Fans and readers,

I have decided to close my blog when the domain expires. For some time it has been hard for me to maintain all of my websites and continue to post relevant content. I am now going to be posting on my Google+ profile and should you wish to follow me there you can find my profile here: gplus.to/foreverpurple Be sure to let me know if you are a hermit crab owner so that you will only receive updates from me relating to hermit crabs. I am hoping to post more on the CSJ Twitter account as well.. You can follow that at http://twitter.com/crabstreet

All of my articles will be moved over to The Crab Street Journal. Which I also own. If you are over 13 y/o please feel free to join the site so you can participate in the forums and contests. If you are under 13, all of our articles and information is still available for you to read.

Regarding your emails and questions, I will continue to answer those directly until the site closes. I will not be posting anything new. If time allows I may incorporate your questions into a an article at CSJ.

I want to thank you all for making this blog my most popular site! I hope to see you all at CSJ in the near future!

Much Crabby Love,
Stacy

Be sure to get over there and vote for your favorite photo this month!
Hermit Crab Calendar Photo of the Month

Make sure you VOTE and help keep our contests fun and active :) Better yet, enter your own photo next month!

Where the heck am I?

Sarge chilling in the fog.
>

Sunshine

Crabster Island

Link: http://www.coenobitaspecies.com

Coenobita Species.com has been a big project for me and has been about two years in the making. I am still looking for ways to improve the site and to add additional species as information becomes available. I hope the site will be a reliable resource for all crabbers!

The species represented are only documented species of Coenobita. We do not entertain claims of 'new' species being discovered by private individuals who have no evidence or documentation to back up their claims. New species must be validated and confirmed.

If you live outside of North America, and keep species that are not commonly available to North America, and would like to contribute to the site please contact us directly! owner [at] coenobita species [dot] com

Hermit Crab Species

Emily writes:

First of all, let me say I love your site!!!
Now, for the questions. I have ten hermit crabs living in a ten gallon tank. I have two rather large ones, and the rest are medium to small. One of the smaller ones is what is concerning me. I've had him for probably about five months now, and I can honestly say I've never seen him out of his shell. Ever. I see him in one spot and then I look again and he's in another spot, but I never see him out! And I've picked him up and put him in my hand, and he doesn't come out. He hasn't even come out when I've bathed them. Do you have any idea as to why?
Also, I have dry sand in my crabitat, but from what I've gathered it's a good idea to wet the sand. I don't have any form of humidity in there, it's just dry sand in the tank sitting in my room. The wet sand is rather difficult to clean though, any help in that area? Besides replacing all the sand all the time?
Thanks,
Emily

Sometimes they are just shyer or most active at night. Overhead lights often will increase activity, do you use lights? The lack of humidity really must be corrected immediately as its crucial to the hermit crabs ability to breathe.

You could switch the sand for eco earth which helps hold humidity and is much easier to toss out and replace as needed. If you want to keep the sand I would suggest adding some moss for humidity (and of course a lid). Crabs LOVE moss and it holds water well.

I had a lot of issues with wet sand and in my 150 gallon tank I use eco earth and usually a small corner of coral gravel where I keep the water dishes.

Be sure to join us over at: www.crabstreetjournal.com too!

I am getting a lid asap. And the Eco earth really is a good idea, as the wet sand is so messy. Have you had any experience with those reptile heating pads? Better than lights or just as good?

The reptile pads or UTHs are good for offering heat for your tank but you would still need a light. A reptile lamp can offer light and warmth. Over time the UTH will lose its adhesive and come unstuck. You also have to make sure you have taken precautions not to allow the UTH to overheat the surface below it.

A single bulb lamp will only give you heat during the day because you can't leave a day bulb on 24/7. Your crabs need a cycle of light and dark. If you can't afford a bi-light light fixture then I would say get the UTH for heat and find a light source for the day.

