Any Land Hermit Crab Owners

[marg]

Awww handsome looking hermies you have there.

Yes they defo need salt water as well as drinking water, it help with their molting as well as their general well being.

everything else sounds fine, they will rest most of the day but be active at night, we use a blue light at night to watch them by.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Alright, I'll stop by the shop later to pick up what they need.

Thanks!

 

[rosepetalbed]

Hi and yeah we have had them for a while now.... a particular pet store I used to "rescue" them from finally stopped selling them...I informed them gravel was no Good they need to molt and dig under...so switched to sand...said they need a big water dish...so got a bigger water dish (to big was afraid one would fall in and drown) but last time i went in there tank was off to side and empty on top of the sand....asked the girl what was going on with them...the owner came in and seen that because the crabs couldn't be "seen" they are not selling....so he's not carrying them anymore.... so sometimes it really is a never ending battle...I love animals and my dream job is to work, and care for them....but every pet store would fire me for doing things the RIGHT WAY

 

[marg]

rosepetalbed i know what you mean, but i'd sooner they don't sell them if they can't look after them and don't give the right information on how to keep them.
Our main large pet shop has also stopped selling them, if i wanted any more now i would have to order them off line.



TylerFerretLord my pleasure, i hope you get to see your hermies bathing and drinking because they look so dam cute.

 

[cuticom]

Hey, I've got hermits to, well a hermit now. They've got a fantastic enclosure, one of the made for reptile ones, thermostat heat globe keeping them at 24 degrees year round, fantastic diet, 6 inches of substrate, saltwater and freshwater, over 60 shells of varying types and sizes etc but of course I end up with a nasty crab that engages in shell wars with all its tank mates and eventually kills every single one of them. I'm really tempted to get new really really large hermits just for some payback since this lil guy has killed like 7 hermits so far, little bugger.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I would keep him by himself in a ten gallon and get some more for the big enclosure.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

One of my hermits changed shells for the first time today.

I had found some more of mum's shell collection(which has proven very handy since I started caring for aquariums), so I added a few larger nerite shells(what two of them are in already). He changed while I was out of the room.


Are mites a thing to be concerned about? There's a nice population in their enclosure. Not really bothering me and from what I've read not harmful, but I figure I should check it over with you guys.

 

[marg]

TylerFerretLord too bad you missed the shell changing, its amazing to see.

Mites are a big problem and very hard to get rid of, new hermits should be bathed to get rid of mites, but once mites are in the crabitat there not easy to get rid of, backing your sand substrate, and bathing your hermies is the only way i know of to get rid of them.

cuticom, i'd leave that one on its own and have a new set up with a community of hermies in it.