🐚 Crustacean Talk!

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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby nice » Fri Feb 10, 2017 7:14 am

i don't know if this thread is still active but
i'm getting two little hermit crabs tonight!!! i'm super excited, i've been researching all week and i'm still afraid everything won't be perfect uvu

yesterday i visited petsmart just to look at the hermies, and there were gnats in the tank. would it be best not to buy those? i really don't wanna deal with a gnat or mite problem in the first few weeks..

also i've heard mixed opinions on cleaning tanks. how often do you guys clean yours? i'm planning on mixing some eco earth and sand for my substrate if that makes a difference?
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby PeachFuzz » Fri Feb 10, 2017 9:04 am

oof wrote:i don't know if this thread is still active but
i'm getting two little hermit crabs tonight!!! i'm super excited, i've been researching all week and i'm still afraid everything won't be perfect uvu

yesterday i visited petsmart just to look at the hermies, and there were gnats in the tank. would it be best not to buy those? i really don't wanna deal with a gnat or mite problem in the first few weeks..

also i've heard mixed opinions on cleaning tanks. how often do you guys clean yours? i'm planning on mixing some eco earth and sand for my substrate if that makes a difference?


The gnats shouldn't be a problem. They don't live or lay eggs on hermit crabs or in their shells so it's unlikely you'll bring any home from the shop. c:

I don't do much cleaning in my tank. I'll replace a little bit of the top substrate if the crabs have been dragging their food around and making a mess but that's about it. The only time you'll want to do a deep clean is if you have a bug infestation (mites for example). Healthy bacteria that breaks down waste grows in the substrate and you want to preserve that.

Have fun with your hermit crabs!
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby Spearow » Sat Feb 11, 2017 5:18 am

I haven't been on here for a awhile but I thought I'd post about my crabbies. I got them some ecoEarth and they love it. Also, they absolutely loved scrambled eggs. (remember absolutely no table-salt or seasoning for hermit crabs!)

I have three crabs right now, a male, a female, and one I rescued that is very distrusting and stressed so never comes out of his shell. But he (assuming male) gets along great with the other two and I'm glad to finally have him some company. They all hangout in the same coconut hut together, event though there is more than one in their tank. The female crab reminds me so much of my crab Stiles I had. She is absolutely 100% trusting and you don't have to lie your hand flat to avoid pinching, she never ever attempts to. She is fearless, and pretty big.

They're all doing great and are super funny to watch. Love them, all three I have currently have the dark purple claw, with various colors. I'll probably post some pictures later!~
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby nice » Sat Feb 11, 2017 5:26 am

.Spearow. wrote:I haven't been on here for a awhile but I thought I'd post about my crabbies. I got them some ecoEarth and they love it. Also, they absolutely loved scrambled eggs. (remember absolutely no table-salt or seasoning for hermit crabs!)

I have three crabs right now, a male, a female, and one I rescued that is very distrusting and stressed so never comes out of his shell. But he (assuming male) gets along great with the other two and I'm glad to finally have him some company. They all hangout in the same coconut hut together, event though there is more than one in their tank. The female crab reminds me so much of my crab Stiles I had. She is absolutely 100% trusting and you don't have to lie your hand flat to avoid pinching, she never ever attempts to. She is fearless, and pretty big.

They're all doing great and are super funny to watch. Love them, all three I have currently have the dark purple claw, with various colors. I'll probably post some pictures later!~


aww i'm glad your crabs are doing great!!

so i got my two crabbies last night, they're still a bit scared. last night they just stayed inside of their shell when i was around, and when i would walk near the tank they would immediately hide. but now they're exploring and climbing a bit!! i named one taco, the smaller one, and my boyfriend named the bigger one sushi xd

the only problem i'm having is keeping the humidity high. although i have a heating pad, a lamp, moss, moist eco earth, and i keep saran wrap over the top of the cage (and sprayed it a few times with a mix of salt and freshwater), my hydrometer says it's only 40-50% humid. it reached 60% at one point but it fluctuates. i'm getting a bit worried : /

i'm thinking of getting another heating pad and a different lamp (a light bulb) that i can actually put inside of the cage when i get home. the temperature only stays around 70-75 so i'm worried about that too uvu
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby Spearow » Sat Feb 11, 2017 5:44 am

oof wrote:
.Spearow. wrote:I haven't been on here for a awhile but I thought I'd post about my crabbies. I got them some ecoEarth and they love it. Also, they absolutely loved scrambled eggs. (remember absolutely no table-salt or seasoning for hermit crabs!)

I have three crabs right now, a male, a female, and one I rescued that is very distrusting and stressed so never comes out of his shell. But he (assuming male) gets along great with the other two and I'm glad to finally have him some company. They all hangout in the same coconut hut together, event though there is more than one in their tank. The female crab reminds me so much of my crab Stiles I had. She is absolutely 100% trusting and you don't have to lie your hand flat to avoid pinching, she never ever attempts to. She is fearless, and pretty big.

