hello all,
I Purchased two hermits for my 5 year old son. I set up a 10 gallon tank with 8x16inch heating pad on back wall, 6 inch sand bed and the appropriate furniture. have had the little guys for 6 days now and have not seen them eat or drink once. have left fresh carrot peals, apple slices, mushrooms, pellet food in there for them. Here are my current tank conditions. keep in mind, its 6 degrees in Buffalo, NY right now.. maybe the temp?? they are staying really close to the back wall near the heating pad.
internal temp. 70
humidity. 90%
thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any replies
Not eating
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Tava14226
- Zygote
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 30 Jan 2019, 04:53
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 2
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
-
Tava14226
- Zygote
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 30 Jan 2019, 04:53
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 2
- Total gallons: 10
- Total tanks: 1
Re: Not eating
Bump please
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StellaCrab
- Zygote
- Posts: 72
- Joined: 17 Nov 2016, 10:29
- Gender: Male
- Hermit crabs: 13
- Total gallons: 125
- Total tanks: 2
Re: Not eating
Hello, and welcome to the HCP! 
I think the temperature definitely needs to be a bit higher, my crabitat stays around 82 in the day, and 78 during the night. Constant lows can cause extended amounts of lethargy, and lead to problems eventually...
Because they are new crabs, they are most likely still trying to adjust to their surroundings, they go through a ton of stress from being taken directly off the beach and being shipped to a pet store where they are often mistreated. You may not notice them eat or drink, they consume very small amounts of food and water, and it is very possible that they could be doing this at night, which is very common due to crabs being nocturnal.
Do you have fresh and salt water made from an appropriate salt mix? I recommend Instant Ocean, the brand made specifically for saltwater aquariums, as it provides the proper amounts of minerals that the hermit crabs need.
You can also insulate your heater if you are having heat issues, which can be done yourself using cardboard, foam, and foil. Wrap cardboard or foam in foil, with the shinier side facing the glass of the tank. You can repeat the layers as much as you need. You can also get a product called reflectix from a hardware store, it does the same job but just costs more.
I hope this helps, good luck!
I think the temperature definitely needs to be a bit higher, my crabitat stays around 82 in the day, and 78 during the night. Constant lows can cause extended amounts of lethargy, and lead to problems eventually...
Because they are new crabs, they are most likely still trying to adjust to their surroundings, they go through a ton of stress from being taken directly off the beach and being shipped to a pet store where they are often mistreated. You may not notice them eat or drink, they consume very small amounts of food and water, and it is very possible that they could be doing this at night, which is very common due to crabs being nocturnal.
Do you have fresh and salt water made from an appropriate salt mix? I recommend Instant Ocean, the brand made specifically for saltwater aquariums, as it provides the proper amounts of minerals that the hermit crabs need.
You can also insulate your heater if you are having heat issues, which can be done yourself using cardboard, foam, and foil. Wrap cardboard or foam in foil, with the shinier side facing the glass of the tank. You can repeat the layers as much as you need. You can also get a product called reflectix from a hardware store, it does the same job but just costs more.
I hope this helps, good luck!