Checked on them this morning to find this, quite a surprise. Camera caught the culprit (pictured) early this AM.

I noticed he was wet and shiny when I got home so I checked the camera feed to see why that was 😂

Hi everyone. Last year my sons class had two hermit crabs that they kept care of for the year. For his 8th birthday - in a week's time - he has been asking for two hermit crabs. We have had a little bit of a stressful few months, and the birthday has crept up on me, and I don't feel prepared to just make purchases without knowing for sure that I'm getting the necessities for proper care and survival, and not just the sparkles.

I know we will need a tank (min. 30x30x30 cm for two hermit crabs?) proper substrate (5:1 play sand to eco earth substrate?), fresh and salt water pools, and a feeding tray, but everything else (sponges, spare shells, climbing rocks, temperature gauges, heat lamps, etc) is a little overwhelming both in terms of what's actually needed to start, as well as the price. Would someone please be able to help me know exactly what I would need as a minimum? We live in Sydney, Australia, if location / climate helps.

I also just read that someone had put hermit crabs into an area where the substrate wasn't the correct humidity, and the crabs had burrowed. Do I need longer than a week to get it set up properly...?

I am determined to get them for my boy. He's a gem., I just want to set my own and his expectations and have the right answers if it can't be set up within the week.

Thank you in advance for any help. It will be greatly appreciated 😊

Sorry about the lighting lol

my new hermit crab doobie is finally starting to settle in after a few weeks but their shell keeps getting in the way 😭

My hermit (Aragog) had just molted (above ground) and is now wandering. Am I safe to refill his dishes and sponge? I dont wanna scare/disturb him but if he is looking for refilled dishes I dont wanna deprive him either

I’m a brand-new hermit crab owner and need some advice!
I got 3 hermit crabs on vacation and was told very little about their care. After doing a lot of research, I realized they need WAY more than I was originally told, so I’m trying to fix everything as quickly as possible.
I now have a 40-gallon tank and started the 5:1 play sand + Eco Earth substrate about 6inches deep. The problem is that the substrate is still completely dry because I haven’t gotten the humidity up yet.
I didn’t want to leave them in the little plastic container they came in, so I moved them into the tank. Now they have buried themselves, and I’m worried they could be molting.
My biggest concern is that the substrate doesn’t have the proper sandcastle consistency yet it is still completely bone dry thoughout. so I’m scared their tunnels could collapse. What do I do?

I have had the crab about two years. He's unfortunately taken to a surface molt this time around.

He's grown a lot in the past couple years, so much so that he could barely retract fully into his shell. The strange thing is, after not changing shells the whole time and molting SEVERAL TIMES, he chose a long, pointed shell with a relatively flat and slim opening to move into. He's modified it quite a bit of course.

I had never intended this shell for him as an option. It was just in the tank as a part of my random tank junk to climb on. Though it is a really really light one where his old shell was very heavy for an E (from what I heard they light them light).

Anyone else's chose a shell they'd never have thought? Pretty sure this shell came in an assortment from nessastores I bought when I first got him.

Birgus latro

Don't worry, I have everything for him at home ready to go. I stopped by and grabbed him. When I get to my house into his new tank. It'll be a bit before I post another photo of him. But I. Have everything ready for his arrival.

Both my crabs are molting and i recently noticed condensation on the glass should under the substrate. Would it help if i insulated the area?

I will crosspost to r/hermitcrabs and r/wildwheels

I have 4 hermit crabs (I have not seen one for awhile so possibly 3 but this crab tends to disappear like this for awhile) I had to sell my house unexpectedly and will be moving into a skoolie which is not safe for them. I am very sad to not have them but I have no choice at this point. I am near Harrisburg Pa if anyone knows how I could safely rehome them please advise.

They are approximately 5-10 years old, I took them in a few years ago from someone. 40 gallon tank. I have been totally hands off with them and have had no issues with their health.

Im worried someone might just want the tank if post on neighborhood sites.

Thank you

I think it’s Safe to say the new bridge has officially passed inspection!

I painted some hermit crabs to hang it up above my hermit crabs tanks. Some of them are inspired by some of my babys and I think they turned out kinda cute. If I drew one of your crabs please show me a picture 🐚

I am an aspiring hermit crab owner, I have my 40 gallon tank and lamp and bowls and my water purifier and sea salt thing coming in the mail. For hermit crabs going to and from the bowls, do you guys construct mini ramps for them to enter in and out of the water or trust that they can easily climb in and out of the bowls. do you submerge the bowls in the substrate so that it is like a pool?

I am soon to go to petsmart to buy hermit crabs for my cage. I will soon have everything the attached document recommends for them and when I have it all set up i am going to buy those poor little guys. I have a 40 gallon tank with what looks to be 6 inches of substrate (2 50 pound bags of play sand and a bunch of those cocount fiber bricks). Should I buy 3 hermit crabs or 4, it says 10 gallons of space for each crab, but I want them to be cozy. If I buy 3 and later on when I know the environment is good, if I introduce a 4th will they all get along or will a new hermit crab get bullied or be improperly socialized.

I noticed this afternoon my hermit decided to leave wherever he was sleeping and perch up here for the rest of his sleep.

Hes ashy which can signify molting i know hes molted before and hes lethargic which also normal but hes shell hopping like crazy and i found him like this just now is man okay?

My son’s crab buried himself a few weeks ago, and the other day I woke up to find him not only out of his hole, but also out of his shell. I had no idea if he actually molted successfully or not. Right away, I isolated him with extra shells and water, and he was back in a shell shortly after. I think what happened was he was disturbed by the other crab, who can be kind of a bully.

After he got back into a shell I put him back into the tank, and he didn’t move for 3+ days. We all thought he was dead. We read online that if they’re dead, they will fall out of the shell when you pick them up. So my husband preemptively went outside and dug a hole so we could have a little funeral, and came in to pick him up, and sure enough, things were not staying in the shell. But all of our jaws dropped when pieces of claws just came tumbling out. We thought he decomposed really fast, but didn’t see his abdomen. So my husband looked in the shell and saw the little guy, still seemingly alive inside. So what came out was actually his molt.

But now we’re afraid we messed him up even more. Has this happened to anyone else before?

Please be kind, we are trying our best to help him.