hermit crabs

pamm013 · 03-27-2004, 04:03 AM

does any one know anything at all about hermit crabs?? Andys mom brought some home.. guess she figured if she cant have a cat........................

she was going on and on and on and on..... about this is what they need.. and they cant have that.... etc... fine..
but the other day it was at least 70 in the house.. and she came upstairs and was picking them up.. wondering why they were ALWAYS in their shells... and said.. ohh they must have froze to death.. felt like maybe she was blaming it on me...

so anyway.. just so I know there is NOTHING she can blame on me for them dying if they do... give me any info any of you have on them.. thanks

greencolander · 03-27-2004, 09:55 AM

There are LOTS of websites with good information on hermit crabs:

http://crabcolony.homestead.com/Care.html

http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/vanessap/hermit/cs/

These two sites should help you get started!

Good luck, and have fun with the little crabbies!

pamm013 · 03-27-2004, 03:32 PM

thank you so much...

michelle · 04-01-2004, 01:38 PM

My friends and I used to keep hermit crabs when we were little. I remember that they lived for a long time, and we didn't particularly take good care of them, because we were just little kids at the time. They stayed in their shells a lot when people were around. We knew they were alive though because we would turn them over and put a little martini umbrella in their claw, and they would clamp down and hold it.

Ravnos · 04-01-2004, 02:26 PM

Hermit crabs are a really under rated pet I think, they're really quite fascinating... or maybe its just me?

One of the main things to keep in mind is that their environment needs to be quite humid, but you don't want it to get stagnant and mildewy.

Rav

michelle · 04-01-2004, 02:37 PM

What a nice photo. Did you take it? I used to have a fiddler crab, but my mom put it in my turtle tank for some reason.. very tragic. Do you have to give hermit crabs new shells when they get bigger?

Ravnos · 04-01-2004, 02:41 PM

Yeah thats my crab Click and I took the pic.

Ugh... I can imagine that was a light snack for your turtles.

And yeah, as they grow they need larger shells... sometimes they will switch shells just because they want to. You sort of have to keep an eye on your crab and give him suitable options as he continues to grow. They are really curious little guys, and will check out various different shells before settling on one if you give them a choice.

Rav

Denise · 04-01-2004, 02:49 PM

Pam, OMG now she brought hermit crabs home?!

I shouldn't be laughing but I can't help it.

Anyway, I used to have hermit crabs when I was young and they ended up dying.

I had an assortment of shells for them whenever they outgrew their old shells but they rarely used the new shells and eventually died. Rav, Click is a real cutie! He looks so healthy.

pamm013 · 04-01-2004, 07:38 PM

yes.... she brought 3 of them home.. first she gave them to me as a souvinier from Alabama.. then she took them back.. she didnt say why.. just kind of made it seem like she wanted them back.. but I think it was cause she thought I was incompetent of taking care of them...

but thats fine she can have them..
she has been constantly turning the heat up to 72 all the time.. then I turn it back down to 66-68.. before she always used to say it was hot downstairs.. now she says its way too cold downstairs..

uhh okay....
I dont know how humid she keeps it in there..

Solarsis · 04-01-2004, 09:08 PM

Where does one go about finding an assortment of shells for their hermit crab???