HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm new to this I purchased a crab last year for my grandson so last week my son gave it to me to take home and see what I can do with it.
issues is it stays buried in the sand all the time and does not eat. the same is going on at my house I can pull him out and 10 min later
back buried till the next day till I get him out thanks for any help with a starting point

Lazerdms wrote:I'm new to this I purchased a crab last year for my grandson so last week my son gave it to me to take home and see what I can do with it.
issues is it stays buried in the sand all the time and does not eat. the same is going on at my house I can pull him out and 10 min later
back buried till the next day till I get him out thanks for any help with a starting point

Welcome! Glad you found this site. Please fill out the emergency template so we get an idea of his conditions. But here are some basics. Hermit crabs dig. They dig to destress. They dig to molt. They dig to sleep during the day. They are mostly nocturnal. And they can stay buried for days, weeks to destress. And months if they are molting. Rule #1 of crabbing. Never dig them up. Especially if they are molting. It can have dire consequences. Only in an emergency like a flood in the tank or a bacterial bloom should they be gently dug up.

They are probably stressed and want to stay buried. Don’t take them out of the sand unless it’s an emergency otherwise it will stress them out more and might kill them. Just make sure you have the right substrate, temperature, and humidity and they’ll be fine.


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thanks a lot another question I think they have sand from the beach in the tank is this Ok and if not Ill go to pet store tomorrow

and the best way to keep humidity in the tank

Lazerdms wrote:thanks a lot another question I think they have sand from the beach in the tank is this Ok and if not Ill go to pet store tomorrow

and the best way to keep humidity in the tank

Sand from the beach can have mites and stuff. Get playsand from a hardware store. 50lb bag for about $4. Most things marketed for hermit crabs isn't good for them. Get Prime dechlorinator. And Instant Ocean to add to dechlorinated water to make salt water. Mix the sand with Eco Earth (you can get blocks of it at the pet store) and dechlorinated water. 5:1 sand/ee. Mix it to be sandcastle consistancy. It has to hold its shape. If it drips when squeezed it's too wet. You should have at least a 10 gal tank. Add 6"inches of substrate. Or 3x the height of the largest crab. Whichever is deeper. Make sure the lid is sealed. Glass lid or mesh lid sealed with saran wrap. This will keep in the humidity. Add a moss pit. Dampen the moss with dechlorinated water. Check out the safe/unsafe food list. They need calcium and protein every day. As well as adding fruit and veggies. A digital thermometer/hygrometer is best. Temp needs to be about 80°. And humidity needs to be minimum 80%. Can't be too high. They need humidity to breath.

Using straight coconut fiber (eco earth) is an easy way to help maintain humidity levels. A long time ago I saw suggestions on here to use salt water with the substrate to inhibit mold growth and it has worked really well for me. Added bonus, occasionally my crabs will chow down on the coconut fiber itself.

A towel on top of a glass lid works pretty much as well as saran wrap for keeping humidity; also my crabs responded well to not having an open overhead view.

Look in the fish, reptile, and turtle sections of your pet stores. You can find dried veggies, blood worms, shrimp, meal worms, etc. for way cheaper than marketed towards hermit crabs. Cheaper than the pellet food which isn't good for them anyway.

Eggshells are an excellent source of calcium that is practically free, just toss the shells to your crabs instead of the garbage.

Get the crab a companion and stop pulling him out. You're stressing it which is only going to make it be inactive longer. They love places to hide, things to climb, things to crawl inside. They're more comfortable and more active when they're not out in the open and have options of shelter.

I must agree with the previous poster, get your little guy a friend! No, it will not be double the responsibility, as 1 is about as easy as 2, and hermit crabs, despite their name, love to have a friend! My two little guys love each other!

Just a warning, I am a new user, so things I say may not be perfectly credible, but I'm working on it.

Honestly, a towel on top of a glass lid isn't going to do much, it's more likely the glass lid that's doing the trick. In order to hold humidity in the tank, the tank itself needs to be pretty air tight. A lid that covers the top, or even saran wrap sealed over the top, will hold in humidity, as long as tank conditions are correct. For the OP, what is your current temp and humidity ?
The emergency template that Hermiesguardian was referring to can be found here, it can help us help you troubleshoot:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

Check out the care sheet section for lots of good information:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=51

thanks for all the info The temp is 70 and the hygrometer is 65 Today I went and purchased a 10 gal tank going from a 5 gal ,live moss, and soaking salt
what more to you recommend I get I will get some play sand from Lowes as of now he has not moved in a day just 1/2 in the sand

Lazerdms wrote:thanks for all the info The temp is 70 and the hygrometer is 65 Today I went and purchased a 10 gal tank going from a 5 gal ,live moss, and soaking salt
what more to you recommend I get I will get some play sand from Lowes as of now he has not moved in a day just 1/2 in the sand

Your temp needs to be much higher - I personally prefer 80-85. Humidity needs to be much higher also - hermit crabs have modified gills and need the humidity to breathe. I personally recommend anything over 80.
Soaking salt WILL NOT work. They need marine salt like Instant Ocean. Marine salt is what is used to make saltwater fish tanks. You also need to dechlorinate all water used for them. Chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals and ammonia are harmful for their gills.

I use beach sand for my hermits - nothing wrong with it. I recommend using sand that is away from all tourists.
Please fill out the emergency template that is mentioned above for further help.