New Crab Mom Here!

[Nikkie]

Hello everyone

I'm Nikkie & I'm a new crab mom! This wasn't exactly a planned thing but I'm excited & have read a lot of great info here to help them live a great life. First I'll tell you how this happened...

Took my kids down to the beach a few weeks ago & of course we all know they sell these guys like they are novelty gift sadly & many wont live long. Anyways there was a shop that had those little wire cages strung up outside in the sun & one happened to have 2 hermies in it with no water or anything. I said something to the shop worker & he said they were just fine so we went about our day... 8-9 hours later we walked by again & I just felt awful for them being out there like that so I bought the whole thing cage & all since I had a 10g at the house to keep them in. Spent all night that researching them & learned a lot such as commercial foods can be toxic, humidity & all that important stuff.... Thanks to this site!! My 7yr old son named one Tim & the other Pinchy.

Well sadly one of the crabbies (Tim) didnt survived long after getting home.. Pinchy did but he got depressed being alone quickly so being the crazy animal rescue lady I am (I do cat rescue) had to make this better for him so I planned to drive 3+ hrs to get 2 more. But ended up getting a call from my friend at the local humane society saying she saw I had hermit crabs & asked if I could take 2 someone was trying to drop off there. I agreed & so Houdini (escaped in my car & took 30 mins to find hence the name he got) & tortellini came into my car. Now Houdini is big, scary big to me, too big for a 10 gallon maybe but I'm not sure & the others are smaller but not by a lot. So now I need a bigger tank! But that's exciting since that means I can give them more enrichment!

I was hoping to get some suggestions on how to make the 10g better for him since I cant get a bigger tank til next week since back to school cost a fortune for my 2 boys. Will he be OK in the 10g for a week? I dont want him to get depressed or anything. I put a bigger salt water dish in there so he will fit in it but its really shallow & my lower level has no room really.

Will this be ok til next week?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DGvWRcJFPp13wjDX8


Its hard to see how big he really is but this is him

https://photos.app.goo.gl/MoF1muNq4Uuh69rR8


The smaller ones

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VFRinpjP1Qw3eBSPA



They have SW & FW along with the shallow salt bath...
Do they need all 3 dishes in there like that? I plan to do the tupperware pools side by side on one end like I've seen some of you have next week!

They are getting all fresh foods. fruits, veggies, coconut, last night was raw fish and the pellets are a weekly treat (label checked for toxins). Do you cook chicken & beef for them? Or raw? steak or ground beef? Any fish they cant have? They eat that raw in the wild so can give that raw. They dont like eggs that much.

Humidity is high currently where I live 74%-96% & my garage is out hangout zone mostly so while its perfect crab weather they are out here. But I worry about when i move them in doors... I know nothing about heaters or making a tank humid so I'd really love any kind of help & advice there. Everything I read is overwhelming when it comes to that subject & there are so many ways to make it work but I'm not very handy so making a humidifier contraption may not be easy. I have a slide mesh lid that locks now... Should I look for a different kind for the bigger tank? Also would a 20g be OK? They have Tall, long, normal. I don't have much space for them where it would be super safe with the cats but I have some options like my bookcase under my TV in my room where the cats cant get to with the TV that mounts there. But its only 24" X 13" But could do a 20g tall & make it climbing paradise there.


Also substrate depth is an issue now with a small tank with the big guy. Its only 5" deep so I'm praying nothing happens as far as molting in a week...


Now molting I have no knowledge about. Need to read on that so feel free to send info to read my way! Now to figure out what kind of crabs these are!

Sorry to ramble on but I just want these guys to live a good life & I'm brand new to this (it all started August 12).

Thanks in advance
Nikkie, Pinchy, Houdini & Tortellini

[AgentK25]

Hi! And welcome! My personal suggestion on a tank for you would be a 29 gallon. It’s basically a 20gallon long with extra height. I’m not sure how much more substrate you can fit in your 10g, but try to fill it at least halfway with the substrate. I would also recommend cooking the meats and proteins you feed. For added enrichment you can go out in the woods and find oak or maple branches (no pesticides!!) and bake them (200° for 20 minutes) and use them for climbers.

I use a glass canopy on my tanks with a screen cover to keep crabs, heat and humidity in and cats out. Also, be sure you’re using Instant Ocean or something similar for SW. And be sure to dechlorinate you FW.

Under tank heaters on the back and/or sides of the tank help with regulation when kept in the house. I like my heaters to be completely blocked by the substrate except for about an inch peaking out at the top. This keeps my substrate and air temp high enough for the crabbies. You can use FW to mist the tank every day or two to add humidity.

Hope I covered everything!! Congrats on the new family members!!

ETA that the screen covers and glass canopies can usually be found at PetCo. And last weekend they were still having a sale on tanks...$1 per gallon on Aqueon tanks.

