, salt water, food. (I spent all Christmas doing research on what they needed to survive and bought it all basically)

Here's where I'm somewhat worried but not completely. He's very...shy. I did lots of reading on the forums and other places saying they are shy because they are prey animals. I also assume he's this way because he was a mall kiosk hermit crab and was more than likely poked and prodded by little children who either knew no better or had nothing better to do. I know he's fine though for the most part because at night I can catch him tunneling around and when I come home from work hes in a different spot. Now, his friend that I bought him. I bought her from PetCo. She is the complete and utter opposite. Whether she trusts me or not (Someone on the forums said hermits crabs are not capable of trust) If I stick my arm in the tank for whatever reason she will stop what she's doing and beeline it straight to my hand and latch on. She uses me as a jungle gym and due to that at night shes usually not in the tank instead shes in my bed crawling around on my arm. Until I go to bed at least, she doesn't sleep with me of course. She's been doing laps around the tank the whole time I've been writing this.

Something else I'm wondering is, with my first one being very noticeably inactive and his friend being very active in my presence should I get a third little friend? Who is possibly also active like his friend? I read somewhere to follow a 5gal per hermit crab rule.

I also know not to force him out of his shell because that won't end well, but what do I do about his paint possibly being dangerous for him? I actually just caught him standing on top of one of the new shells I bought him but when he noticed I noticed him he pushed it over and buried himself. (I actually watched him walk from where he was buried and watched him climb on top of the shell but he saw me move ever so slightly)

Something else I had read was Chlorine is bad for them. But, that same place also said you can use water bottles. How does that work? Water bottles have Chlorine in them so what's the difference? Either way, I've been boiling my water nightly to rid of Chlorine so I always have Chlorine-free water for a bath and for watering.

I named him Herbert and his friend is apparently named Shelby. He I named but when I bought Shelby from PetCo they had a "Pet Adoption" paperwork form I had to fill out and on the Partner Name section the girl who helped me get her wrote Shelby. Idk if Shelby was the girls name who helped me get him and shes trying to go 50/50 on my hermit crab or if she named her for me. I'm not even sure if Herbert is a guy and Shelby is a girl.

I refrain from touching Herbert or even getting close to him since just walking near the tank seems to startle him into hiding. Shelby though loves the attention which tells me that the girls at PetCo took really good care of them even though they had a really really big fancy hermit crab whose shell was clearly way too small for him too that I really wanted to buy. I'm thinking I'm going to go back and donate a much larger shell to them for him as the shells I got came in a $20 bag of randomly assorted shells for art projects.

Shelby has never pinched me, so far. But, I spend my summers scuba diving and catching crawdads in the lake near my old house and I use to go crabbing all the time as a kid. I've been pinched by everything from small crawdads to pretty darn big king crabs. So I'm not too worried about getting scared when she eventually does and flinging her across the room.

Also yes, I need a bigger heating pad for the tank. The one I bought is too small

Some pictures of Herbert and Shelby. (Herbert = Spiderman!)
My phone's lens cover is scratched so the pictures are a bit grainy!


This was my trying to get a picture of the legendary Herbert out of his shell. He saw it and ditched.




TL;DR: Got herbert for Christmas he's crazy shy with my presence, bought Shelby who I might have to make up some custody papers for and she will come completely out of her shell for me when shes in my hands.


/e Happy new year! From Missouri, USA!

[kieagcarm]

You need to get more substrate. It needs to be at least 3x deeper than your largest crab, atleast 6inches. Crabs molt underground. Don't get any more crabs unless you plan on buying a bigger tank, they grow fast with proper care and each crab needs 5g of space. Crabs also need lots of hiding places and things to climb on, a while pyramid of different foods they need to eat regularly, water bowls that are deep enough for each crab to fully submerge. Crabs are by far the most high maintenance pet I've come across.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Welcome welcome!
Join the club.

Agreed about maintenance. :roll:
Crabs take a lot of work - but they reward you.

You'll need at least six inches of substrate - and more would likely be better. Ten gal will do fine for short term... but don't get more crabs til you can get more tank. And start saving now.

It looks as if you have a little analog dial-type thing for reading temperatures & humidity... sadly, those are not so reliable. After you get the substrate sorted out, I'd recommend getting a digital.

Also - in case you havent heard this yet, don't waste money on hermitcrab branded materials... water treatments, food, sand, etc. With only a few exceptions, they are not suitable for hermits. (Which seems crazy, right?!)

Okay. This is basic reading:

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 51&t=92457

About food:
http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92557

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554

And about shells:

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 24&t=92552

There are a bunch more resources, so check out the site.

And have a happy new year!!



Ps - your crabs are super cute!

[Kaye5802]

Congrats on the new crabs! I also just got two crabs for Christmas! Mine as well are in a ten gallon tank and they look a little larger than yours. Like said above you should add some more substrate to your tank! Eco earth bricks come in 3 packs and each makes about 3-5 inches of substrate in a 10 gallon tank plus they're a good price! My biggest hermit crab Lyle was really shy at first (I've had them a little under a week) but he's already becoming more active. Try giving them a treat like walnuts, they love walnuts. Lyle has been carrying them around with him haha! I'd also suggest getting something for them to climb because they love to climb. I made another level in my tank with some frog mods ($8), 2 soap dishes (with suction cups), a home made latter, and a fish decoration that they can hide in and climb. The fish decoration I have was $30 but there was much much cheaper ones that your crabs would love. I also have a few fake plants in my tank that they like to grab on and dig under. After you get their tank all set up see if Herbert is more willing to come out of his shell and explore? After Lyle was comfortable in his tank I set him down on a towel on the floor to see if he'd come out of his shell for me. It took a while but he did eventually come out and walk around for me which was really cool! I'll include some pictures of my tank and my crabs (I still need to add better shells and more substrate) for reference! I hope you're crabs get more comfortable and good luck!!


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[aussieJJDude]

Welcome to HCA. Hope you liking it so far.

Yes, crab can and will be shy, especially during the day. They are nocturnal animals after all, and I imagine if you stayed up to 3-4am you would see them having a blast. They can be rather active when they want to be. And due to their small size, they are also near the bottom of the food chain and will be shy around larger animals - aka: you (the giant). You look like a big and scary predator to them, so you can understand why they will be shy. Not to mention, crabs like to be in areas where they can hide - like dense foliage, huts - so if you do add fake plants and more hidy areas, I imagine he will come out more. (Hermit crabs also are nocturnal as the sun can be dry and intense, so coming out at night does ensure they they can breath properly.)

(All paint is considered dangerous, regardless if it says "hermit crab safe"... (which basically translates to "child safe") like many have mentioned, products targeted towards hermit crabs are often complete garbage, dangerous or overpriced. Many items for fish, reptiles and birds are often cheaper, not as garbage-y (some are) and often at a far reasonable price.)

People that suggest using bottled water use dechlorinator - which I would also reccomend. In many countries, they often add far more the the water then just chlorine, and boiling does nothing to neutralize or remove these harmful additions. Products such as seachem prime remove chloramines - which I believe is far more dangerous, and chlorine will naturally dissipate over time - and heavy metals (such as copper, mercury,arsenic and lead) from water. Similar products are available, just ensure you get a dechlorinator that also removes heavy metals and chloramines as well. (If it does not say it removes these on the LABEL, then move on to the next product that does...)

But the tank is slowly coming togethor, and you're doing a great job. Deeper substrate, deeper water dishes - and access to both SW and FW - heat and humidity; and you have the basic's of successful crabbing.