# Hermit Crabs?



## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

I was looking up reptiles as pets because I originally wanted to get a pair of fire bellied newts. I came across some information about hermit crabs, so I youtubed them, and I found them adorable!

Anyone have any experience with these little critters? I may want to keep a couple of them


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## MeAmandaTee (Aug 9, 2010)

My cousin has hermit crabs lol they look cute especially when they have painted shells like batman and spiderman hahaha


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

If you are interesting in hermit crabs, I would recommend joining: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php

I have been interested in hermit crabs for ages (never had any though). I joined that website a long time ago to learn more about them. While I haven't visit much lately, it seems to be the HHC for hermit crabs.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Kalandra said:


> If you are interesting in hermit crabs, I would recommend joining: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php
> 
> I have been interested in hermit crabs for ages (never had any though). I joined that website a long time ago to learn more about them. While I haven't visit much lately, it seems to be the HHC for hermit crabs.


I'm reading the posts on the behavior section, and my, they sound like such entertaining pets!

I'm hoping I will be able to find a place where they sell hermit crabs here in Montreal  I'll definitely be investing in a tank for them 

But first, I have to purchase my CHE set up for Kashi's new and improved home


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> I'm hoping I will be able to find a place where they sell hermit crabs here in Montreal  I'll definitely be investing in a tank for them


I remember a couple of years ago it was the fashon pet to have and every shoping mall I went to (gallerie d'Anjou and Cerrefour Laval) has those kiosk selling them and shells too. I'm pretty sure those people where not knowledgable though.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

FiaSpice said:


> I remember a couple of years ago it was the fashon pet to have and every shoping mall I went to (gallerie d'Anjou and Cerrefour Laval) has those kiosk selling them and shells too. I'm pretty sure those people where not knowledgable though.


I live downtown, so there aren't many pet stores. I saw the pet store near my house (Nature at the Alexis Nihon) selling a few, but they aren't the kind I want (I looked into the different species, and the strawberry hermit crabs seem to be the most entertaining!)... not to mention Nature is ridiculously overpriced :roll:


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## MeAmandaTee (Aug 9, 2010)

my mall has a hermit crab stand lol i've never really talked to any one there but FiaSpice is probly right about them not knowing anything


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

I read that forum for almost an hour, it really is like the HHC of hermit crabs! 
I always see them in the souvenir shops at the beach and stared at them for a short while, but never really thought about getting one at all. However, after reading a bunch of those posts, I might have to get serious about them now.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

tie-dye hedgie said:


> I read that forum for almost an hour, it really is like the HHC of hermit crabs!
> I always see them in the souvenir shops at the beach and stared at them for a short while, but never really thought about getting one at all. However, after reading a bunch of those posts, I might have to get serious about them now.


They do seem like fascinating creatures don't they? ^-^
I also found this piece of information on wikipedia


> Several hermit crab species, both terrestrial and marine, use "vacancy
> chains" to find new shells: when a new, bigger shell becomes available,
> hermit crabs gather around it and form a kind of queue from largest to
> smallest. When the largest crab moves into the new shell, the second
> ...


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

They really are! 

Wow, the vacant chain would be really cool to see on video!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I don't think I ever paid any attention to them before. Checked out the site & they sound cute. 
Not even going to bring it up - hubby already thinks I'm crazy. Putting kung-fu headbands on hedgie pictures and all... :roll:


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

PJM said:


> I don't think I ever paid any attention to them before. Checked out the site & they sound cute.
> Not even going to bring it up - hubby already thinks I'm crazy. Putting kung-fu headbands on hedgie pictures and all... :roll:


:lol:
I'm sure your husband shares your love for hedgies 
I told my boyfriend i wanted a pair of hermit crabs. He thought I was crazy when I told him I thought they were cute :lol:
Maybe he'll buy me a couple for our anniversary, despite the fact that he doesn't get why I think they're so cute :lol:


