My Hermit Crabs

[yvez9]

Here are pics of my 3 crabs me and my girlfriend have been keeping for about 3 months now.

This is Bernie, the first one we got!
He is a Purple Pincher

This is Bruny, we named him after Bruny Surin who was one of the fastest 100m sprinters in the world, and he's from around here! He keeps running around any time we take him out
He is an Ecuadorian crab

And this is biggie, he is the biggest, and most shy of all our crabs. We rearely see him come out so here's a picture of his shell...
He is also a Purple Pincher

 

[moray]

lovely crabs, pic of shy one made me smile

 

[consp]

Fab pics! What are they like as pets? I was considering getting some a while back but changed my mind (Can't remember why).

As a Hermit keeper what do you think about painted hermit shells such as these... http/www.faunology.co.uk/shop/customer/home.php?cat=357 I've always wanted to ask a Hermit keeper that because I can't figure out wheter they are cruel or not... I mean it is only paint but could this produce any problems when they are changing shells... Would they react to them badly or reject them?

 

[yvez9]

i like them as pets, they're what i call low maintenance pets just need to change there water and food every day or two.

We have a 12 gallon tank setup for them. You need a tight lid with no gaps as some crabs (like Bernie here) like to look around and he's escaped twice already. We managed to fix it but we thing he managed to smuggle himself inside the hood (it's an eclipse tank with the filter inside the hood and a nice media tray that leads outside).

We also setup a little heater for the tank (the ones that stick to the glass, you can't put it inside)

they pretty much take care of themselves and eat whatever we put in, though a staple crab ffood is better, which we usually give them.

As for shells, painted shells are ok if you like there look, but there's no guarantee your hermit will like them. We have about a dozen empty shells of all sizes and shapes in there and only 2 of out crabs have switched. Biggie, the larger one, got a shell exactly like his older one, except it's a little bigger.

I find ecuadorian crabs more interesting then purple pinchers as they are more active. Don't expect to see them much during the day though, ours are active at night and we hear them digging and falling off plants all night long We do see them during the day but they usually go hide as they are very shy. It takes a few weeks for them to get comfortable in their environment and they are very curious!

HTH!

 

[Cian McLiam]

Nice crabs! I have three crabs as well, all Ecuadorians. Even the wife thinks they're cute now, scuttling around and peeping out at you.

They dont seem to mind painted shells at all, once its watertight and large enough for them they would be happy with almost anyting they can be comfortable in. I find the coloured ones tasteless though I have to say and have yet to find a supplier of normal coloured shells on the web.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Any shell will work, Cian. Provided it's the correct shape. We bought a small basket of shells at a hobby shop for just a couple of dollars and our crabs enjoy playing dress up with them, it always cracks me up when they change back to their old shells after a while.

Lovely crabs,yvez. We enjoy ours as well. Last night I tore down their tank and gave it a complete makeover, the crabs were everywhere after that, climbing the branches and investigating. It was good times