HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Sounds silly, but I just recently found out what poop looked like. *chuckle*

So I've been scooping obvious spots once a week, when I clean dishes. How do you weekly clean? I just try to get the ropey poops, but feel like I'm missing something.

Detail your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly routines here, for us clueless ladies who Don know how to clean their crabitat.

I'm rapidly approaching my one year crabiversary. I thought the would be dead in a few months, so I'm totally stoked!

Daily to every couple days: I wash out food dishes, clean up scattered food on the surface, change fresh and salt water, mist. Straighten up things they've knocked around.

Monthly: I pull everything but the substrate and crabs out. Do a head count (sometimes more often than monthly). Wash out shell shops and moss pits - where I find a ton of poo. I mist the substrate really well and carefully smooth it. Fluff up plants that they've smooshed. Wipe down the glass. Calibrate gauges (not usually every month but every couple).

Yearly+: I pull everything out and put the crabs in a safe place. Mix up the substrate and add/replace as needed. I only change substrate out completely if there's something wrong, mostly I'm just adding to it. Wipe down glass, wash all decor, take pictures of the crabs for my record (if I remember). I know many don't recommend deep cleans anymore. It's just what works for me. I think giving the substrate a mix when you can is a good idea. I try my best to only do this when most of my crabs are on the surface (they're very, very rarely all on the surface at once).

Hi!!

So I know what the poop looks like when it hits the water dish or was on a non-sandy surface... but now that I have the substrate in, I cannot easily see it. Not sure if I should just 'scrape' a thin layer off the top... I don't want to just leave it uncleaned... it just seems hard to tell with the coconut shell mixed in so its not just beige sand.

what should I do!

If you can't see it, leave it. The EE and sand make good bacteria. The bacteria and EE help break it down. It is fine. If it really bothers you then you can buy some pill bugs to help clean up.

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Thank you. I just wasn't sure if it was ok to leave... btw, what is "EE"? Sorry... I had done a bunch of research prior to getting them (for my kids...ya, right) and am learning as I go along. They are fascinating. And the plethora of info available is awesome. I had a couple YEARS ago without knowing the real proper care and they did live a while as I tended them everyday in the best environment that I was aware of. When my kids asked if they could have them, I was thrilled and my husband was like "who did you really want these for?"...

Anyhow, I digress... just wanted to be sure that poop wasn't a bad thing in a sense if I didn't see it in the sand. I saw how people have separate tanks for the pill bugs and didn't know if tossing about two in the tank would help since I have only three crabs.
smk

EE = EcoEarth. It's a cocofiber bedding that you can use as substrate.


Zoo mom of 3 cats, a dog, a fish and 3 (for now) crabs

Just mix some EE into your sand. Most use 5 parts sand to 1 part EE. It will help with breaking down the poop and help keep humidity up. Great stuff.

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Oh yes, that is mixed in with the sand already. Thanks!