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## nationofamanda (Jan 19, 2010)

i had hermit crabs when i was in elementary school. my dad bought them on the ocean city boardwalk when we lived in virginia.

i remember thinking they were fun, but they always hated being messed with even a little bit.

they were named pinchy and itchy.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

After checking out the sites I ended up reading more and more about them today and they definitely look interesting. I never thought to much about them but after reading they seem like a nice pet. I'll have more reading to do to set up a great tank for them but I may look into this now.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

I don't know anything about hermit crabs, but I just got a newt myself. I thought she was a fire bellied newt until I did some research and found out she is a paddle tailed newt. Her name is Andromeda, and she is a fabulous pet! If you are still interested in having newts they are low maintenance and are fun to watch! Andromeda's such a beast when I feed her her blood worms, haha.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

EryBee said:


> I don't know anything about hermit crabs, but I just got a newt myself. I thought she was a fire bellied newt until I did some research and found out she is a paddle tailed newt. Her name is Andromeda, and she is a fabulous pet! If you are still interested in having newts they are low maintenance and are fun to watch! Andromeda's such a beast when I feed her her blood worms, haha.


Newts are adorable~

I heard that you need to keep their tanks spotless, though.

How often do you clean the tank?


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

Goodness, hermit crabs you say??

Well I fancy myself a little bit of a hermit crab advocate after someone gave me a shoe box full of them a few years back in a parking lot of a petsmart. 

Hermit crabs are fantastic critters!! But you must take care of them. However since you do have a hedgie I think you are capable of taking care hermit crabs. 

Rule #1, hermit crabs are NOT solitary creatures. They thrive in colonies!! You should NEVER have only one hermit crab as they can die of lonliness. I have about 12 at any given time in my colony, which live in a larger exoterra terrarium. 

Rule #2, you need proper humidity and temperature or a hermit crab can dry out and die. They have little lungs that need to be kept moist.

Hermit crabs cannot reproduce in captivity, so that means that each and every crab you see in a store has been plucked from the wild. Which when you think of it, really isn't nice.

Painted shells are VERY VERY VERY bad!! Crabs are forced out of nice shells with boiling water to get into a painted shell. (Oh yeah, hermit crabs use shells to protect thier fragile little bottoms and need new shells as they grow/molt, more about that soon) And painted shells are painted so that the shells are no longer porus, meaning that air cannot travel through the shells to the inside. Which can cause a crab to sufficate. 

Molting, that's what happens when a hermit crab grows. They actually shed thier outside crusty layer and eat it. But they bury themselves to do this, and this process can take a day up to months, and depending on the size of the crab they can do this a few times a year. 

Crabs can live into thier 30's!!! There is a woman on one of the yahoo groups who has documentation of her crabbies.  I actually have 4 teenage/early 20 year old crabby's myself!! 

There is just so much more to know, but there are excellent yahoo groups and forums to help. Oh and if you have specific questions let me know, it's hard to get everything I want to get out in one post. HAHAH.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Thanks zorropirate 
Yeah, I read all that information on that forum someone posted earlier 
I'm really considering one  But we will have to see.
My sister and I are unsure if we'd like more pets, as we find our two cats, two bettas and a hedgie quite a handful ;D
My friend who has hermit crabs said that it wasn't too much work though, you just bake the sand once in a while to keep it clean, etc


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Thank you for that info Zorro, it is very helpful  I do have a question that I haven't been able to find an answer too yet. Do you know of any good places to get shells for them. I have been reading up on this a lot and seriously thinking of setting a tank up for them. I read all kinds of stuff on what kind shells different species of land crabs tend to select and that they should have a variety for when they come up from a molt....the only thing is that I don't remember ever seeing appropriate shells at the petstores in our area and wasn't able to find an online source. I'll also have to research a good place to get the crabs because most of the websites were saying not to give the store your business if they aren't provided with appropriate shells and if I remember right the ones I seen had plastic football helmet shells. 

