ok already started off wrong...

[jenne03]

I went through a lot of the archives..I can't believe how interested I have become in these guys!! I have more questions!!

We didn't know to give an initial salt bath. Is it something we should do now? We got the crabs last week. We got them in a store in North Carolina. The crabitat looked really nice with lots of things to climb on , sand, water dishes, and lots of shells in it. We didn't isolate the crabs(we didn't know too)..my daughter picked two that were already lying together..so hopefully they are already comfortable with each other. They didn't look like they were in poor conditions..but that may not have bearing on mites. Would it be beneficial to give them a double salt bath now?

She purchased one of those crab kits ...it is a ventilated little plastic box. It came with a couple of shells to use as dishes..but from reading, we need to put more sand in it so they can bury and get bigger dishes...Do most of you use the 10 gallon aquarium tanks? I know they are ok to use..but wanted to see what you guys use. Alot of the tanks don't seem to have lids..but I read i think on here if you ask the pet store they might have them in the back?

At the crabbage patch, she seemed ok with using bottled water without dechlorinating it...what do you guys think? Has anyone purchased the sand substrate from the crabbage patch? She recommends two types of sand...the construction one which i don't know if i can find and play sand..which i thought i read smells more?

Also, do you guys give treats outside of their cage ? Would that help keep the crabitat cleaner?

Thanks so much..sorry for so many questions. I am off to read about when to change the substrate in the archives..I think i maybe getting obsessed!

[jenne03]

wow, just read a whole bunch on handling the crabs also...again had no idea you weren't supposed to handle for a month....We didn't know that and my daughter of course handled them. She takes them out everyday and plays with them. Drake seems to enjoy it..I think? He never hides in his shell. My daughter takes him out and he just crawls around on her and on the floor(she blocks it off so he can't escape). I come in and sit there and Drake comes right over to me..just doesn't seem to care about movement or anything..I am assuming this is a "friendly crab".

Now Josh, he gets very nervous with movement and pops back in his shell. The book my daughter had said the more you handle the more they will become used to you. If i sit with her and barely move, he goes into his shell..but will pop backout fairly quickly and crawl around. My daughter says she has noticed that Josh doesn't get scared with her . Do crabs begin to know their owners?

[WizKidsMom]

Jenne,

I'll try to answer your questions.
First, that crab kit is of plastic. It will not help keep heat & humidity in. I started with a 10 gallon tank. It works well. You do have to get a lid for it. (that's the way stores make more money - but you can choose the lid that works for you.)

May I suggest a lid with part that is plexiglass and the other an access lid. On top of the plexi side you should have a light. A combo that has at least two sockets so you can have daylight & moonlight. And it is best you get one that has two separate switches. The hermies need a day & night cycle.

Baths - You can give them a salt water bath now. It is most important when you get additional hermies, as then they all 'smell' the same. As for mites, some petshops are not as clean as they should be and they possibly can have mites. I, personally, have not had a problem.

Substrate - I think you are trying to remember Argonite sand. You can also use EccoEarth or similar which is a coconut fiber substrate. It comes in a compressed brick and all you need to do is soak it in a bucket of salt water. Once it decompresses, just use your hand to squeeze out the excess water and place it in the tank. You want the substrate to be twice in depth of the largest shell. For some reason - some sands do give off an odor.

Distilled bottle water has been used by crabbers. Watch the brand/label as it has been known (at least in my area) that bottlers just use tap water. Be aware that bottled water can become expensive.

A great tank cleaner is vinegar. It rinses clean and does not harm the hermies. Since I use EccoEarth, I do a deep clean about once a year. Take out the substrate, clean the tank then put in fresh. I do a surface clean more often, taking out stray food, cleaning the water pools and giving fresh moss.

Some people have a hands off approach. Others take their hermies out periodically. It may take a while for the hermies to get use to you. They hide inside their shell. Enticing them with a yummy treat does bring them out. It is up to you.

[jenne03]

Well we got the ten gallon tank today..and they didn't have any lids..the girl at the petsmart said to use a reptile wire mesh lid so they can have air..My daughter was a little overwhelmed and she was afraid they wouldn't be able to breath..so we bought it..but now maybe I shouldn't have and should take it back and get the aquarium lid. The problem, is my daughter is using her money to set up a nice area for her crabbies and doesn't have a big budget. The petsmart lady( who said she knows about crabs..which i am not so sure) showed us the cuttlebone for birds and said the hermits need the calcium..and it was only a dollar something and should last awhile. And all the conflicting info has us both confused. We just stood there trying to remember what everyone has said and what the right thing to do it. I don't have a light or a heating pad yet. Is that ok for right now? They can still breathe if I get the aquarium lid?

After reading the archives on here, she bought a humidity and temp gauge and two bigger water dishes..(she just has little shells). She is trying to find some shells for the crabbies because she only has the two that came with her kit and the openings are quite large...but petsmart didn't have them. She also bought a coconut hut for the guys . They didn't have instant ocean..but had something from crab island which was seasalt for water. It is a liquid and doesn't go by the gallon but has a dropper so I don't have to do the math!! Then we got the dechlorinator without the slimecoat made for crabbies.

