Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Questions about designing a terrarium.
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Wai
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Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by Wai »

I have had enough of telling people not to use any so-called "hermit crab sand". It is also known as Calci-Sand.

It should NOT be:
- used as a substrate alone
- used as a substrate alone in a small area
- mixed in with another substrate
- offered as food

The so-called "hermit crab sand" is no ordinary sand and does not support moulting. It solidifies in moisture and may contain dyes or other chemicals that are harmful to hermit crabs.

In other words, do not put it in the tank at all. Calcium should be offered to hermit crabs in the form of cuttlebone, calcium carbonate powder or other hermit crab safe foods (which are a lot cheaper anyway). I do not want to hear about people buying "hermit crab sand" after they have been WARNED by myself, Marie or other more experienced crabbers of this forum.
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ladybug15057
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by ladybug15057 »

Catch being, are those who are posting and then a reply is being done to help.... are they READING the advise or just going and starting other posts to bypass what has been written????
And one calcium source that I have found the hermies here love and DOES save their wearing shells (that are a bit expensive) is Crushed oyster shells that is sold for birds. It is a natural calcium source and one that hermies would find in the wild and inexpensive as well. Several years ago we would find 'nicks' in the hermies wearing shells where they were pinching a piece off and eating it. Since offering the oyster shells this rarely happens... don't get me wrong, there is still that occasional rascal who will customize their shell to their liking, but not just go about breaking hunks out of the wearing shells. Now I do grind these into a powder form. A few years ago one of my daughters hermies had a piece of crushed oyster shell make its way into her shell and punctured her abdomen... so they get powdered shells now...
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anniehorsekrab
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by anniehorsekrab »

Yes, I got rid of my hermit crab sand a LOOONG time ago. So if you're referring to me, you can stop. Now I use pure coco-fiber. yay me. :|
~Annie

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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by hermie_lover3542 »

I highly agree, to not use it. It's also very expensive, and it molds easy. Sadly my cousins do not understand that you should not use it (they are 8, 12, and 4 years old) I've tried telling them but they use all of the wrong stuff. :(
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by CrabbyJo »

Do you think they might stop using it if you told them that it has been known to kill crabs?

If it gets wet (and the crabs can wet it themselves, you can't stop them) it dries in clumps. If some gets into a crab's shell, where they carry water, it can dry in there and trap the crab in the shell. The crab cannot change shells, and will die.
Also, if they bury down in it and it's wet, and it dries while they are molting, it can harden and trap them, where again, they will die. Digging them out isn't an option, as doing that also can kill a molting crab just from the stress.

it's really not worth it. maybe you can convince them and make some other suggestions for them to use, such as Eco Earth (coconut fiber) or the much better (and healthier) aragonite sand from Caribsea.
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by PCP »

Uh-oh. Back to the pet store for me. I just bought some today. I guess I should have researched better. *|
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ladybug15057
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by ladybug15057 »

Yes, the Crab Care section warns this too as well as if Substrate is typed in the search box in the upper right of the screen... this post would of come up. All one needs to do is take a little time of their day and can usually find the answer.
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by daine042 »

i bought a couple of large crabs from a pet shop with 'hermit crab sand' in the tank as soon as i got em home they changed shells and inside their old shell was full of mould i told them it was bad for the crabs and they insisted it wasnt no wonder they have a high mortality rate at the shop. is the smaller gravel ok? (3-5mm) the crabs dont seem to be worried by it and gravel that size is usually crushed coral and shell so along with the cuttle bone i thought it would offer another source of calcium
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by emmac350 »

You can use shell grit, calci-sand, and other substrates like that as food supplements. However, they shouldn't be used as primary substrates. Crabs need a sand with a grain size closer to 1mm for optimal burying conditions. The larger grains don't hold their molting burrows as well and can easily cave in on the vulnerable crab.
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Re: Do NOT use "Hermit Crab Sand"

Post by aries »

I have a question about the Ocean Sand. Does that make a good substrate for and ISO tank or molting tank? Or can it be used as a regular tank as well?

I use playground sand baked in the oven to sanitize and am thinking about going to Ocean Sand.
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