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fisshy
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Hermit Crabs
« Thread Started on Sept 7, 2008, 11:46am »
Hello if anyone needs advice on de hermies please feel free to ask- I currently have 51 (down a bit from past years) and have 6 species (lost my 7th) - if you want to view my pinchy babies please feel free to view my gallery!
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a96/Herm-EZ/
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #1 on Sept 7, 2008, 1:33pm »
cool crabs but what do the letters by their names mean? can you please tell us alil about them? are they hard to keep?do they smell?what do they eat?? ect ect
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #2 on Sept 7, 2008, 1:53pm »
I'm curious as to how you house them. do you just have one huge tank? or are they separated in groups
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #3 on Sept 7, 2008, 3:04pm »
I house them in 3 sep tanks (I have more tanks- I was just able to downsize) 2-75G and 1-45G- they need temps/humidity in the 75-85 range- each species has specific needs but I manage to come to a happy medium since I have to mix them. Food- they eat better than I do--all kinds of proteins from shrimp-worms-beef-chicken provided they are all natural/organic no seasonings etc- and fruits-fiber-etc -
They are quite complex and not a cheap nor easy pet as sadly as they are led to be- I do many adoptions (or did) since moving to NC I have not had as many opportunities.
Next to their name is their species (Rugs-Straws-Indo-PP etc etc)
They do not smell nor carry disease--they can infect one another though with bacterial infections or viruses. They have their own personalities too- I pretty much do a hands off approach to keep them natural.
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #4 on Sept 7, 2008, 6:56pm »
I am thinking about getting them again once the kids are back in their room and I have a place for them... All kids love them and I love getting the different colorful shells
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fisshy
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #5 on Sept 8, 2008, 3:53am »
Actually the painted shells are bad for them another marketing gimick! >:(
The paint is toxic when ingested and makes the natural porous shell non-breathable.........

They also need real salt water not the crap they sell for hermies. A marine based salt- when your ready let me know and I can help ;)
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #6 on Sept 8, 2008, 4:13am »
This is all very interesting!!! You are right,most pet stores would lead you to believe they are cheap and easy to care for. I had no idea they needed all that food ect. Just thought they ate those pellets....Thanks for all the info,I'm looking forward to learning more.
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #7 on Sept 8, 2008, 6:08am »
can you use the sand that you would use for a salt water tank? If so I will be getting plenty of that for our 100g tank soon and can just get a little extra for them if I decide to get them again
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fisshy
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #8 on Sept 8, 2008, 6:27am »
if you mean aggregate sand- that is fine- I use Toys R Us Playsand -its a bit more than Lowes sand but its SO much cleaner and healthier- too sharp silicia pieces can scrape the hermies soft bum. That colored Calci sand is WAY WAY too expensive and not good for cave making which a hermie needs to build to molt. The sand should be moist not wet. The sand needs to be changed (depending on daily maintenance, number of crabs and tank size) every 3-6 mos.
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #9 on Sept 20, 2008, 9:47am »
WOW! No wonder Hermie died!!! My son begged for one at the mall last year. Coach House Gifts sells them in those toxic painted shells. No sand, no salt water (Or instructions to purchase any!), just that little canned food they sell you. And an itty bitty tiny wire cage with the plastic bottom. Poor Hermie... he must have had a miserable little life :(
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #10 on Oct 5, 2008, 10:25am »
Oh cool another hermit crab lover! Do you have an HCA account too?
I don't have any anymore because of my move from Cali to TX 4 years ago, but I used to have about 30 of them and had 6 of the species.
Maybe I'll get more in the future...
>^.^<
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fisshy
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #11 on Oct 5, 2008, 4:55pm »

Oct 5, 2008, 10:25am, bebop wrote:
Oh cool another hermit crab lover! Do you have an HCA account too?
I don't have any anymore because of my move from Cali to TX 4 years ago, but I used to have about 30 of them and had 6 of the species.
Maybe I'll get more in the future...
>^.^<
I used to go to HCA what was your screen name? I help run another HCA and HCRU and the Epicurian Hermit- nice to know you might start up again.
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Re: Hermit Crabs
« Reply #12 on Oct 7, 2008, 1:15pm »
My screen name is Bebop. I pop in every once in a while. I used to trade and sell stuff and food for them.
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