LONELY.CRAB.NEED.HELP.KEEPING.HAPPY!

[hermiesman80]

My hermie Hermes is lonely and won`t come out of his shell unless I hold him he`s lonely and probably unhappy .I.NEED.HELP.

[abegie]

Probably good to get him a friend. Preferably of the same species if you can easily find. Hermit crabs are very social animals and enjoy having companions.

[hermiesman80]

Thank you.

[hermiesman80]

My crab ,Hermes ,is surface molting .I know by his behavior but he doesn't show any sign of discomfort in my hand. I there something wrong?

[ladybug15057]

Here you wrote:
viewtopic.php?f=93&t=3921&p=32625#p32625

I use aquarium gravel which my hermit crab has lived in happily for over a year now and he has never gotten sick or anything else that could be bad for a hermit crab I don`t use sand anymore because it irritated my hermie and he lost over 3 limbs because of it,by the way i used baked,imported carribean sand for him.I really hope this helps

You mention in this thread about your hermie being lonely and not coming out of his shell… now about him not showing discomfort in your hand? To be in your hand he should not show discomfort? What, if anything are you doing for him to need to show discomfort?
I looked back, and please do answer the questions below:

What is the volume of your main tank?


How many hermit crabs do you currently have? How big are they?


How long have you had the hermit crab(s) that you are concerned about?


What substrate or combination of substrates are you using? How deep is it?


What do you feed your hermit crabs?


Do you use distilled, bottled, tap or other types of water?


If you are using a dechlorinator, what brand is it? Does it state to remove all heavy metals, chlorine and chloramines?


What brand of sea salt are you using to supply your hermit crabs with salt water?


What heat source are you using and where is it positioned?


Have you calibrated your thermometer(s) and hygrometer so that you can interpret accurate readings?


What is the air temperature range and humidity inside the tank?


If you are using an under tank heater, what is the highest temperature that the substrate reaches?


Do you have any photos of your tank or hermit crab(s) of concern? If yes, please attach them to your post.

[hermiesman80]

10 gallon tank
1 hermit crab named Hermes
golf ball sized hermie [he`s a pp by the way]
3 years
6 and a half in aquarium gravel
fruits and veggies
dechlorinated tap/bottled mix
Anti-chlor tm yes it only takes out heavy and medium metals
I don`t use a brand I use natural sea salt i evaporate from sea water
I have a heat lamp and keep the moisture at exactly 75 %
yes
75 degrees f and 75 %
75 degrees f
no and i don`t know how to even put a picture on the message reply thingy.
never mind the last one

[CrabbyJo]

You say he's "surface molting" and you can tell because of his behavior - perhaps you mean he's showing signs of pre-molt symptoms?
And if your substrate is gravel, then of course the only way your crab could molt is on the surface

You say your salt water is made from salt you get from sea water your evaporate yourself - can you give us more details about this? I've never heard of anyone doing this before so I don't know what your process might be or the re-mix ratio, etc. Do you use a hygrometer to measure the salinity after re-mixing?

You do need to supplement his diet, drastically. He should be getting proteins, chitin, calcium, etc.
Feed dried copepods, fresh shrimp, and there should be seaweeds as well included.

I'll let Ladybug respond to the rest, as I've got to get back to work.

[ladybug15057]

CrabbyJo has given great advice above and the changes should be done ASAP. I too would like to have more detail about the evaporated sea salt? How the impurities are removed from it too during this process.

dechlorinated tap/bottled mix
Anti-chlor tm yes it only takes out heavy and medium metals

One needs a dechlorinator that also neutralizes the chlorine and chloramines in tap water. Chlorine causes blisters on the hermies gills, an irreversible damage that will not regenerate during molting.

I have a heat lamp and keep the moisture at exactly 75 %
75 degrees f

With a 10 gal tank, and using a heat lamp (and you do not mention the wattage) and the air temp of 75*F, what is the substrate/gravel temp on the cool and the warm side of the tank?