Now we are just trying to figure out the substrate. She kinda likes the sand because it's easy. I see everyone uses the coconut fiber..which was at petsmart. It was in the reptile section and it was one block of expandable coconut fiber(I am assuming this is what everyone is talking about). But I also have seen that some crabs don't like the fiber..So we are debating whether to get the fiber or get the sand which they are in now. ??? Then my daughter said that she thought you guys had mentioned baking the sand..do you need to bake play sand from home depot? Or can it just go right in?

Sorry..we are just so confused..and what to do right by the little guys. She is excited to get it set up for them, because it's a much bigger area!! They should do very well. I am just going to boil everything first ..just in case..

Now the seasponges..reading the archives, there was conflicting info. So do you boil them in the salt water...and then wring them out and put them back in? or let them air dry then microwave them?

[jenne03]

Thanks wizkids!! I appreciate all the info...I did read about the vinegar in the archives..I use it in my coffee maker all the time to clean it..very good to know you can wipe down the crabitat safely!

With the EE ...does it pack down a bit as the crabbies walk on it? I would assume you would have quite a bit in there so they can bury down when molting happens?

[krackersmom2]

Okay......Let me try to answer some of your questions.
Crabs have what are called modified gills to help them breathe. They thrive in relatively high humidity and they will not suffocate if they have an enclosed lid. A cheap and easy fix to the wire mesh lid is to wrap it in plastic wrap....and tape the loose edges. This will help hold the humidity at a more stable level.
Play sand is a top choice and widely used by crabbers. It is very cheap and crabs love it! There is no need to bake it. Baking is an option if you want to recycle your substrate when you clean your tank. When you pour in the desired depth, begin a combination of pouring in dechlor. water and mixing up the sand. Make it sand castle consistency. The crabs love to tunnel around under the sand and they will dig "molt caves" to do their molting thing in.
Your crabs may choose to dig down and go through a destressing period. DO NOT dig up a buried crab. It ill cause them more stress and can be fatal also known as (PPS "post purchase stress") They majority of crabs lost in the first few weeks perish for this reason. I have only lost one to this since I started crabbing. I fond that a strict hands off, look with your eyes not your hands approach is most successful. Some crabs don't like all the handling. So, don't force the issue if a crab is shy. If a crab is social, after a couple of weeks, you can begin taking it out for about 15 minutes at a time. Make sure your hands are clean.
Since it is summertime in your area, they should be okay without a UTH for awhile.
Cheap sources for sea shells are craft stores and sea shell shops (tourist traps). Sometimes you can find bags of varied shells at the dollar store and get a few usable shells. A good rule of thumb for choosing a shell is that the crab's BP (big pincher should fit easily into the opening of the shell when they retreat. The BP should not be left hanging out. Most PP crabs love green turbo shells.
Hope this answers a bit Feel free to keep on asking and researching the site. I have found everything here to be very reliable.

[bluconspiracy]

a cheap way to get a glass lid is at lowes. They will cut the glass per your measurements. I had mine cut so I do have a length wise opening *about an inch and a half or so & and then the mesh lid over that. The glass cost about 14 bucks and no extra charge for the cutting.

[WizKidsMom]

You can get the salt in the salt water fish section.

Don't worry about the substrate packing down. The hermies will re-arrange things to their liking. And once they start digging, you will have holes all over. It is funny to watch a crab walking and suddenly fall into a hole like they were not looking where they were walking.
I do use really small clay flower pots (after a salt water boil) to hold up stuff that may sink in the substrate, like the climbing wood.
Everything that I put in the tank gets a salt water wash. Shells get boiled (and I do this periodically to clean the shells between tank cleanings). Wood items get boiled. Vines get a quick dunk (as well as any plastic stuff). A quick dunk is better verses a sit in the pot boil since the plastic can and will melt.

You can get away with no lights for a while. Just turn on the lights in the room for day time, then turn them all off and try to keep the room dark during the night.

[jenne03]

Wow you guys..thanks so much!!! You guys are a wealth of info...It is really nice to find a place like this. I was telling a neighbor that I found this forum and it had so much info which wasn't in the book my daughter got. She told me "but it's a crab". Yea it's a crab that is a living breathing little guy that my daughter absolutely is in love with....well and I am getting there myself!!!! We want to do right by them!


Unfortunately since there isn't information out there where we purchased t he crabs...my daughter immediately handled them. We have had them for little over a week. Neither of them have buried or seem stressed at all. They were climbing all over the choya wood. My daughter did figure out that one is shy and she doesn't handle him as much. She says he is ok with her, but any sudden movement and if someone else comes in, he gets nervous. But her other one, seems to love being out and about..so hopefully it is ok?

Thanks again for everything..I also found the FAQ in the sticky which is a tremendous source of info!! I kept trying to go to the archives but the link didn't work..Thanks so much!

[WizKidsMom]

Yes, it is okay that you daughter is handling the little guys. Try to give them a little space so they can get use to their surroundings. At least for the next couple of weeks.

When they do dig down... resist the urge to dig them up. That will stress them out big time.