My kid brother kept hermit crabs when he was in high school. I'll never forget the laugh one of his crabs gave me when he got out one time. I was talking with my father in the den and suddenly noticed the crab walking across the den. Now that crab had crawled quite a ways from my brother's room to the den! I couldn't believe my eyes! But I think they're cute now.
The Es can be hard to keep. Sometimes you end up with a hermit crab that has just had too much malnutrition before you even got it, and they just can't molt successfully. I lost the first few I had that way, and a couple others due to mistakes we all make and learn from.
Bugs definitely can sometimes be a problem, and you usually need to find the source of what is causing them to come into your tank. Did you have a covered tank? Wire lid and plexiglass or glass covering it? That's what is needed to hold in the moisture. The tank has to maintain at least 78% consistently, or the hermies gills can be damaged. For the salt water, was it ocean salt water or table salt? If table salt, that could be part of the problem.
Also, what substrate did you use? The humidity gauges need to be calibrated once in awhile to make sure they are accurate :)
I had a 20gallon tank with a sliding screen lid.When I used the wet towel,I would just cover most of the screen that way. So a full glass lid? I thought they had to have some air going through? The first time we had ants it was because I left their veggies overnight.The second time we had those white looking bugs,I thought because it was too moist,and the third was ants, IDK know why on that one.The salt was specificlly for them,"Crab Salt" in their section at Petsmart.The substrate,I statred using the tiny ,over expensive colored bags for hermit crabs as well as "Jungle " something,in the reptile section- it was all soft,no points. Then I switched sand to the vitasand in the reptile section.
I had a 20gallon tank with a sliding screen lid.When I used the wet towel,I would just cover most of the screen that way. So a full glass lid? I thought they had to have some air going through? The first time we had ants it was because I left their veggies overnight.The second time we had those white looking bugs,I thought because it was too moist,and the third was ants, IDK know why on that one.The salt was specificlly for them,"Crab Salt" in their section at Petsmart.The substrate,I statred using the tiny ,over expensive colored bags for hermit crabs as well as "Jungle " something,in the reptile section- it was all soft,no points. Then I switched sand to the vitasand in the reptile section.
Yea, glass or plexiglass over top of the screen works best. You leave a crack so air flow can get in.
That was probably part of your problem. The hermit crab items at pet stores actually is no good for them. The "crab salt" has nothing in it...You have to use ocean salt, like the brand Instant Ocean, for them to get the nutrients and such they need for it. As for the substrate, the jungle brand stuff is made with cypress and such, which is bad for them. Anything in that family is an irritant to crabs and other inverts. The vita sand and hermit crab sands/reptile sands are no good. When the crabs try to molt, it can harden inside their shells and create sharp points. The best sand is actually in the fish section...it's Aragonite sand, sugar grain size. :)
if you don't have the money right now, let me warn you. They are quite expensive to set up. I also spend about 20 bucks a month on food, as you can't feed the store bought stuff.
PM me and I can give you some info about them, and a great site that has helped me out ALOT with mine, and are a great bunch of people who have had hermies for years!
Just curious.. what do you feed your crabs? I was actually thinking of doing these guys, or halloween crabs, for my 10gal. Do hermies need any special lighting? I know the halloween crabs do, which is what turned me off from them x-x
Yea, glass or plexiglass over top of the screen works best. You leave a crack so air flow can get in.
That was probably part of your problem. The hermit crab items at pet stores actually is no good for them. The "crab salt" has nothing in it...You have to use ocean salt, like the brand Instant Ocean, for them to get the nutrients and such they need for it. As for the substrate, the jungle brand stuff is made with cypress and such, which is bad for them. Anything in that family is an irritant to crabs and other inverts. The vita sand and hermit crab sands/reptile sands are no good. When the crabs try to molt, it can harden inside their shells and create sharp points. The best sand is actually in the fish section...it's Aragonite sand, sugar grain size. :)
Oh great, I feel real bad now. When I looked at a website, it said those were OK! Yikes. Thank you for telling me! I doubt I will ever get them again, but if I did, I will use all your advice!
Oh great, I feel real bad now. When I looked at a website, it said those were OK! Yikes. Thank you for telling me! I doubt I will ever get them again, but if I did, I will use all your advice!
Don't feel bad! You didn't know. Rarely do pet stores ever carry what they need, and there is much conflicting information about them out there...and I don't think I've ever seen a petstore that has the correct info. You had a good start with them! If you start with them again, check out hermitcrabparadise.com and read up on all their information. :)
Just curious.. what do you feed your crabs? I was actually thinking of doing these guys, or halloween crabs, for my 10gal. Do hermies need any special lighting? I know the halloween crabs do, which is what turned me off from them x-x
Nope, no special lighting. Just remember, no more than 3 (5 at the max) for a 10 gal. They need their space. :)
I order all my food from hermitcrabaddictionstore.com, but you can feed them fresh fruits and veggies, seaweed algae, preservative free meats (like hamburger and such that you haven't added any seasoning to), and other things. Just stay away from any hermit crab pelleted/powdered foods in petstores.
Don't feel bad! You didn't know. Rarely do pet stores ever carry what they need, and there is much conflicting information about them out there...and I don't think I've ever seen a petstore that has the correct info. You had a good start with them! If you start with them again, check out hermitcrabparadise.com and read up on all their information. :)
Thank you! I noticed when I first bought them, they were in a regular tank on the wall of petsmart with the soil,water bowls,hiding spots etc. After mine had died,They had filled the tank with some water a few inches? Now,, they are back like the first time I went! Very conflicting is right! I got some information off this site,but as I said fresh foods with the commercial. hermit-crabs.com Thank you!
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When I looked at a website, it said those were OK! Yikes. Thank you for telling me! I doubt I will ever get them again, but if I did, I will use all your advice!
