QuestionI'm a new crab owner (I guess technically it belongs to my 4-yr old son), and I'm not having luck. I bought my first crab on a Thursday, it didn't eat at all, and it was dead by Tues/Wed. So I thought perhaps my tank was contaminated or something or that it was sick when I bought it. So I went to a different pet store and purchased another crab, as well as a new critter keeper, sand, a little water/pool and sponge, and things for it to climb on. I'm giving it purified water and have tried a variety of foods (pellets from the pet store, strawberries, and pineapple). It seems to be getting weaker and less active than it was 4 days ago when I bought it. It doesn't seem to be eating much at all. This morning, it was outside it's shell, but it climbed back in and is carrying it around again.
I thought maybe the first one wasn't warm enough, so I moved this one into the kitchen. (I don't have a warmer.)
I've read that I should possibly be giving it salt water.
The pet store person I spoke to clearly didn't know a thing about hermit crabs when I was talking to him.
I want to save my crab! Do I need a warmer? Do I need salt water? Having too small of a crabitat won't kill it will it? (I've been worried it should be bigger.)
Thank you for your help.
AnswerHello, THe best setup is a Ten gallon blank fish tank with a wire lid covered half way with tin foil and an under the tank reptile heater on one side of the tank, two dishes large but shallow with some rocks in it so the crabs can get out easily one has declorinated normal water the other salted water salted with Sea salt for ****Salt water fish not table salt it will kill them!. Leave pellets/crab food in a dish shallow is best and easy to get into, you can offer carrot chunks as well mine loved this(I *Sold them they didnt die!!!). Also hermit crabs realyl arent hermits they really truely enjoy living together and you should vever Ever have a single hermit crab...when you go get the supplies mentioned grab two or three more, a ten gallon tank is good enough for 6/7 small crabs or three/four large crabs or five meduims(smalls are dime sized, meduims quarter sized and large anything bigger which can be loonie/toonie sized to golf ball sized. Also be sure to mist the cage with a bradn new unused hair mister or plant mister use normal water but be sure to declorinate it...fish water declorinater isnt reccomend reptile declorinater is what I used with great results. You dont need a sponge but it helps keep humiidty up...its best put in the normal water dish or it starts to smell funny in the salt water dish. Be sure to pick up some bark chip bedding or forest litter/lizard litter while your getting the other supplies its in the reptile supplies...the bark chips that are finer and not overly large are best these hold humidy very very well and its what I used...I also used half sand/half bark chips at times. Best of luck.
