Old Hermit Crab Owner seeking advice

[Hermes' Hermies]

I am getting hermit crabs soon and I want to make sure everything is in check. I'm on holidays and I was dying of boredom so I did my research, but I want to make sure this all OK for now.
http://www.petsunleashed.com.au/small-a ... tarter-kit
That, is the link to where I'll be ordering the kit. It seems OK to me, but after my research, I decided it's best to upgrade soon (2.5 FT. Tank) and get Red Sea: Marine Salt instead of using the salt provided. I have a bit of StressCoat to use for the occasional bath, but if there's anything else I have missed, PLEASE tell me, I don't want to kill the Hermies I'll get . I had hermies before but we totally stuffed it up. D: i am also getting a different sand, but there's a post about it on 'Bedding'

Thanks in advance!!

[aussieJJDude]

Yay, new aussie (or soon to be) hermit crab owner!
Don't get that PLEASE! Get the 2.5 foot tank, you could house 2-5 hermies in there instead on cramming 2 in that small kit!
Don't use "hermit crab salt" or any salt that is made for hermit crabs in general, these don't have the trace elements that they need, plus most of the time it is just rock salt that you get in the super market inside a package labelled "hermit crab salt".
Most of the time, bathing is stressful for hermit crabs, it better to provide dishes in the tank were they can do it themselves. and water dish they come in contact, make sure sure that there is no chlorine and other "product" that humans have placed with the water.
I hope the best for you

[Hermes' Hermies]

I read on Vanessa's website that bathing is good for hermit crabs that have just been bought, and have been subjected to low humidity for awhile,and it can clean out the hermits of grime from the pet store.

[Wai]

Vanessa hasn't fiddled with her site for quite a while and her opinions on hermit crab care may have changed since she last updated it. Hermit crabs keep water in their shells of a particular salinity that they feel comfortable with. Bathing flushes that water out and the hermit crab would have to mix up their shell water again, which may annoy them. Don't bathe them unless they're fresh out of the pet store or there has been an outbreak of mites.

[Hermes' Hermies]

Hmm! Okay, I understand. I tried sending an email to Vanessa, but it bounced back, saying the email was in valid. Where should I also get my shells from, by the way?

[Hermes' Hermies]

And any places to get good deals on tanks, as well?

[aussieJJDude]

Shells you can get from Ebay or gumtree... I would try to avoid pet stores, many of there shells are unsuitable. You can get shells from bunnings too
Ebay is the best place to look for tank. Plus they don't have to be water tight I got a 4 foot by 1.5 F tank for $80.81. came with stand and lid. Great deal.

[aussieJJDude]

Shells you can get from Ebay or gumtree... I would try to avoid pet stores, many of there shells are unsuitable. You can get shells from bunnings too
Ebay is the best place to look for tank. Plus they don't have to be water tight I got a 4 foot by 1.5 F tank for $80.81. came with stand and lid. Great deal.

[ladybug15057]

Vanessa hasn't been a crabber for years either, and her web sites are very much in need of some updating. (not all info, but quite a bit as already been mentioned by the others)
Wai (or another Aussie crabber) may have more insight on whether to buy new hermies or not. Here in the U.S. hermies are bathed in tetracycline for bacteria reasons when first caught and once received by the major chain stores. For this reason it is highly recommended to bath new hermies.

[appps]

Hello and welcome from a fellow Aussie :-)

First the kit. Looking at that the only bits I would probably use are the tank and heater. So it may be more economical to look on ebay for a heater and see if you can pick up a second hand fish tank on gum tree. Oh and maybe the dishes but I just use half a shell for food and prefer more room in my water dishes.

I use both sand (bunnings playsand) and a coconut fibre from the pet store but mine seem to much prefer the sand.

Salt water I'm lucky and live 10 minutes from deserted beaches so grab the real stuff but originally I purchased salt for mixing up salt water for marine fish and had no problems. Would need to go look for the name though. I have never used stress coat and only ever lost one crab that was bought in awful conditions to start with.

As for the bath I'd just let them bath themselves in the saltwater. Lot less stress on them than you doing it and they love a good swim. I have a salt water pond at one end of my tank with a tiny water filter on it and they can come and go in it as they please. They at times spend an hour totally submerged just playing round in the water. As long as they can always get themselves out again it can be quite deep so they can get in and flush their own shells out.

Mine have a deep saltwater pond and a fresh water waterfall. They love the salt water, can't remember the last time I saw one in the fresh. So if you are going to go big with one make it the salt one.

I've bought shells (unpainted) from crazy crab in WA quite economically. Though the ones they were most like came from a packet of decorative shells in the garden section at bunnings. Just boil well before use.

There is more info on my setup in the journal link in my signature.

Good luck!!