Also hopefully your 10 hermit crabs are small otherwise a 10 gallon tank is too small for that many crabs. The general rule is 2 gallons per crab.

Dustin writes:

Hi, i have had the please of having 5 of this nice little critters. now in know quite a lot about the ones i have and their behaviour, but for some reason as of lately, they have been coming half way out of their shells to the point where u can see there little booties almost and start feeling around their shell with their shell holding legs.... quite strange when it looks like there lounging out.. anyone know what this behavior is ?

Do you have plenty of empty shells for them? What is your tank temperature?

lots of shells, we add new ones every few weeks, also temp is at goes between 72-75. and 80% humidity

Humidity might be a bit high since 80% is the high end of the recommended range.

I have noticed over the last couple days, my little Dr. Mambo has stopped moving around. This morning,I went in to wake up Retta,Sam,Magenita as usual,well Dr Mambo is not responding much. Now this is called molting? My daughter gave them all a little swim the other day and I think maybe that's when he started,I'm not sure. When I pick him up and move a leg,he seems to still be alive. Please advise me on what to do. Thanks Susan

How long have you had this hermit crab?

Molting typically involves burrowing underground and shedding the 'skin' or exoskeleton.
Here is an article that may be helpful:

http://www.allthingscrabby.com/blog/index.php/my-hermit-crab-is-inactive-why?blog=3

Dr Mambo passed away, this is not uncommon in newly purchased hermit crabs. Read why:

http://www.allthingscrabby.com/blog/index.php/why-did-my-new-hermit-crab-die?blog=3

Featuring all of the contest winners of 2010, the calendar is finished! Linda's photo of Kelp on the top of the World is the cover crab and for that honor she wins a free copy of the calendar!

You can find the calendar for sale at Cafepress:
http://www.cafepress.com/crabstreet
Click on the Calendar Crabs icon and then navigate to the 2010 winners.

Congrats everyone who won this past year and thanks to all that took the time to enter!

Want to see your winning hermit crab photo in print? Get over to http://crabstreetjournal.com and sign up!

Hopefully I haven't posted this too late in the year. My burning bush leaves are all but bare but I did manage to grab a great big handful of leaves off last week. I put them in the tank this weekend and the crabs have decimated them. They love burning bush leaves! If you have some chemical free, natural bushes to harvest from I highly recommend it!

Denise writes:

Adopted Tony a year ago at the jersey shore and he has done well. This year we brought him back to the shore and adopted Kevin. We picked Kevin b/c he was close to the same size as Tony and we liked his painted shell. We placed Kevin in the crabitat that we lugged to jersey and he instantly burrowed under the mulch until he was under a piece of driftwood. 12 hours after we got Kevin, we woke up and discovered that he left his original shell and moved into a shell already in the crabitat 2x the size of the shell we purchased him in. I'm just amazed b/c in all my years of owning crabs I've never seen such a quick change. Tony in the mean time has grown, but has not yet changed his shell. Can you shed some light on why a crab can shed a shell and move into another one so quickly? Thanks. Denise

Hermit crabs are very mysterious... some change shells nonstop and others seem to refuse to change no matter what. All you can do is offer plenty of shells and let them do what comes naturally to them. I had a PP for a long time who was a chronic shell shopper. She seemed to love to try on shells but rarely stayed in a new one. While molting is usually associated with shell changing, its just not a set in stone behavior. If the shell they are wearing is already big enough to allow room to grow they may not feel the need to move to a larger shell.

Johan Tress writes:

Why do Hermit Crabs needs UVA lights? I'm using the new 40 watt energy saving bulbs that have the twisted heads because the normal lights heat the tank up too much. My crabs are not coming out while the light is on though. Plus I have an under tank heater, but they seem to hate it and only crawl around the un heated side. I'm considering losing the undertank heater and just use the lights only. Guidance?