Kinda torn because now that I know some of their requirements it makes me want to get the crabs I seen and give them better but in another sense I don't want to give them my business if they aren't doing things correctly.


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

Shells are a pain to find, especially if there is a fashion trend in your colony. Mine tend to want to all wear the "latest" shell. hahah. Usually brown tapestry turbos are the rage. I've got some off ebay, some from shell websites in the states, some from the dollarstore here and some from Michael's craft store. You have to start hunting for them. Typically they like to wear snail type shells. 

Try searching or googling turbo shells, that will bring up places to buy. For sizes typically you need shells with 1/4" inch up to 2" openings and the size of the shell required for a crab has to do with thier largest claw in relation to the size of the opening as they should be able to cover themselves from predators by holding thier large claw in the opening... 

I must stress again though that you CAN NEVER ONLY HAVE ONE hermit crab!! You must have 2 or 3. NEVER 1!! And they do form clicks! They form friendships like you wouldn't believe. 2 of my very original crabbies still never leave each other's sides. And a few years ago the largest crab in the colony was best buddies with the smallest and the largest was the size of a hardball the tiniest was the size of a deshelled single peanut! They even wore the same style and coloured shell. 

As to where to get them, well make sure the store keeps them in proper conditions, which means the tank is humid with a mix of sand and coconut fibre's.(you mix the sand with the coconut fibres to simulate ocean beach shore conditions) If they don't at least have that you are risking taking home a very sick crab who will be happy you rescued him, but might not survive very long.  The stores NEVER have the right shells here, the ones in the tanks have the right shells for the most part, some have icky painted shells though, or the plastic ones, if you by chance find a crab like that at a store that has the right conditions if you take them home they will change into a proper shell if you provide them with options. Typically I lecture the stores that have those type of crabby's with the bad shells, once an ignorant employee yelled at me, I told them I would not be back, which I've not and I've told all not to go there. It's a local small store, I feel bad, but you don't yell at a customer when they are trying to explain something to you. I could see if I was yelling but I was just stating the facts of how they get them in the bad shells. Sorry for the rant here. hhahaha.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

shaelikestaquitos said:


> EryBee said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know anything about hermit crabs, but I just got a newt myself. I thought she was a fire bellied newt until I did some research and found out she is a paddle tailed newt. Her name is Andromeda, and she is a fabulous pet! If you are still interested in having newts they are low maintenance and are fun to watch! Andromeda's such a beast when I feed her her blood worms, haha.
> ...


I do a water change every few days. Newts do have a surprising amount of poop so I also have a filter which I run for an hour or two every day.


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## Jaimie (Sep 27, 2009)

for anyone who has or is planning on getting hermies let me know....I had a colony of about 20 or so but they all died when I went to Afghanistan for 8 months as my friend who was taking care of them failed in his duties so I have a nice supply of shells that you can have....would just need an address to send them to.


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

Jaimie said:


> for anyone who has or is planning on getting hermies let me know....I had a colony of about 20 or so but they all died when I went to Afghanistan for 8 months as my friend who was taking care of them failed in his duties so I have a nice supply of shells that you can have....would just need an address to send them to.


 That's heartwrenching Jaimie!!!

Poor little things.

My brood a big feast last night and an oak leaf party!! The terrarium was trashed this morning!


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

I had a few a couple years back. 

I started off with two, Hermes and Venus were their names. They were cute and rather small. Venus was pretty with a particularly deep violet claw. Then I got one more, Mercury. Mercury sent things into a downward spiral. He wasn't from the same 'colony' as Hermes and Venus were. 

Hermit crabs are kinda testy, because they need proper heat and humidity to live long and healthy. They also will molt, and often die in the process. 

I had different substrates, and had my tank very deep on one end, but it was not deep enough, Mercury decided to molt, and then Hermes and Venus did too. All three died 

Mercury was a surface molt, and he dried out. Hermes and Venus burrowed and never resurfaced.

