Confusion in the Hermit Department

 

 

  

 

   

 

 

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[Hermie_the_Crab]

    Hello! I am not new to crabs but I am fairly new to proper care of crabs(wow, that sounded bad), although I am willing to do whatever is needed to ensure my crabs a long, helthy, happy life.  So can you guys help me out?  I have some questions and am wondering if I am doing anything right...
My Current Setup
-10 gallon aquarium-hope to get a 20 or 29 gallon soon
-2-4" of quikrete premium play sand depending where you are in the tank-dampen 1 side weekly
-2 crabs, Hermie-species unknown, Sara-PP
-A lego hut and a cocohut(crrently in iso tank)
-4 free shells, varying sizes, getting some more soon
-2 clam dishes for food
-assortmant of shells/coral
-1 fresh water dish, need to get a salt water dish(oceanic)
-temp-73-74
-no light/heater, have tank light in attic

-2.5 gallon iso tank
-4 in of quikrete premium play sand
-fresh water dish-no room for salt
-cocohut-belongs to main tank
-1 clam dish for food
-2 hermies-Acro-PP, Chi-PP

Questions:
My crabs are inactive, why? I know they are nocturnal but they are always in the same place I left them the night before.  They do sometimes come out to get water though?

What knid of crab do you think hermie is?  He doesn't run around the tank or anything but he is active when I get him out.  I was thinking E but not sure...?*pics at bottom*

Does Acro look like he could be close to moulting?  I just go him on friday and he is always wet and dug in the corner, but not underground.

My crabs don't dig.  Is there a reason for this?  They dig a litle couch in the corner of their tanks but I have only had one go under, Sara.

I wan't to create my own hermie food.  The ingredients I was thinking were lettuce, fruit(add different ones daily so the do't spoil the rest of the food), carrots, FMR Hermit crab peletts(i list one of the ingredients as "trace elements", that doesn't sound good...), shrimp tails, egg shells, and a little oceanic sea salt.  How long will this stay fresh in a tupperware container in the fridge?

Anythng else I need to know/add to my tank?


Thank you,
H_t_C

I'll upl;oad pics later today

[LordRhal]

Heya, Given the info you wrote I would say the main reason your crabs are inactive would be the temperature. 73-74 is a bit low. If you can bump it up to 78ish (don`t go higher than 82) you'll notice a BIG change in their activity. Your sand should be 2-3 times as high as your biggest crab. So depending on how big they are it should be ok. 4 shells is a bit low for 3 crabs, I`d recommend 2-4 shells per crab, various size and shape. Some will enjoy shells that are too big or too small for them even if you provide them with adequate sizes. Do you have stuff they can climb? Like fake plants or wood? If not, the dollar store is your best bet, that is where I get all my plants. You didn`t mention humidity in your post, 78-80 would be your best bet. A bit lower or a bit higher will not hurt either, just don`t go to extremes.

Check if your Acro has milky eyes, if he is drinking a lot of water and if he seems to eat a bit more than usual. Another way to notice is the molt sac, although do not depend on this method for 100% accuracy. It is pretty hard to see it, your crab has to come out of his shell like 75%. It looks like a black sac on the underside of his abdomen. Depending on how scared your crabs are, you might not even be able to get them to come out that far.

As far as digging goes, it really depends on the crab. I have some that love to dig and some that only dig to molt. If your substrate is humid enough and deep enough, then don`t worry, they will dig down when they want too =)

For your home made food, if you are using fresh produce, Ì`d keep it as long as you usually keep your food. Put you seem to know what kind of food to give them. Protein, calcium, fruit and veggie every day and you are golden. Whenever I have poultry or anything with bones, I keep them and freeze them for a good protein source. Eggshells are great too for calcium. If you don`t see your hermits eating in their bowl , check in their hiding places. Mine always steal raisins or nuts and bring them into their hut to eat them.

Your crabs are in the same spots because they each have their own favorite hang-outs. They can be very active while you sleep and just go back to their favorite spot in the morning, that`s normal and nothing to worry about =)

Hope this helps ;p

[trixie]

I have had my 6 crabs for over 2 yrs. and right now are very inactive although they do tend to sleep in the same place everynight so it might look like they are not moving.But they all are at night.
If you havent had them long they might need some time to get used to the new environment. also they usually only dig when they are close to molting. Then they will destroy the place.
If you have a lego hut chances are that it is made of pine or cedar and you need to remove it right away.
What is the humidity level in the tank?
The sand is fine. You might think about getting some Eco-Earth, or Plantation soil from the pet store. It holds moisture better and is not gritty like sand. But I had playsand for a long time.
You should get fake or silk plants to put in. They can climb and hide in them without having to go into the coco hut.
Do not give them any Hermit crab peletts.
on the left of this page is  a EH site. Click on that and it will give you lists of what they can and cant eat. It is cool.
i am in a hurry so im not using caps lock. lol

[LordRhal]

I don`t really agree with them only digging when they are close to molting. I have two in particular that seem to just enjoy digging, one of them having recently molted. I`ll see them under the tank, digging around and they will pop back out a few hours later.

