New owner questions

Please post here if you are a new crab owner and someone will be along shortly to welcome you to the HCA! This is also the place to welcome new crabbies to your clan!
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ciaraalston
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New owner questions

Post by ciaraalston » Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:46 am

1. How often to feed? I put food in at night before work but it doesn't look like they've eaten when i get home. Do i change it out every day? I feed them the crushed up food from the pet store.... is that enough?
2. How do i keep humidity up? I'm setting up my tank now, i have a heater for the outside and a thermostat to control the temp... Do i mist daily?
3. I saw someone say they buried mason jars for their fresh/salt water pools.... isn't that too deep? What can i use that's big enough and deep enough? Right now i have a plastic lid that's plenty wide enough but very shallow. I'd like them to have plenty of pool space!
4. I only have 2 crabs. One (Sebastian) is very active when i bathe him, he loves it! The second (Rajah) is very timid and shy. He loves baths but once it's over he is gone! Should i add another friend?
5. My tank is 10 gal and i use cocofiber/sand mix. their fresh water is bottled spring water, their salt is a bottled salt water i buy at walmart in the pet section. Food came from Petco for hermits. Is this good?

Those are all the questions i can think of right now. Thanks!
:banana:
4 purple pinchers & 2 ecuadorians living a life of luxury in south west Louisiana.
Follow my hermit crab learning journey on instagram! @hermitcrabs_in_the_boot

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Hermie225
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Re: New owner questions

Post by Hermie225 » Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:14 am

Hi and welcome Image I’m short on time right now but wanted to link you to the care guide. Happy Crabbing! Image

Care Sheet: Basic Hermit Crab Care for All Species
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_ ... are_type=t

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LadyJinglyJones
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Re: New owner questions

Post by LadyJinglyJones » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:26 pm

Hiya! :D
Welcome welcome!!

So feeding: land hermits are funny. I tend to leave several kinds of food for them at all times. I remove mouldy foods & replace them with somryhing else.

Crabs take really, really small mouthfuls. They may be eating without appearing to disturb the food much, especially if they're still quite small. Secondly, they can seem picky. Their bodies tell them what kinds of nutrients they want at different times. Their physiological needs may vary depending on where they are in their moult cycle & what they've recently eaten. So sometimes they will like a kind of food, and some times they won't touch it. For this reason, providing a lot of variety is recommended.

In the wild, these guys eat almost anything - wood, poop, carion, plants, fruit.... because they've evolved to depend on a wide array of things we need to provide them with similar diversity. I'll link the nutrition page in case you hadn't seen it yet (it's a great read):

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92554

Whether the hermit food you bought is healthy depends on the brand...
We tend to recommend that people avoid commercial crab foods due to preservatives and just crummy quality of ingredients. There's a page in the FAQ about commercial foods, I recommend you check it out.

I'll adress water next. If the bottled water is for human consumption, there is a high likelihood it contains chlorine/chloramines that can adversely affect your crabs.

A dechlorinator that says it removes chloramines, ammonia, & heavy metals is usually the best option. You just add it to tap water. It's also usually cheaper than buying water, so that's a nice advantage, too. :D

Seachem Prime is a popular brand choice, but there are other brands too... I wouldn't trust a hermit branded dechlorinator that didn't specifically say it treats chloramines, ammonia, & heavy metals. Hermit products tend to be overpriced & poor quality, unfortunately. Aquarium fish products are better, in general.

And salt water marketed for hermit crabs is generally of poor quality. What they need is a synthetic Marine Salt Water, designed for marine aquarium fish/coral keepers.

There's much more than just sodium in marine water, there's also magnesium, potassium, trace elements in itty bitty concentrations (that are still valuable to marine animals at exactly those itty bitty amounts)... so much stuff. And animals need that stuff.

Marine salt water shouldn't be confused with 'aquarium salt'... aquarium salt is just for treating sick freshwater fish.

Meanwhile, a lot of 'hermit crab salt water' isn't much more than a bit of sodium chloride desolved in water - it's better than nothing, but wont meet all of their physical needs in the long run. So what you want is something like Instant Ocean, a box of salt that you mix with dechlorinated water. This will help keep your hermits healthy! :)

On to bathing:
We recommend you don't. The reason is that hermits actually regulate their bodies using whats called shell water.... this is exactly what it sounds like - water stored in their shells. What's interesting is that it isn't just fresh or salt water inside the shell... rather they mix both to keep the salinity of this water at the same level as the salinity of their blood. This is part of how they maintain their bodies in tip top shape, even though they're basically marine animals that spend all their time on land. It's an impressive trick. :)

When you bathe crabs, you tend to risk upsetting this salinity balance. Crabs can bounce back from this, and can tolerate variation. But they are often stressed and weakened from the process of being captured & warehoused and transported, and they really don't need the extra stress of having to deal with the bathing.