My hermit crabs were fun to own, and I had fun building things for them to climb on. I really miss Venus!


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

Kenzie!!

I'm sorry to hear you lost your little clan. 

There are 2 main types of crabs, ones with big purple claws and ones that are more earthy in colour that don't have one big claw but rather 2 about the same size. 

The PP (purple pincher) crabs I've had living with me have been really hearty little things, I've only lost one of them to a surface molt a few years ago. The other type of crab, the epicurian or the ones that have about the same sized claws and are more brownie or grey in colour, I've lost a few of them over the years, which makes me very upset. 

It's true that hermit crabs require a great amount of tinkering compared to most pets. They need humidity, heat, proper food, proper calcium, salt water, normal water, sand, other substrate, the water must be declorinated, they require fresh food pretty much every day... but they are fantastic little creatures. I love being able to see the community aspect, the social interactions between them, the fashion/shell trends, they are a blast and I cherish the fact I get to share my life with the colony I have.

Actually someone contacted me today locally to arrange for me to adopt thier sole crab. It's mate had died and they wanted it to come live with my group.  So a new member is coming to my clan in the next few days. She's also wearing a bad painted shell!! So I have to prepare and root through my shell box for some selections for her to try on when she gets settled in.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Thats great that you are taking in the crab  I would love to see pics of your cage sometime. I have been designing one in my head.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

zorropirate said:


> Kenzie!!
> It's true that hermit crabs require a great amount of tinkering compared to most pets. They need humidity, heat, proper food, proper calcium, salt water, normal water, sand, other substrate, the water must be declorinated, they require fresh food pretty much every day... but they are fantastic little creatures. I love being able to see the community aspect, the social interactions between them, the fashion/shell trends, they are a blast and I cherish the fact I get to share my life with the colony I have.
> 
> Actually someone contacted me today locally to arrange for me to adopt thier sole crab. It's mate had died and they wanted it to come live with my group.  So a new member is coming to my clan in the next few days. She's also wearing a bad painted shell!! So I have to prepare and root through my shell box for some selections for her to try on when she gets settled in.


That's what interests me about them; the community aspect.
I have never kept animals that needed to be in a community together, so it would be such a cool experience!
I've been reading all sorts of stories, they seem so entertaining! :lol:

I would totally adopt a crab, but it seems that they are no longer so popular here, so you almost never see them up for adoption.


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

So here are 3 that I had pics available from my flickr of..

Here is Fern my largest and newest crab, she came in January and spent a few months molting and adjusting.








This is Pickey, she's one of my original 4 crabbies.








Here is Violet, also one of my original 4. She's all purple, which is different than my others.









I'll take a picture of my set up when I find my camera or dig out the big one.  My apt eats things sometimes. hahah. But as for my terrarium, you should have a tank that's taller than normal, I have an exoterra terrarium, which is about 2 feet tall and has double opening doors at the front. It's got a large climbing wall on the back and lots of nets and plastic plants to climb on. I need to swap out my plastic plants as I notice in the pictures that there is some rust forming on them.


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## kris_jprice (Jun 16, 2010)

I had hermit crabs a few years ago. They were pretty cool. Burrowed at night just like hedgies. Get them some cool shells, but don't expect them to keep changing. It's very rare when they do change, but funny when you go to pick up the old shell and he's not in there. 

If you get a spray bottle of water, spray the hc and they would hang out of their shell really far and just enjoy the cool mist! Was pretty funny.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

ZP - they are pretty cute.  I'm glad you posted pictures. This is a neat thread.


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

Those crabbies are beautiful  I think its so amazing that you can hold and they don't pinch you, you can tell how well cared for they are. Thank you so much for the pics


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## Kenzi (Aug 29, 2010)

My Venus was so comfortable with me; she would switch shells in the palm of my hand.

It was kind of creepy at first, but then it got fascinating.

It looked like this: 




(thats not me, but its a similar process).

I didn't have a camera back then to catch it...


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