[Hermie_the_Crab]

Thanks you guys!  I am getting the light down from the attac as soon as I type this reply .  That should raise the tempiture.  What wattage do I need?  For humidity, the hygrometer should be done in about an hour and then I will be getting some moss sometime.  What I have been doing is jsut misting the sides in the morning and evening.  Where can you find choya wood/moss at? I think that would be very beneficial.  I also hope to get a hemp net from the hca store  .  Acro's eyes aren't really milky, just brownish/reddish rather than dark black like the other 3's.  The sand is twice the size of acro and he's my largest, when I get a bigger tank though I will add deeper sand(and more crabs ).   Here is a link to my pics so ya'll can look at acro and see about hermie's species. http://s819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/HorsesandCrabs/The%20Crabs/ I fyou click on the picture then roll your mouse over it, it will tell you who it is.  Oh I think I forgot to add in my op aobut their painted shell...for some reason, they wont change . I have extra shells but sara and hermie refuse to move into them.  I keep hering that most move into a new shell, eve if it isn't perfect, whithin a few hours.  HOw come mine aren't?

-H_t_C

**Edit-I just got down the light, it is a bi-light so I can put in a moonglo and day blub without having to use a clamp lamp  !!  Unfortuanatly, I will have to wait untill like next weekend to get the lights  

[LordRhal]

When I got my first 4 crabs, one of them had a painted shell and stayed in it for the first two months or so. Then one morning he had changed. Don't worry, when the time is right, he'll go do a new shell.

[Hermie_the_Crab]

okay.  What is starting to worry me is the stories of people who had crabs glued to their shell  .  She's been in the same shell since i got her like 2 years ago...hmm

[Hermie_the_Crab]

PLEASE READ!! URGENT!   http://hermitcrabaddiction.net/forum/index.php?topic=6493.msg51545#msg51545

[willow111]

Okay.

[emmac350]

One other thing - molt sacs aren't always black. When Toodles had hers, it was a really pretty shade of sky blue. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/emmac350/Crabs/DSCN3396.jpg I've seen pictures of other crabs with that color of a molt sac as well, so at least some of them have blue ones. My Toodles is an Ecuadorian crab, and the other blue one I've seen was a PP.

Edited to add:

I looked through your pictures of your crabs. One picture of Acro really caught my eye. It's picture #46. Looking at it, I would venture to say that I think he is very close to needing a molt. Look at his two inner legs (the two right next to his claws) near the joints. Do you see how it looks really white and stretched by the bottom joints? That is a typical sign of impending molts. Some describe it as being like how, when we sit down while wearing a loose pair of pants, you can still see the shape and position of the legs through the pants, even though you can't see them. Do you know what I'm talking about? It looks like you can see new exo through the old exo.

[Cloie74]

Welcome to the frustration of crabbing!! At first it seems you are doing everything wrond, and you probably are but kudos to you for trying to be a crabby mommy.
Your crabs arent changing shells because you don't have shells they are interested in. I use the 4 per crab rule, there are always crabs shell shopping in my tank because they have so many options.
PP's usually like the Turbo shells where E's like more of a D mouth shaped shell. Not to say each wont go in both it is just a noted prefference.
You can go to a local craft store and buy the shells as well as Cholla wood and fish nets for climbing. Before you put the shells in the tank boil them in salt water, my crabs LOVE to drink the salt water out of freshly boiled shells it is the weirdest thing!
As far as your ISO goes I think it is wayyyyy to small. So try and move the crab out of there and into your main tank as soo as you can.

Dont feed lettuce, there is ZERO neutritional value to it, it is 99% water and just a filler. Try for all organic pesticides are deadly to crabs even in trace amounts, fresh fruit and veggies, unseasoned cooked meat, chicken and fish, shrimp, egg shells Etc are all great. Look in the crab addiction store the taster packs are GREAT and they dont spoil.

[emmac350]

Lettuce depends on the type offered. Iceberg lettuce has, like Cloie said, no nutritional value. Romaine lettuce, though, has a high level of Zeaxanthin, a coloring compound (like carotene, which we've all heard of) that crabs use to help regulate their metabolisms. Mine prefer the younger leaves of the romaine lettuce (and baby celery too) - the ones that are yellow and an inch or so tall - I think it's because the nutrients that will one day be spread out over the entire stalk or leaf are so concentrated in the little version.

[willow111]

Those are the leaves i feed mine when i make their little chese treat  once every 2 months, it's a little salad.

[willow111]

One other thing - molt sacs aren't always black. When Toodles had hers, it was a really pretty shade of sky blue.

When RockNRoll had hers, it was a cream color. You could hardly see it because  it was the color of her body.

[Sterwick]

Is ROCKNROLL totally sure it was a molt sac? Molt sacs tend to have rather specific, dull colours. I haven't heard of a cream molt sac before (although prove me wrong)

   This is Wasabi. He is a PP, (Purple Pincher) and sadly, he has passed on. He was the biggest out of all the crabs I have owned so far, and out of them all, he lived the longest. He lived about 6-7 months.

~Hermies4Ever~

Land hermit crabs store a small amount of water in their shells just to keep their gills wet, thus allowing them to breath.