Bathing is an old practise, developed before people really understood crabby needs. It's much better to offer salt & fresh pools deep enough for the crabs to submerge in. I like tupperware containers for this. You can add plastic aquarium plants egg cart, craft mesh, or build little shell or pebble staircases with silicone for them to climb out on. You have many options!

The bottom line is that crabs know their own needs best. Their internal regulation is best left to them. And I'll just add that while a crab running about energetically may seem to you or I like it's enjoying itself, this may in fact be a sign of stress in an animal that is often a preyed upon & will move quickly to try and escape birds or mamals that want a hermit snack!
"Gaze upon the rolling deep..."
Quince the fat tailed gecko; Amazonian minnows; and now Harry & Luis, Bede & Aster, Chandra & Jace, Pax, & Piccolo, my adopted PPs.
RIP Vegita :(

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LadyJinglyJones
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Re: New owner questions

Post by LadyJinglyJones » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:53 pm

Whew, so this is getting to be a novel, but I forgot about the humidity question...

Humidity can vary a lot from one tank to another, so how you maintain humidity depends on your tank. You want it sitting at about 80% (that way, if it dips a bit, you know your crabs are still okay). Crabs like the highest humidity they can get because they breathe through gills, like fish do (gotta keep em wet, or they don work!). More moisture in the air means they're less likely to become dehydrated, basically.

Do you have a hygrometer? People can't judge humidity acurately by feel, so you really need one to know if the humidity is where you want it.

Here's the link to the humidity FAQ:

viewtopic.php?t=92544

And here is a link to the hygrometer calibration page:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92540

Calibration sounds complicated but is actually pretty simple. You really wanna do this because hygrometers can easily become inaccurate. I recommend a digital one if you haven't got one already: the ones with dials are pretty unreliable in general (and the dials get stuck sometimes! Super annoying!).

Check out the rest of the FAQ pages too - it's a lot of info to take in at first, but it's worth the effort. :)

Here's a quick link:

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/
"Gaze upon the rolling deep..."
Quince the fat tailed gecko; Amazonian minnows; and now Harry & Luis, Bede & Aster, Chandra & Jace, Pax, & Piccolo, my adopted PPs.
RIP Vegita :(

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ciaraalston
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Location: Louisiana

Re: New owner questions

Post by ciaraalston » Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:57 pm

Wow, thank y'all for the info!!! I really needed it!
I'm going first thing tomorrow to get real salt water and some better fresh water, the stuff you recommended is perfect. I can't wait to get them set up with it, I'm sure they will appreciate it!
I added tuna and some egg shells, but I'll use my bigger dish and give them some variety and throw that pet store food away. :wink:
Okay, I know it says 10 gal per crab, but would 2 crabs be okay in a 10? Or should I get the 20? I wanted to get a 20 and add a third friend but I wasn't sure if that was too much.
Also, Last question, do they need sunlight? My hubby suggested we put their table and tank in the walk in closet to give them some darkness and regulate temp/humidity better but I felt like that was so rude to my babies!! Would that be beneficial to them? I'd rather them in the living room with the beta and ball python, ya know out with the family :D our pups like the watch them too so I guess that's a plus. Haha

Anyway, I'm so glad this place exist!!!! Google just wasn't answering all my questions and I'm glad to find other folks who are as amazed as I am with my crabbies!
4 purple pinchers & 2 ecuadorians living a life of luxury in south west Louisiana.
Follow my hermit crab learning journey on instagram! @hermitcrabs_in_the_boot

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New owner questions

Post by Hermiesguardian » Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:26 am

ciaraalston wrote:Wow, thank y'all for the info!!! I really needed it!
I'm going first thing tomorrow to get real salt water and some better fresh water, the stuff you recommended is perfect. I can't wait to get them set up with it, I'm sure they will appreciate it!
I added tuna and some egg shells, but I'll use my bigger dish and give them some variety and throw that pet store food away. :wink:
Okay, I know it says 10 gal per crab, but would 2 crabs be okay in a 10? Or should I get the 20? I wanted to get a 20 and add a third friend but I wasn't sure if that was too much.
Also, Last question, do they need sunlight? My hubby suggested we put their table and tank in the walk in closet to give them some darkness and regulate temp/humidity better but I felt like that was so rude to my babies!! Would that be beneficial to them? I'd rather them in the living room with the beta and ball python, ya know out with the family :D our pups like the watch them too so I guess that's a plus. Haha

