My Hermit Crabs

Questions about food and water.
Post Reply
pilli_pala
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Jun 2009, 22:32
Hermit crabs: 4
Total gallons: 9
Total tanks: 3

My Hermit Crabs

Post by pilli_pala »

I became a hermit crab owner on Sunday and now have four little guys (or at least I think they are, they could be girls!)

Jimmy JoJo (small, brown and white natural shell)
Sir. Pinchalot (small, pointy shell with a sort of black/brown colour)
Batista (bit bigger than the others with round white shell)
Sebastian (small, white swirly shell)

They are living in a six gallon tank with sawdust, sand (pet shop variety) and gravel. The sawdust is quite deep and good for burying in, the sand and gravel just provide another surface to crawl across. I have a fresh water bowl and food dish and have found that the crabs enjoy sultanas. We have a little house in the tank (upturned coconut covered with some sort of straw) and also a sort of coral (that looks like a tree), a piece of small driftwood, damp sponge (i've heard its good for humidity) and spare shells too. They are quite active and come alive when the sun appears!

Any tips or advice on caring for my hermit crabs would be greatly appreciated :)

--Maya--
User avatar
emmac350
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1949
Joined: 22 Sep 2008, 08:08
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 6
Total gallons: 40
Total tanks: 2
Contact:

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by emmac350 »

Pilli_pala,

If you'll look at the substrate blacklist (http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabc ... eslist.php), you'll see that wood shavings/sawdust is not good for crabs. Depending on what kind of wood it's from (cedar or pine especially), it will actually kill your crabs due to its insecticidal qualities. Additionally, gravel is also on that blacklist - it won't allow your crabs to dig into it and make their cave for molting. I recommend that you get rid of both of those in your tank and either get all sand (not anything labeled "CalciSand" or "Hermit Crab Sand" or anything that mentions being a calcium source) or coconut fiber (Eco Earth being the most common brand).

Your tank is a bit small for four crabs as well. Crabs in the wild will run around over two miles in one night, so you need to get them a bigger tank as soon as you can. Ten gallons would be much better than what they have.

Do you offer any sort of salt water? If not, please look at http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabc ... /water.php to see why they need salt water and what brands are okay for you to use for them. Bottom line up front, they can die from no salt water, although it will take a while.

Do you dechlorinate water before giving it to them? If not, the chlorine will blister their gills and will eventually cause them to suffocate and die. Otherwise, you could offer them distilled water with no minerals added.

What is a suitana?

Also, that "straw" isn't any sort of pine material, is it? If it is, it will cause your crabs to die. If not, then it should be fine.

Do you have a gauge to measure temperature and humidity in the tank? You need to keep the tank between 70-78 degrees F at all times, and the humidity needs to be between 70 and 80%. Otherwise, they won't be able to breathe - they have gills to breathe the humidity.

Also, please don't put their tank in direct sunlight; it can over heat them.

Sorry if I sound mean - I am running late but wanted to get this information out there for you.
Follow the daily lives of my crabs at thedailyhermit.tumblr.com

Mommy to:
Rack, 23 Sep 08; Benny, 23 Sep 08; Slightly, 3 Jan 09; Nibs, 3 Jan 09; Curly, 3 Jan 09; Spaz, 5 Jul 09

If you are contacted privately and enticed to join another forum, please inform a moderator. This is an unethical practice.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2921
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 5
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by Wai »

Emma is right... you've got a lot to learn. However, I must thank you for being a responsible hermit crab owner for being eager to learn.
Wai
Image
CrabbyJo
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by CrabbyJo »

Congratulations on your little crabs, Pilli_Palla. :)

I know Emma's post may seem overwhelming, but it's been found that pet stores seriously have NO idea of the best way to care for hermit crabs, even the books that are available have info that is YEARS outdated. Just in the past few years a TON has been learned about hermit crab care and the info is just now really getting out there.

I was lucky - my daughter got our first hermit crab at a store where the girl knew a lot about caring for hermit crabs, so we got sort of set up properly. I had to do some research on my own to finish getting set up the best way for our crabs.

Most important to start is the temp and humidity and substrate and water sources. Then you can move on from there. It took me at least a month before I got my tank set up just right, and more money than I care to say I spent! There are cheap ways to do it though, I just was lucky enough to have a birthday and some extra cash to spend on it for myself.

Please do read the crab care sections, they are very helpful. I know my eyes ended up hurting with all the research I had to do for my own crabs! :) We are happy to share our experience with you, so don't be afraid to ask if you can't find what you need to know in the crab care or with the search option. :)
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
User avatar
ladybug15057
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 3098
Joined: 03 Mar 2008, 04:12
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 82
Total gallons: 305
Total tanks: 7
Location: Southwestern Pa., U.S.

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by ladybug15057 »

Please do take Emma's advIce as well as read the crab care section... the area's that are marked "New" in yellow. It is important to make the changes suggested ASAP

Emma, I cannot remembert:

"What is a suitana?"

Last I heard this was a couple years ago and it was from an Aussie crabber... Wai? or Maya can you enlighten us please?
Marie (aka ladybug15057)

If you are contacted privately (via pm or e-mail) and enticed to join another forum, please contact a Crab Crew member. This is an unethical practice.
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2921
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 5
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by Wai »

A sultana (not suitana) is a dried grape. It is usually brown/black in appearance. Some sultanas are organic, while others are contaminated with preservatives.
Wai
Image
User avatar
ladybug15057
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 3098
Joined: 03 Mar 2008, 04:12
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 82
Total gallons: 305
Total tanks: 7
Location: Southwestern Pa., U.S.

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by ladybug15057 »

Ok, jogging memory here... sounds more like what we call prunes here in the U.S.?
http://www.fotosearch.com/ICN206/f0014624/
Marie (aka ladybug15057)

If you are contacted privately (via pm or e-mail) and enticed to join another forum, please contact a Crab Crew member. This is an unethical practice.
CrabbyJo
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by CrabbyJo »

Dried grape... sounds like a raisin!
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
pilli_pala
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 6
Joined: 23 Jun 2009, 22:32
Hermit crabs: 4
Total gallons: 9
Total tanks: 3

Re: My Hermit Crabs

Post by pilli_pala »

a sultana is definitely not a prune! we have those too and they are very different.

a sultana is small and almost a raisin but they taste different and are...squashier.

thanks for all the advice too

am checking out new substrates and stuff :)
Post Reply