Buying my first Hemit Crab/s and got a few questions

[iSolo]

So I know some of you might be on other forums and I did post this question on reddit so here's the link (this way we don't cover the same things which I already learned) I just want to be sure I'm ready so I give the Hermit Crabs the right care.

https://www.reddit.com/r/hermitcrabs/co ... row_and_i/

So I never owned any kind of crab before and these little fellas just seemed interesting and simple and then when I started researching I realized they're everything but simple. It is messed up how they're marketed as simple to take care of and cheap pet when in reality they're expensive if you give them the proper care and require quite a bit of knowledge to keep them alive and happy.

I am just asking for whatever information you can give me as a new owner. Thank you all in advance!

[CrabbyLover77]

Hi there!

The best place to start is reading over the basic care sheet. It has tons of good info and even a shopping list to get you started!

viewtopic.php?f=120&t=119273&sid=65ce0e ... 0f07498147


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[HermitofHermitCrabs]

Yep, start with the care sheet. The main points I stress to newcomers are 80/80 for temp and humidity as well as, proper diet, and plenty of extra shells.

[Hermielover121]

Just letting you know that they can live for more then 20 years in captivity not just in the wild. When you get the crabs and the tank you could post a pic and we could see everything in more detail ( using apps like Tapatalk or Reddit).


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[iSolo]

Thank you for the great responses. I wanted to express a concern in a few areas and see if you could educate me on it.

I know they need plenty of humidity, the room I will keep them in has electronics, hard drives, computers, monitors and just a lot of things which don't do well in humid situations. Will it be so humid that it will escape the tank and make the entire room humid?

Will the tank make the room and maybe the entire floor smell? I used to own a Bearded Dragon (Lizard) and let me tell you... The room I lived in (while I was in a different apartment) as well as the hallway near it, never smelled the same again. I used to spray it with this special spray for lizards and it smelled like the rainforest or something and for years there was a humid odor in the area (no I don't think it was mold) I realized lizards weren't for me after 3 months of owning it but the smell stayed 2 years later.

How can you tell if your Eco Earth or anything in the tank has gone moldy? The habitats have so much going on and so many layers of "sand" and items in it, how do you know if mold is starting and can it "escape" the cage and risk lives? I hear spraying things with a de-chlorinator gets rid of mold.

I have a lot more questions and normally I wouldn't be asking so many questions and taking my time with the research but this whole thing came as a surprise to me (how complex these little fellas are). I cannnnnot believe how they get marketed as "Throwaway Pets" and as very simple to take care of and "here just take this little 0.5 gallon tank with nothing in it and they'll be fine" THAT IS SO WRONG. It's like a freaking genocide. They hurt MILLIONS of them every day until they die. I wanna make sure I take good care of mine.

I already ordered everything so I am on a time limit to learn everything. What types/breeds of Hermit Crabs are there and are they all that different? I need to pick out the ones which will suit me.

[Beckanai]

I just started out myself, one crab my step daughter brought home from the beach, in a tiny plastic Creature keeper. Which would have died with out her dad and I finding this wonderful board. Our one lone big guy has turned to now six Purple Pinchers. They're so much fun and quite addicting! I will agree with you that I never knew how expensive everything was, but they are quite worth it.

As far as the Ee getting moldy, you will be visiting your tank multiple times a day (well, I do! Haha) so you should be able to keep an eye on it. The care sheet that they have linked for you, has a 5:1 of eco and playsand, it makes it quite easy to see the colors. Maybe someone else can answer the moldy question a little better. I am still new, but I so far feel like you'd be able to tell.

If you have your tank in a room with electronics, It shouldn't have any impact on them. We purchased a tank stand and ours sit in the livingroom, you can only feel the heat very lightly, on the wall behind. We've finally hit the 80/80 mark steadily and no water escapes as we've put some covering over the tanks top. Now if you take the lid off it does get a bit balmy, so sometimes it will drip on the floor, so be aware of that. It could also be part of our learning curve.
But please do read the care sheets, dig right in and read lots! I love that I'm still finding new things to read about.

Purple pinchers are I believe the most common to be found in pet stores, however I have realized they sell "fancy" ones and honestly it's quite expensive for the same thing in the tank next to it, just pretty shells. All of mine have changed shells within the same day of bringing them home.

But please do read the care sheets, dig right in and read lots! I love that I'm still finding new things to learn about. I'd also love to see your set up, once you get things going.

[CrabbyLover77]

Thank you for the great responses. I wanted to express a concern in a few areas and see if you could educate me on it.

I know they need plenty of humidity, the room I will keep them in has electronics, hard drives, computers, monitors and just a lot of things which don't do well in humid situations. Will it be so humid that it will escape the tank and make the entire room humid?

Will the tank make the room and maybe the entire floor smell? I used to own a Bearded Dragon (Lizard) and let me tell you... The room I lived in (while I was in a different apartment) as well as the hallway near it, never smelled the same again. I used to spray it with this special spray for lizards and it smelled like the rainforest or something and for years there was a humid odor in the area (no I don't think it was mold) I realized lizards weren't for me after 3 months of owning it but the smell stayed 2 years later.

How can you tell if your Eco Earth or anything in the tank has gone moldy? The habitats have so much going on and so many layers of "sand" and items in it, how do you know if mold is starting and can it "escape" the cage and risk lives? I hear spraying things with a de-chlorinator gets rid of mold.

I have a lot more questions and normally I wouldn't be asking so many questions and taking my time with the research but this whole thing came as a surprise to me (how complex these little fellas are). I cannnnnot believe how they get marketed as "Throwaway Pets" and as very simple to take care of and "here just take this little 0.5 gallon tank with nothing in it and they'll be fine" THAT IS SO WRONG. It's like a freaking genocide. They hurt MILLIONS of them every day until they die. I wanna make sure I take good care of mine.

I already ordered everything so I am on a time limit to learn everything. What types/breeds of Hermit Crabs are there and are they all that different? I need to pick out the ones which will suit me.

Beckanai gave some good answers. Just thought I'd add a couple of things.

As far as smell goes, you shouldn't have any problem there. The only time I smell anything is when I open the tank lids, and it just smells like I'm on a really humid beach lol. When you dump any uneaten food, I recommend dumping it in a trash can with a lid, and emptying it as often as possible. I keep a trash can with a lid in my pet room specifically for all of my yucky crab, tortoise, fish stuff.

Mold in my tank usually appears as white puffs or white puffy strings. I check for mold and thrown about uneaten pieces of food in the substrate every day, and sift them out and trash them. I am allergic to mold, but I haven't had any problems so far, as long as I spot clean daily and don't let it get out of control. This is where the trash can with the lid also helps keep any mold spores from flying around.

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[Pumpkincrab]

I agree with everything everybody has been saying. One thing I would like to say is that a lot of people feed their crab commercial food which I do not agree with. I feed my crabs only organic fresh foods or well made mixes.
HermitGrub (on Etsy) has amazing food that my crabs love. I would recommend everything she sells there. But definitely buy one(or more) of her bundles- it saves money, to be honest.

I bet you will be a great crab owner... Welcome to the crab life!