New Crabbie Owner...

Rochelle309 · Post by **Rochelle309** » 28 Apr 2006, 06:27

I am a new crabbie owner. My daughter got two of them on recent trip to Seattle. The stupid shop owner tried to tell me that I should only buy because they will fight. Whatever. We got two... April and Sarah. April changed shells the very first night we had them. When we first got them we just kept them in a Critter Carrier (2 days). When we returned home I set up the 10 gallon tank. We have a sand substrate, wood for climbing on a, cave for them to hide in, 5 extra shells, water dish and food dish. They had fun running around the new crabitat. However April, the one that changed shells has half buried herself in the sand. I don't know if she is de-stressing or if she is going to molt on me right away. I have instantly become attached to these little things and want to make their life as comfortable as possible. I don't know if this is something I should be worried about or just wait it out. Also, I am unclear on the saltwater issue. Should I have 2 water bowls, one for freshwater and one for saltwater? Which one should the sponge go in? The temperature and humdidity gauges show we have that part dialed in. Any information you could provide a new crabbie enthusist would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jaci · Post by **Jaci** » 28 Apr 2006, 07:16

sounds like you put a lot of thought into their crabitat.

i remember when i was in your shoes. it's a good thing that you got 2 crabs, they love company. i added another one a couple weeks ago and the first thing that she did was dig. yours could be molting, it's hard to decide bc you don't know when the last time they molted was. one hint to look for is, if she stays under for longer than a week, she's probly molting. and depending on her size, she could be under for a while.
as for the water, i have a salt water and a fresh water pond, which i just put in recently. the salt water one has a ramp (from petco) and the fresh water one, I have put a stick in it, so my smallest can climb out. the sponge is in a big shell and has fresh water in it.
i hope everythign goes well!

iluvhermies · Post by **iluvhermies** » 30 Apr 2006, 00:13

I am not sure of how the set up was were you got the crabs but I bought some from a pet store here and I had 3 of them that dug down almost instantly because there was not enough sand for them to dig into at the pet store. I have both salt and decholranized water bowls in mine. The salt one is smaller but deep enough for them to get into. I have also put some rock in the bottom of mine and up to the top on a small section so that little crabs can get out if they fall in. Something else you could add for them mine love it. I went to a craft store and I bought a net like you would hang on your wall to display shells and I got some of those suction cups with the hooks on them and put it going from the bottom up and across to the front.

hermiesrokmysox · Post by **hermiesrokmysox** » 30 Apr 2006, 01:14

i would use serpate dishes for salt and fresh water, so the crab can choose!

you sounds a lot like me! When i bought my crabs (last year in April) i got them a critter keeping, a shell, a sponng, 1 extra shell for each crab, sand. that's all! now i have a 20 gallon tank (long) a glass flip top lid and about a million different plants and hiding areas! Here's my blog (it's also on my sgnature) you can check out to get some ideas for your tank: http://www.hermie-college.blogspot.com

DO you have a humidity gauge and a themometer? You really need those if you don't! the humdi\ty should be at 70%-80% at all times, also the temperature should be at 70-80 degrees F.

Sounds like you are doing good! I was surprised at how much you knew about hermies already!!!! that's awesome!