Hiding crab

Question
Hello-
My crab, Nerf, had a nice molt, came out fine.  He has plenty of water, fresh and salt, and I give him fresh, organic food. Yet, Nerf seems to be inactive.  He is my only crab, is he lonely? He just sits in his hut all day and doesn't come out at night either. I'm worried somethings wrong.

Answer
Dear Megan,
thank you for your question.
Land hermit crabs travel in groups of 20 to 100 crabs and they need company in captivity. Groups of four or more crabs work well, that way you usually have one active crab at all times (although they sometimes decide to molt all at the same time). Size or gender isn't important, they all get along fine. If you want to get different species, there should be at least two crabs of each species.

Sometimes crabs are inactive for no apparent reason, this may have something to do with seasonal changes or destressing after a molt, sometimes pre-molt makes them sluggish. But in your case I'm pretty sure that Nerf will be more active when he has other crabs to keep him company.
If you are in Florida or in driving distance, the best source to buy crabs is http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com/
They will ship crabs, too, but only when it's warmer. The site has very good information on general crab care, too.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer