HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello all, I am very new to this craby world and I need some advice!!

Back Story:
I brought my new crabs home almost 2 months ago. I went into the pet store expecting to get three tiny crabs, but ended up with five tiny crabs (I’m kind of a sucker ). I have a 10 gallon tank that has a mixture of coco fiber and sand that is 6in deep.i have both fresh and salt water bowls and places to climb/hide. To my knowledge there is a mix of both E’s and PP’s in the tank.i keep the humidity at about 70-75% and the temp at 80 degrees (with heating pads on the side rather than the bottom of the tank)

That all being said, when I first brought them home they ALL looked very gray, probably because the pet store didn’t have much in the way of substrate to bury themselves in. Needless to say, I expected all of them to bury and molt in the days following. This is exactly what they did... or so I think. Over the last 2 months I have never seen more then one of them out at one time, and I think it is the same one every time. I’m not sure why they will not come out from underground, and I’m pretty sure they don’t come out because the food bowl my not be disturbed for several days at a time. I’m worried that some of them are dead rather than molting, but don’t want to dig around for fear of hurting them. HELP!!!

Welcome! Sounds like you've done some research. Just a few things to work on. Ypu need a bigger tank. 5 gallons per crab is recommended. 10 gallons per E. So you definately need a bigger tank. You can find good deals on craigslist. Or the apps LetGo and OfferUp. Is your substrate sandcastle consistancy? You need to try and get your humidity up. They have modified gills and need at least 80% humidity to breath. What kind of lid do you have? If it's mesh, you can seal it with saran wrap and tape the edges. Do you have a moss pit? That helps with humidity. What are you feeding them? They need calcium and protein every day. Take a look at the care guide links and the safe and unsafe food list. That basically covers the basics. I know it's hard but don't dig for them. They could be under to destress or molt or just because. They eat such tiny amounts you may not notice any food gone.

I second what Hermiesguardian has said!

Welcome! Sounds like you were prepared, which is more than a lot of us when we were new. The long-time crabbers often advise that crabs can stay under for weeks or months. We had one that lived underground, we never saw him except occasionally if I happened to be up at 3AM! You can also try smoothing out the substrate before you go to bed and look for little footie prints in the morning.


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