HERMIT CRAB EXPERTS UNITE!!! I have questions.

[hunterjumper999]

I'd suggest you spend the money on a habitat then work on filling it.


If you don't want a crab why not get a gecko? Leopard Geckos are fun and if you google and go on enough gecko forums you can sometimes catch more 'exotic' morphs at petstores for as little as 15.00. A proper gecko habitat SHOULD be pretty cheap. Sand is not healthy for them and they really don't like things moved around a whole lot.

Google geckos unlimited, gecko forums and geckos ect. they are loaded with info.


We used to have upwards of 90 of them in our office ( yes, our 15 x 15 office!) we housed them in 20 gallon tanks with a heat pad , papertowels for substrate, coconut hides x2 in each tank ( one hot one cool) and a deli container with moist papertowel in it over the hot side to create a shed hut.

 

[downstownlady]

Hermits are the best!!! (well besides chickens, dogs and well any animal except snakes...not a big snake fan...LOL) They are fun to watch...and handle...but keep your fingers away from the big claw!!! Take a look at some resale shops like Goodwill, etc., and you would be surprised at what you might find. They are social animals, so you don't want to just get 1. Have fun...and just like chicken math...you will be surprised at how many more you want to add to your collection. I even found some decorated shells online...Pets are so addictive!!!

 

[CalebtheChicken]

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Depending on prices in your area 80-100 dollars

You should put sponges in both dishes if they are deep, if they are shower i don't bother. I just use them to prevent drowning.

Oh [insert bad word here], I only have $50 budget...

Wait... what if I already have a tank? How much will that take off?

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My mom isn't a big fan of reptiles...

 

[mama24]

We had several hermit crabs for a few years. I do not think I spent even close to $80 on their habitat. I did forest bedding (dehydrated coconut that you soak in water--starts out as a brick and turns into a bucketful of stuff), and half sand, not calci sand, too expensive. I did give them some calci sand or egg shells for calcium in a separate sea shell. I used scallop shells for the calcium and food, and a shallow dish I made in a pottery class for water. I think a saucer or some kind of lid would work well for water. As long as it's something they can easily climb out of, you don't need sponges. You do need to keep it damp in their aquarium. I changed the substrate when it got too dry and sprayed w/ a water bottle in between. I didn't give them salt at all. From what I've read, different types of hermit crabs have different salt needs and ours didn't need it. Ours molted just fine. You do need to make sure to have extra shells close to the size of what they're in and larger when you get them. If you don't have enough extra shells, they'll fight over shells and kill each other, or fail to molt and die b/c of it. I got a ton of shells fairly cheap on eBay. Make sure to get a variety, so they can choose what they like. I always feel so bad for pet store hermit crabs b/c they are often in shells that are too small with no extras in their cage.

PetSmart is the only place I've seen well taken care of crabs.

I am sure our crabs would still be alive, except when we moved here to NC from IN, it was very very cold and my son accidentally left them in the car overnight when we were at a hotel. They froze.

They are really neat pets. Each has its own personality and it becomes easy to tell who's who based on their individual quirks rather than their sizes after a while.

 

[tonini3059]

You can always try looking on your local Craigslist or ebay for items.

 

[Bebop]

Use saran wrap to cover 3/4 of the screen lid for humidity, get an under tank heater, coco bricks are usually under $5 for a single brick, get playground sand from Home Depot, make sure the subtrate is deep enough for them to completely cover themselves.
for the sea salt, get the stuff they use for salt water fish, you don't need sponges, if you have a hobby lobby get one of those net decoration things (and suction cups with hooks) they have by the shell decor and also get a package of hermit crab appropriate shells.
Basically treat them like reptiles. They're pretty active at night so you don't need a lamp on them. They can be pretty loud because of their shells. If you have a branch in there, they'll hang from the mesh of the lid and fall off from time to time, soo cute but so sad LOL

I had them for a pretty long time. They're like turtles that can change their shells!
There's also a forum! Google Hermit Crab Association. They're pretty cool, they have this crazy gang called the Tangs lol
well, it's late.. hope this helps!

 

[ladycrotalus]

80-100 is the pricing in my area. It might be cheaper were yall are. Ill break down the price for my location
10 gallon tanks are between 11.99
Screen cover- 9.99
Under tank heat pad- 19.99
Small box of Instant Ocean- 8.99 (I have read that Ecuadorian crabs need it, but Caribbeans don't, i always gave em it anyways)
Hygrometer- 7.99
Thermometer- 5.99
Eco Earth single brick - 3.99
50lb childrens play sand - 4.00 estimate cuz i don't work at home depot, i work at a pet store.
Sponges- 3.99 for a 3 pack
Shells- 2.59 each, or 3pk of sm-md for 3.99
2pk shell dishes - 1.99 ( i always tell people to get 2 packs, 1 dish for sw, the other for fw, one for dry food, the other for treats)
fish dechlorinator- sm bottle 3.89
Hermit crabs here sell for 7.99





The sites i get my info from.
http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php

http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/

http://www.epicurean-hermit.com/

 

[kla37]

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php

This is a great place to get info about hermit crabs. It's a forum just like this one, and we've had a great time with our crabitat and crabs!

 

[kla37]

And, I stopped mixing sand with ecoearth and I really think they are even happier! We do use saltwater to keep the ecoearth mosit, and haven't had any fungus or fungus gnat problems. We don't cover the top with anything but a screen since we live in NC, and extreme dryness isn't a problem. Telling the kids to NOT let the chickens "play" with the crabs is probably also a good idea. Learned that the hard way.....

 

[kla37]

Now the questions:
1.How many crabs can I put in the tank? a good rule of thumb is at least 1 crab per 1 1/2 gallons of tank.

2.How big of a water dish should I use? Use two water dishes, one for salt water (use marine saltwater mix from pet store, NOT table salt as the iodine will kill your crabs) and one for dechlorinated fresh water. Big enough so that the crabs can immerse themselves.

3.How many sponges should I put in the water? I don't use sponges, they really don't do anything to help humidity anyway.

4.How big of a food dish should I use? Something kind of flat with a rim. They'll make a mess anyway.

5.What's the best food to buy? There are a lot of commercial crab foods, but avoid anything containing ethoxyquin. They are scavengers. Ours love coconut, fruits, vegetables, etc.

6.What kind of material should I put on the tank floor? Eco earth moistened with salt water solution.

7.What kind of items do the crabs need in the tank? Hidy holes, climbing stuff, they love nets to climb on.

8.How deep should I put the material on the tank floor? Shallow on one side (still deep enough for the largest to bury in) and deeper on the other side (at least 3-4 X deep as your largest crab)

9.How many extra shells should I keep in the tank? We keep 4-5 per crab. Have then in suction cup soap containers on the sides to save space.

10. And finally, how active are the crabs? EE's are active most any time, the PP's mostly come out at night.


oops for got to put this in previous post.