They're all doing great and are super funny to watch. Love them, all three I have currently have the dark purple claw, with various colors. I'll probably post some pictures later!~


aww i'm glad your crabs are doing great!!

so i got my two crabbies last night, they're still a bit scared. last night they just stayed inside of their shell when i was around, and when i would walk near the tank they would immediately hide. but now they're exploring and climbing a bit!! i named one taco, the smaller one, and my boyfriend named the bigger one sushi xd

the only problem i'm having is keeping the humidity high. although i have a heating pad, a lamp, moss, moist eco earth, and i keep saran wrap over the top of the cage (and sprayed it a few times with a mix of salt and freshwater), my hydrometer says it's only 40-50% humid. it reached 60% at one point but it fluctuates. i'm getting a bit worried : /

i'm thinking of getting another heating pad and a different lamp (a light bulb) that i can actually put inside of the cage when i get home. the temperature only stays around 70-75 so i'm worried about that too uvu


I'm not sure what the levels are in my tank, because I don't actually have a meter on it, I just observe how they act. But one side is heated, and they tend to stay on the opposite side of tank than the heater so I take that as they are not cold or they would go lay near the heater. Little hack I like to do is keep a dish of water right next to the heater so it helps make the air more humid naturally. Mine like to completely submerge themselves in the water bowls and take little bathes. Though I usually let them play outside the tank in a container with some water in the bottom once a month, not deep enough to submerge them entirely but they sit in there and play in it haha Can't believe how toxic a lot of "hermit crab food"s are to hermit crabs. I'm glad I found some things they enjoy that are good for them. Hopefully your crabs will grow out of the shyness, sometimes they never do like my smallest crab he must have been mistreated/bad harvesting process to get him to how he is. I am glad that while he may not find comfort in me, he really enjoys climbing around his buddies. (:

If anyone has questions on determining the sex of your hermit crabs or ideas to feed your crab let me know! I only have had hermit crabs so I can't really give advice for all the other little crustaceans.
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby PeachFuzz » Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:35 am

oof wrote:
.Spearow. wrote:I haven't been on here for a awhile but I thought I'd post about my crabbies. I got them some ecoEarth and they love it. Also, they absolutely loved scrambled eggs. (remember absolutely no table-salt or seasoning for hermit crabs!)

I have three crabs right now, a male, a female, and one I rescued that is very distrusting and stressed so never comes out of his shell. But he (assuming male) gets along great with the other two and I'm glad to finally have him some company. They all hangout in the same coconut hut together, event though there is more than one in their tank. The female crab reminds me so much of my crab Stiles I had. She is absolutely 100% trusting and you don't have to lie your hand flat to avoid pinching, she never ever attempts to. She is fearless, and pretty big.

They're all doing great and are super funny to watch. Love them, all three I have currently have the dark purple claw, with various colors. I'll probably post some pictures later!~


aww i'm glad your crabs are doing great!!

so i got my two crabbies last night, they're still a bit scared. last night they just stayed inside of their shell when i was around, and when i would walk near the tank they would immediately hide. but now they're exploring and climbing a bit!! i named one taco, the smaller one, and my boyfriend named the bigger one sushi xd

the only problem i'm having is keeping the humidity high. although i have a heating pad, a lamp, moss, moist eco earth, and i keep saran wrap over the top of the cage (and sprayed it a few times with a mix of salt and freshwater), my hydrometer says it's only 40-50% humid. it reached 60% at one point but it fluctuates. i'm getting a bit worried : /

i'm thinking of getting another heating pad and a different lamp (a light bulb) that i can actually put inside of the cage when i get home. the temperature only stays around 70-75 so i'm worried about that too uvu


Adding air stones/bubblers (the ones used in fish tanks) to the water dishes can help with humidity.
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby Tigerlily ❀️ » Sun Feb 12, 2017 4:07 am

What crustacean(s) do you own?; None, sadly.
Any that you would like to have some day?; Maybe two or three hermit crabs. c:
How long have you had her/him/them?;

I don't have any crustaceans but I may have some in the future, I've also had some in the past; so I'm a bit experienced.
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby nice » Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:48 am

the humiditys at a steady 60% now, but i'm still a bit worried because they need at least 70 to live comfortably

i got a heating lamp yesterday which completely killed the humidity in half an hour so that was a waste.

i only have a small heating pad on the side of the tank and they tend to stick around there, so i'm gonna get another one for the long side of the tank so maybe that'll help
the temperatures around 77 so that's good!

this morning, sushi was climbing his lil rock and he slipped and fell off and he scared himself back in his shell. cutest thing
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby PeachFuzz » Sat Mar 03, 2018 1:23 pm

oof wrote:the humiditys at a steady 60% now, but i'm still a bit worried because they need at least 70 to live comfortably

i got a heating lamp yesterday which completely killed the humidity in half an hour so that was a waste.

i only have a small heating pad on the side of the tank and they tend to stick around there, so i'm gonna get another one for the long side of the tank so maybe that'll help
the temperatures around 77 so that's good!

this morning, sushi was climbing his lil rock and he slipped and fell off and he scared himself back in his shell. cutest thing


Are you keeping the substrate moist? I've found that to be the biggest factor in humidity. If you're using sand you want it to be sand castle consistency. This is also important for digging/molting.
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Re: 🐚 Crustacean Talk!

Postby Spearow » Sat Mar 03, 2018 1:29 pm

      Ah unfortunately I do not have the crabs I had the last time this thread was active. I have a male and female crab right now, their names are Hirimi and Kogami. Hirimi is quite large. At some point she managed to break a claw off, I was really worried but somehow she is still alright and it is now several months later. I'm not sure how she lost it, Kogami is very small compared to her and hermit crabs don't really fight.
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