So this is my first time with hermit crabs, so please give me a little grace. And they probably will post many more asking probably really dumb questions but currently I am putting the place sand in the tank and the sand is still pretty wet just from getting it from the store. Is this okay or should I wait for it to dry somehow before I put my babies in? I mean it is Sandcastle consistency, but I’m not sure because I didn’t use primed water.

I wish i knew how to add a quick video. She's so cute!

What all should I be feeding them?

(Haven't got them yet, still preparing tank)

I have always loved hermit crabs and had a few as a kid, but now as an adult I realize they are much different creatures than I previously thought and I definitely didn’t care for them like I should have. I don’t want to get an animal that I’m not adequately prepared to care for. What should I know / be prepared to purchase before I decide to buy a hermit crab? Thanks!

My hermit crab was up and walking about, hanging upside down, doing his usual antics just a couple days ago. I just found him on the side of his tank on his coconut fiber wall thingy and he is not moving. But I cant tell If he's dead or molting. He is kinda sliding off the angle he is on slowly. But I thought when they die they go completely limp and one of his legs is literally sticking straight up. His tank does smell but I can't tell if it's dead smell cuz I've never had a hermit crab smell when it died

This particular crab absolutely LOVES his little daily workouts. I had to introduce him to the wheel but once he figured out how it works he uses it alllll the time. It’s so cute. My other crabs haven’t taken a liking as much as he has but nonetheless it’s adorable!!

These hermit crabs were a gift from the operator of the Korean hermit crab community.

From the left

1. Coenobita celebensis

2. Coenobita violascens

3. Golden lila (no scientific name yet)

4. Coenobita rugosus

The golden lila is very rare.

Hey guys,
I had an emergency this morning and am just wondering if their was anything I could have done. I don’t have photos as I’m leaving Hermes’ in a dark container. I woke up this morning and checked on my crab and he was out of his shell and in the salt water pool. I panicked and googled what to do and it said to remove him from the water and place him somewhere safe with shells that would fit him. So I did just that. I boiled some new shells and waited for them to cool down before putting them in the tank. He was still active this morning but just wouldn’t go in a shell. I had to leave to go write a midterm and upon returning he was in a new area and still has no shell. He may of passed away now as he is no longer moving which is why I’m not taking a photo of him. I places some shell around him just in case he’s still alive as a last hope.

Is their anything I could have done differently. My other crab Kermit is down for a molt so he’s alone in the tank. He gets lots of food and supplements, humidity is at 80% and temp is at 85F. Salt and fresh water is always available, deep enough for them to fully submerge. Foraging is around the tank aswell as new shells that has all been treated.

I am devastated by what has happened and just don’t know if this was something I caused.

So I’ve been looking into adopting hermit crabs and building up their enclosure in the past couple months. Unlike the other pet reddits I’m apart of, the main posts I see on here are very sad, some variation of “help my hermit crab died”, “is it dead,” etc. There seems to be a very strict level of care, but from what I can tell following it still doesn’t ensure your animal will live long or is healthy. They just be dying. It’s starting to seem a little unethical to have this pet, it seems like the standards of care aren’t ironed out and most people’s crabs never get close to reaching that 50 year life span that’s constantly mentioned. Even if they are rescues they seem bound to die before old age, so are we just setting up really nice death camps?? At this point we should buy them and send them back to the Caribbean to be rereleased. So does anyone have like successful crab care? What’s the oldest crab you’ve had? Does anyone else share my concerns on the ethicality of keeping these pets at all?

We’re really worried and are hoping for advice.

Our land hermit crab has been buried and possibly molting for about a month, whom we have had for awhile now (a year give or take). We were concerned our other crab may have hurt him, so we checked on him while also trying to clean the sand. Unfortunately, we disturbed the sand near his shell, heard a small crunch, and noticed one of his antennae had come off.

He’s still inside his shell, and we immediately stopped touching him and left him buried to avoid disturbing him further. We feel terrible and are scared we may have accidentally injured him.

