My hermit Crab Won't COme Out Of It's Shell

[Juan576]

I am sorry, how deep is the sand in your tank? Remember they need sand deep enough so that they can completly bury themselves.

[ladybug15057]

Please do not get any flowers at just any store. Majority of them do have some form of a pesticide or insecticide on them or it has been used on them to keep pests away. If anything, get one from an organic flower shop, or grow your own but don't use any fertilizers or chemicals on them. Here is a site with some foods too, but make sure if they are from about your home no pesticides or chemicals have been used anywhere near your home:

http://www.hermitcrabcuisine.com/

[Pengy]

Thank You But I HAve Good News!! I Bought another hermit crab so now I have three And It was bigger than the other two and now the hermit crab is doing great! but I have one my guestion..... I woke up today and all my hermit crabs were buried in the sand..... Everything was recked..... Then when I got home today from school the bigger one moved.... Are They Molting?? I Just need to know to make sure they Are okay.

[Juan576]

They are most likely ok!

Did you do ur homework and got the humidity gauge we suggested you to get?

They are probably just distressing. Once again, don't dig them up

[ladybug15057]

Not always will hermies burrow to molt. They burrow for warmth, coolness, extra moisture, to destress, or just for entertainment as well. If your tank conditions aren't correct (and this cannot be known until you get a humidity gauge and calibrate/test it), hermies will burrow then too. Do you have a warm side and a cooler side to your tanks substrate as well? Hermies are cold blooded creatures and must have these to regulate their body heat. Do you offer an ocean/sea water pond, and if so what brand of ocean mix do you use?

[Pengy]

Yes I offer both type's Of water And I told my mom I NEED NEED A humditiy gauge thing but she said I didnt need it! Please writr somethign that my mom will read and make her see that i NEED it! xD

[Juan576]

ok?

Just carefully explain to your mom that hermit crabs need extra moisture in the air. A humidity gauge is a tool used to measure moisture in the air. Hermit crabs need a humidity gauge so that we people know that they can breath alright.

[Pengy]

SO what happens if the humditiy isn't right?

[Juan576]

Your hermit crab(s) will suffer a long and painful death caused by suffocation. Kind of like dyeing of dehydration.

[ladybug15057]

Pengy, I am sure your mom is a very understanding parent, but sometimes it is the way one approaches situations too.
One must have a humidity gauge to monitor the humidity percentage within the crabitat. Hermies depend on humidity to breath through their modified gills. If the humidity level is too low, they can slowly suffocate. If the humidity level is too high, this creates a high potential for a bacteria/mold growth within the crabitat. A too high humidity level also makes it difficult for the hermies to breath, along with the chance of them getting an infection of their gills. Both the high, or low humidity levels cause irreversible gill damage that the hermie does not regenerate during a molt. A humidity percentage needs to be 75-78% within the crabitat. This reading should be at substrate level which is where the hermie spends majority of their time.

The gauge should always be calibrated prior to using it to see how accurately it is reading: (and checked monthly)

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=54

What brand of ocean water do you use? What do you use for a dechlorinator for their water ponds?