[Nikkie]

I am definitely using IO & I have the drops for the water for them & have been using it. Can I use bottled water like aquifina? Would you still need to use drops in that? I have a salt water conditioner as well but wasnt sure if it needs to be used with IO. I dont want to mess this up! They are really neat to watch!! They are really active, the big one stole a BP size chunk of fresh coconut out of the bowl & dragged it to his favorite spot to dig last night, he/she was cracking me up with that. I did boil & bake the fresh coconut shells I put in & they love to climb on & nibble those. I never knew crabs were so fascinating.

Thanks for the info! I will see if I can find a 29g tank for them & get a tank heat pad!

Is there size thats best to use for the 29g?

[AgentK25]

I am definitely using IO & I have the drops for the water for them & have been using it. Can I use bottled water like aquifina? Would you still need to use drops in that? I have a salt water conditioner as well but wasnt sure if it needs to be used with IO. I dont want to mess this up! They are really neat to watch!! They are really active, the big one stole a BP size chunk of fresh coconut out of the bowl & dragged it to his favorite spot to dig last night, he/she was cracking me up with that. I did boil & bake the fresh coconut shells I put in & they love to climb on & nibble those. I never knew crabs were so fascinating.

Thanks for the info! I will see if I can find a 29g tank for them & get a tank heat pad!

Is there size thats best to use for the 29g?

You shouldn't need to condition the IO. Even bottled water is usually chlorinated...to keep bacteria out of the water. I would still use the drops on that. I think distilled water lacks chlorine, but then it also lacks all the good minerals that FW has. I have a reverse osmosis water system, but if I didn't I'd be using the drops in any water I bought.

The tank heaters are labeled for tank size, so I would recommend looking at that and finding one that matches your tank size. You can always add another smaller one if what you get isn't quite enough.

[GotButterflies]

Welcome to the HCA!

You can get rid of the sponges - they are unnecessary. Why do you have three dishes of water? You need one fw and one msw. Pools should be deep enough for them to fully submerge themselves and safely get out of. A lot of us use cheap tupperware containers. Check out this link: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=113691&hilit=double+dish+yo

I recommend shells for sure! The HCA recommends 3-5 shells per crab. Please check out the shell guide so that you can get the correct kinds.

As far as tanks, check Craigslist, OfferUp, Letgo, 5miles, Facebook Marketplace for a used setup. Search tank, aquarium, reptile, terrarium You can usually find full setups for cheap. Garage sales are great too

Please make sure you check out the safe food list, unsafe food list. Also, make sure you provide them with calcium. A cuttlebone from the pet store works great. A lot of us stick it up in the substrate like a surfboard.

The hermit crab saltwater conditioner that you have is useless. Please toss it. Unfortunately a lot of things marketed for Hermit crabs are not appropriate for them.

Once again, welcome! We are here to help!

[Hermiesguardian]

Welcome! I know how you feel. Deep breaths. Lol. The heaters you get at petstores are really weak. Try and get the Ultratherm at Reptilebasics.com or Beanfarm.com. or on Amazon. And I place it just above the substrate. To heat the air, not the substrate. I was able to get a 90gal tank with a really nice stand for $200 on letgo. So if you can find a spot in your house and find a great deal, go bigger. As for humidity, a moss pit is really good. Soak it in dechlorinated fresh water. And bubblers in the pools once they are set up. If your lid is a creen lid, tape saran wrap covering entire lid. Check out the shopping resource link on the left to find where to buy shells. Or try etsy.

[Nikkie]

Thanks everyone! I'll be ordering shells online once I can figure out what kind of crabs they are all 3 look a bit different so its hard to tell I've been looking at pictures but it doesnt seem to be helping much. I'll try to get good photos of them tonight when they come up & maybe someone here could help me figure it out. I want to make sure I get the right shells. I noticed they are different sizes when you go to order them but I'm not sure how to size the crabbies at all

Thanks again!

[PinchersAndShells]

You will still need to use a dechlorinator in salt water along with Instant Ocean. Instant Ocean is just a marine salt which will not remove ammonia, nitrates/nitrites, or heavy metals.

Sent from my SM-J327V using Tapatalk

[Nikkie]

OK great! I was worried I was over doing it & could cause harm so I'm glad to know thats not the case.

Thanks to you guys here & the facebook page I was able to find a great place for shells & Im working with Steven to make sure I get the right sizes & shells for them! I also may have found a 29g right in my own neighborhood, Im waiting for a response from the seller to see if he still has it. This is exciting! Thank you all so much!

[ciaraalston]

Welcome to the HCA!!! This place is amazing, tons of information and people willing to help! So happy you're here!!

For water bowls, most use tupperware containers. If you double them up, it makes cleaning easier because you don't disturb the substrate or any molters underneath.

Heaters seem a little overwhelming, but it's all easy. Don't worry. reptilebasics is where i got mine.

I found my 55 gal on facebook. There's lots of options for used tanks, check those first. you might save some money.

Amazon is a great place for tank decor! I ordered almost everthing, including my substrate, off of amazon!

Your pictures are great, lovely crabs! Good luck!