I am having a hard time finding a better article covering the UVA but for now:

Ultraviolet light (UV) is important in the production of vitamin D3, which is necessary for calcium metabolism. Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin with exposure to UV light (from sunlight). While vitamin D3 can be supplemented in the diet, it appears some reptiles, such as iguanas, make better use of vitamin D3 produced within their bodies than that provided in vitamin supplements.

Calcium is an important part of the hermit crabs diet as well.
Are you able to experiment with different bulbs? How long have you been using the light? How far above the tank is the light? My crabs are more active in the morning and evening hours under their light.

I found UTH's just didn't heat enough in my large tank. If you are able to maintain a proper temperature range in the tank without the UTH, there is no need to keep it.

Thanks for your reply. I have experimented with different lights, but all the lights except the energy saving lights just heat up to tank too much. The light cover though which rests against the top of the tank is actually made for a fish tank and covers the whole top of the tank. So I am finding myself having to constantly slide the light cover from covering the whole tank to covering only a portion of the tank just to maintain the recommended temperature. I also use Seran Wrap to keep the humidity level at the recommended level which is located between the light cover and the wire mesh anti-escape cover. I'm thinking of transitioning from the 10 gallon tank to a larger 15-20 gallon tank and having the light cover only 1/2 the tank like the pet shop does and to use plexi-glass to maintain humidity instead of Seran Wrap. I also plan to keep the undertank heater when I get the larger tank. My question is though if I really NEED to get UVA lights or can I just supplement their diet with some calcium? I buy the processed Hermit Crab food in the glass jar which contains calcium and supplement their diet with pieces of vegetables and fruit. They seem to really like grapes! We have 4 crabs named Max, Baby, Lilly, and Roofy living in the tank. All but Roofy are small crabs. Roofy is a medium sized crab. For the past couple of weeks I have only seen Max come out during the middle of the night while the others stay hidden. None of them comes out of their burrow during the day though. I dig them up once a week to see if they're still alive (which they are), but I see no signs of molting. Could they be hibernating or are they reverting back to their natural behavior? Is there something that I'm not doing that would make them more active?? As I have stated before, I have both an undertank heater AND lights resting on top against the wire. I also have temperature gauges stationed up near the top inside of the tank and another stationed down at the bottom of the tank which is taped to the outside of the glass that not only measures the temperature of the substrate (just above the undertank heater), but also of the room temperature outside the tank as well. In the event you need to know we keep the house temperature between 68 and 72 Degrees Fahrenheit due to the sweltering heat and humidity outside. When my son Sebastian (4 year old) wants to play with the crabs I have to physically dig them out of the substrate and place them on the carpet so they start moving around. Once he's done playing with them and we put them back in the tank they immediately start digging down and we don't see them again. Is the act of digging them out causing them to be stressed and thus harmful to them? I swear. Those crabs hide so well you wouldn't think that there was anything in there. I would lift up EVERYTHING in that damn tank on any given day and all I see is substrate. That substrate is deep too, they burrow down all the way down to the glass at the bottom. The substrate itself is three inches deep. I find myself having to poke my finger to the bottom of the substrate all around the tank just to find those guys! Any guidance you could give me would be appreciated. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your reply.

A 10 gallon tank is harder to regulate, it over heats so quickly. I think you will find a larger tank will be easier to stabilize. Feeding calcium will not do much good if they aren't able to properly absorb it. I would try a very low wattage reptile day glow bulb once you change tanks. I recommend switching from a commercial diet to a more healthy natural food diet. The ingredients are questionable.

Digging up your crabs is typically a no-no. If your crabs are burrowing constantly and never molt (but if you are digging them up once a week you could be preventing that from happening) they could be doing this because there is a problem with their environment.

So I think its important to leave the crabs alone, no more digging them up. Work on a bigger tank where you can tried a reptile bulb. And switch to a better diet.

You are not the first to find themselves lacking the proper information. I was in the same shoes when I started my hermit crab adventure! Have you been over to www.crabstreetjournal.com ?