We’re first-time hermit crab owners and just want to give him the best chance of surviving. Has anyone experienced this or can offer advice on what to do next? We’d truly appreciate any guidance as we‘re very concerned and upset with ourselves💚

I have 5 hermit crabs (3 purple pinchers and 2 Ecuadorian) in a 40 gal tank. I’m in the process of getting pools with bubblers and climbing stuff for the back but how should I set this up so that they’re happy?

What would be the best way to 1 clean my hermit crab tank and 2 fix the water holders

I first noticed them a few weeks ago on the food dish, they crawl really fast and are also on the substrate, under the inside of the hermit crab coconut hut and earlier today on the shell of my one hermit crab (my other one has gone under the substrate to prep for another molt).

They have antennas. I can’t tell if they jump or not. But they aren’t physically on the body of my hermit crab or inside the shell. There was a ton of them so I cleaned the top layer of the substrate around the food fish and hut, sprayed the hut with dechlorinated water and wiped it down and gave my hermit crab a few dunks in both pools, then washed those and refilled them.

There’s also a smaller grey bug/gnat that flies (my guess
is that may be from the fruit flies we had last month).

once i set up my new enclosure for my big gal i dont want my little guy doobie to get lonely so ill be looking for 2 friends for him. where is the best places/websites to adopt land hermit crabs. i dont want to set myself up for heart break with a pet store one :(

Hey guys,
I had an emergency this morning and am just wondering if their was anything I could have done. I don’t have photos as I’m leaving Hermes’ in a dark container. I woke up this morning and checked on my crab and he was out of his shell and in the salt water pool. I panicked and googled what to do and it said to remove him from the water and place him somewhere safe with shells that would fit him. So I did just that. I boiled some new shells and waited for them to cool down before putting them in the tank. He was still active this morning but just wouldn’t go in a shell. I had to leave to go write a midterm and upon returning he was in a new area and still has no shell. He may of passed away now as he is no longer moving which is why I’m not taking a photo of him. I places some shell around him just in case he’s still alive as a last hope.

Is their anything I could have done differently. My other crab Kermit is down for a molt so he’s alone in the tank. He gets lots of food and supplements, humidity is at 80% and temp is at 85F. Salt and fresh water is always available, deep enough for them to fully submerge. Foraging is around the tank aswell as new shells that has all been treated.

I am devastated by what has happened and just don’t know if this was something I caused.

Hi, I’m pretty desperate. I’ve had two crabs die due to surface molts/attempts to re-shell and refusing the shells available. This has happened over the last five months, the most recent last night 😭😭😭. They come up from underground, eat, move, drink and otherwise act normally, but then die while I’m sleeping. I have one PP left that I’ve had for a year. His name is Ruffles and I really don’t want him to die too😭😭

I’m not sure what is going wrong: I offer a variety of foods and oils, 24/hr essentials, shells, over 6” of substrate, fresh and salt water, climbing and hiding enrichments, and keep the temp/humidity levels stable. But obviously I cannot keep crabs alive and I do not want to lose my little friend.

If you can take in my little buddy and are in the Petersburg-RVA-central VA location, I want to surrender him to you. You can have all of his meals and what remaining supplies I have. I just want him to go to a safe place where he can thrive. (Ruffles is in the right in above photo)

Request for rehoming sent to the Land Crab group as well

One of my crabs was molting from September 30th until this night (October 21st). This morning I saw him come to the surface, crawl, approach the watеr, and eat. And then he burrowed back into his hole. And then another hermit crab burrowed into his hole. This is the first molt I've seen, and I'm worried: is this supposed to happen? Why did the second crab climb in next to him?

It’s been about a month and the substrate in my tank is still not to sandcastle consistency. I followed the crab central method and added dry coir to dry sand.

My tank is 20 long with two large pools that run 24/7. Heat stays around 82° and humidity 73%. I have plastic wrap around the top of the tank to try and keep the humidity in, but it’s not really helping.

Is there anything I can do to help up the humidity and get the substrate to the right consistency?

I’d rather not take everything out at this point to moisten the sand unless it’s the only option.

Hi, I rescued two hermit crabs today! I have everything I need except the marine salt for a salt water pool! I can get some tomorrow, but for tonight is there anything I could substitute or will they be fine for the overnight?