Anyway, I'm so glad this place exist!!!! Google just wasn't answering all my questions and I'm glad to find other folks who are as amazed as I am with my crabbies!
Hi! I'm still pretty new at this too. Only 7 months but I'll answer what I can. They need 12 hrs daylight, 12 dark. If they're in the closet you will need bulbs, which get hot and dry up the humidity. And raise the temp. I'll be honest, mine get more daylight than night. I could tape something around their tank for a few more hours but don't.
If you have a chance to get a larger tank then go for it. Bigger is always better. Especially if you're going to put pools in. You can find good deals on craigslist, Letgo app, Offer up app. And keep in mind they will grow. I have 6 mediums (?) In a 90 gallon. I got a great deal. And it still doesn't seem like enough room. :roll:
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi

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LadyJinglyJones
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Re: New owner questions

Post by LadyJinglyJones » Thu Apr 12, 2018 10:06 am

Two crabs will be okay in a ten gal for a while, but I'm sure any crab would tell you bigger is better, lol.

You don't really want a tank in direct sunlight because the sun on the glass might heat the tank well above the temp you want it to be. But as mentioned above, sticking them in a closet will mean lighting them for sure. I feel like having the in a closet would be less fun - you wouldn't see them as much.... but that's just me! I'm sure the crabs won't be offended, though. :wink:
"Gaze upon the rolling deep..."
Quince the fat tailed gecko; Amazonian minnows; and now Harry & Luis, Bede & Aster, Chandra & Jace, Pax, & Piccolo, my adopted PPs.
RIP Vegita :(

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GotButterflies
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Re: New owner questions

Post by GotButterflies » Thu Apr 12, 2018 10:11 am

I wasn't sure if you knew this or not, but if you do decide to upgrade your tank one of these days, a lot of us crabbers get our set ups off of Craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo, and other apps. You can pick up some good deals there. :) Search tank, aquarium, reptile, vivarium Lots of people sell full set ups for cheap on those places. If you do prefer new, Petco and other stores do have $1/Gallon sales often. :)

Good luck! :)
Truly blessed to have incredible creatures, wonderful friends and my amazing family in my life!! I'm very thankful & grateful for all of them! www.thehealthyhermit.com

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ciaraalston
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Re: New owner questions

Post by ciaraalston » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:04 am

Has anyone ever used a 10 gal and made layers/levels to it? i'd love to utilise all the space available for them, any advice? If yall have done it before please post pics!! Actually, any 10 gallon tanks please post pics for ideas!!!! thanks :banana:
4 purple pinchers & 2 ecuadorians living a life of luxury in south west Louisiana.
Follow my hermit crab learning journey on instagram! @hermitcrabs_in_the_boot

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Hermiesguardian
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Re: New owner questions

Post by Hermiesguardian » Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:52 am

ciaraalston wrote:Has anyone ever used a 10 gal and made layers/levels to it? i'd love to utilise all the space available for them, any advice? If yall have done it before please post pics!! Actually, any 10 gallon tanks please post pics for ideas!!!! thanks :banana:
Do you mean a second level inside the tank? I don't think a 10gal can hold a 2nd level tank on top of it. I may be wrong though. Here are a couple of pics for 2nd level ideas. For the first pic, you'd have to find a smaller basket to fit in a 10 gallon. ImageImageImage

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raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi

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Kermie16
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Re: New owner questions

Post by Kermie16 » Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:00 am

ciaraalston wrote:Has anyone ever used a 10 gal and made layers/levels to it? i'd love to utilise all the space available for them, any advice? If yall have done it before please post pics!! Actually, any 10 gallon tanks please post pics for ideas!!!! thanks :banana:
Hey there! So these pictures are about 2 years old when we started crabbing. Please ignore the terrible hygrometer in the background Image Hope it helps with some ideas!!
ImageImageImage


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CrabberCuber
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Re: New owner questions

Post by CrabberCuber » Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:31 am

ciaraalston wrote:
Has anyone ever used a 10 gal and made layers/levels to it? i'd love to utilise all the space available for them, any advice? If yall have done it before please post pics!! Actually, any 10 gallon tanks please post pics for ideas!!!! thanks
Here are some pics of my old 15 gallon. I now have a 75. 10 or 15 is doable, but they need far more room to dig and tunnel around and they do better in colonies.

https://imgur.com/a/52gcP
DJ is still around and doing very well.

https://imgur.com/a/hqmNh
I have lost 2 since this picture for unknown reasons. They were pet store purchases and seemed to be doing Ok, having molted at least once. But out of the blue, I found one dead sitting on the surface one day and the other a couple months later started a surface molt and I didn't know it at the time and thought he was "sick" and I disturbed him far too much and he passed. Now if i suspect anything and see lethargy, I will be placing a 2 liter isolation cap over them and monitor - no physical interaction.

Anyways... please feel free to ask any questions you have. Also keep in mind that when going through these pics that i eventually needed to seal the lid with tape to keep the humidity from leaking out.

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