Non Active Hermit Crabs

[Amy00]

I'm new to this forum and to being a hermit crab owner. i've included pictures of my tank setup that i have currently and a pic of my crabs. i have two of them.

i purchased my hermits on may 7th (last friday) and that night they were very active during the night. but the last few days i've noticed they haven't been very active even at night and it pitch dark. i threw a blanket over the top to help get it darker but even that didn't seem to help. i have been very worried and have been looking all over for someone that could help me figure out what to do. as i was reading your site i noticed i'm doing a few things wrong. i don't have enough sand. and my dishes aren't what you listed. could the lack of deep enough sand make them not as active lately??
i know their eating cause i put in a piece of my peanut butter cracker and peeked under the blanket and saw them eating (which was a cool experience!) i just would like for them to be more active.
is there a chance they will get more active during the day as well? i know their more nightly creatures but i was hoping to see them out and about in the day as well.

thanks for taking time to read this! and i hope you guys don't think too poorly of me.

[CrabbyJo]

Oh hon we wouldn't begin to think poorly of you! There is so much bad information out there, and pet stores have it so wrong, we are just glad when someone makes it to the site and we can help them get their tank set up so their crabs can live long and healthy lives, instead of the very short ones the pet stores expect. Isn't that awful?

you have sweet looking crabs.

First, don't worry about them being inactive. They are de-stressing, and can bury themselves for up to two weeks while they get used to the activity patterns and vibrations in your home. They have been through so very much trauma lately - from being harvested off their home beach, likely thrown into a huge sack with hundreds of others, shipped to a pet store, where the conditions are usually dicey at best.

They don't know that things are now going to settle down. They need a good amount of time to adjust. This means not picking them up or disturbing them too much during the next few weeks.

I have noticed that my crabs go through phases, and I'm not sure what triggers it - often when I rearrange the tat, they will be more active for a few days at least.
Often they are not active, and if I am fortunate to wake up at night to visit the restroom, Ill get to see some crabs out and about. They are not only active at night though, you will also see them active during the day. I know it seems discouraging at first, but just be patient. With hermit crabs, patience is the name of the game!

I hope that puts your worries to rest there.

It looks like you've got a nice little tank started for them there - and now I'm going to break your heart. The purple sand in there is calci sand, and really is not a safe substrate for hermit crabs. It is unsafe because when wet it molds easily, and it also will dry into hard clumps. If crabs are buried beneath calci sand that has dried and hardened, it can trap the crabs below the surface. If a clump of wet calci sand gets into a crab's shell, it can dry and harden, trapping them within their shell. It also will get a very bad smell when wet at times.
The best substrate is Aragonite sand. Carib Sea is a good and more common brand. If you get the sugar grain size, or select grain size, the grains are rounded and are much safer for your crabs. That way no sharp sand is getting into their shell possibly puncturing their soft abdomen. You can find it in stores that carry items for salt water aquariums. If that is too expensive, or hard to find, you can use 100% coconut fiber. Eco Earth is a common brand. You can expand it with ocean salt water, which will discourage mold growth.

It's okay if your dishes aren't that deep, but you can easily replace them with plastic or glass dishes from your kitchen. I have small glass custard bowls I guess they are, and I put some marbles or glass stones in to help smaller crabs get out. It isn't necessary to have deep dishes, but you will want to bathe your crabs once in a while in lukewarm dechlorinated water (not room temperature, that's too cold) since they can't submerge themselves.

Also, make sure the salt water you have is not hermit crab salt water, that has been found to be pretty useless for hermit crabs. they do need ocean salt water. you can use a mix for salt water aquariums.

The half log hidey you have is from a conifer, which is an irritant to hermit crabs, I'm sorry to say it should be taken out.

You can use a coffee cup turned on its side, or a small plastic planter with a doorway cut in it and placed upside down for hideys. You can also use legos to build fun places for them to hide and climb.

If you can get more fake plants in there, your crabs will feel safer because they have more places to hide, and are more likely to come out and about. Places to hide = safer feeling crabs.

I don't see a humidity gauge... do you have one? It's important to keep the humidity within a range of 70-80%.

I think you will do great, it should be easy to replace the substrate since you were thinking you had to get it deeper anyway. Just toss the calci sand and put in some cocofiber or aragonite sand.

I know this is a lot, unfortunately pet stores will continue to remain ignorant and keep selling crabs with bad information about them. We all went through this, trust me, I had to replace my substrate after all the work of getting it cleaned and put in, had to find heat lamps, spent sooo much money getting things set up right. There are cheap ways to do it, here's a good link with cost cutting tips:
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... rds=budget

After all that, you will also want to get them a few more shells to choose from. It looks like you have Purple Pincers, and they like shells with round openings, like Turbo shells. I buy mine off of ebay.

[ladybug15057]

With the great advice CrabbyJo has offered I would like to mention the depth of the substrate is better for now not to be deep for the hermies to burrow. (but please do try to purchase another substrate as CJ suggested) When hermies are new, it is better to have them stay on top of the substrate to help them adjust to captive living. Please read the PPS article.
You do have adorable hermies, thank you for sharing their picture with us.

[hermie's123]

and just to throw this out there you should probally add some natural shells to there tat so that one of your hermies can change out of that icky painted one. they like natural shells better and there much prettier! and the painted shells are toxic and can kill them. i know tha my hermies like green turbos the best!

[Amy00]

Thank you CrabbyJo and everyone for replying and helping me out!

unfortunately my purple shell one has died sometime thursday. i noticed when i went to put fresh water in the dish and remove food i had to move the purple shell one away to get to the food and when i picked it up and had the shell on its back to where i could see in the opening. the hermit crab was half out of the shell and it was limp. i knew right away it was dead. i was very sad and upset. thinking what did i do wrong what could have caused it. i called petsmart cause i couldnt find the receipt but they had it on file. so i took the crab and just got my money back. it was odd cause the unpainted one was very active that day and the next. like freedom LOL but last night he was antisocial. and im concerned about him eating. cause i havent seen him eat.
first question i have is on the sand. i read everywhere i can use play sand. so mom got me some from home depot they had 50 lbs for 3.00 is this safe sand for me to use?? cause im not in convenience to get the other two type sands you mentioned. where would i find the aragonite or the coconut fibre sand? i do not have a gauge yet. but i will most definitely be buying one on the first when i get money. i will also be requiring a 55 gallon tank. the pet store owner in my town told he is selling his for 40.00 i just have to clean it. so i'm excited about that.. more room the 10g is nice but its tall and not long so its not enough room for decor.
also where do i find the salt that you mentioned i should use? cause i did buy the hermit crab salt.
thanks everyone!!

[Wai]

Wash and bake the play sand, then run a strong magnet through the sand to catch any metal filings in the sand.

[Amy00]

how do i bake sand?????


also where do i find the salt that they need for their water? cause i got the hermit crab salt

[emmac350]

You bake sand the same way you bake anything else in an oven. Put it on a pan (spread it out no more than about an inch thick) and bake at 350 for half an hour or so.

Salt can be found in the aquarium section of any pet store. Instant Ocean or Oceanic are the most common brands to find in the US.

[Amy00]

thank you! since i switched the sand to the play sand. i noticed a big change in my hermie! he was very active walking around he even got on the sponge for the first time since ive had him! i took a pic on my cell phone! i also put a coffee cup for hiding. he's digging right now.
but he seems alot happier with the new sand!