Hermit crabs from florida...

[galaxyvomit]

so my grandma went to florida for vacation, and like most people, she brought back a ton of shells. however, somehow she managed to not notice that they were occupied. i have NO clue how they all survived in a ziplock bag, in the car for like 2 days with no water, but now i have 16 little hermit crabs to care for. i tried to talk her into giving them to someone who knows what theyre doing, but shes intent on keeping them until they grow out of their shells. theyre itty bitty (most are like thumbnail sized) so i just put them in a 5 gallon i had, and set up a half substrate (like 3-4 inches of wet sand/coco fiber mix), half saltwater terrain type deal, with plenty of little spots to hide in. but i feel really bad, and i'm kinda stuck as i dont know anything about hermit crabs. ANY tips at all would be immensely appreciated!

 

[pannaking22]

I don't know much anything about hermit crab care (I've kept just about every other arthropod at some point or another though), but that's how I would set them up. I think them having the saltwater is key, but hopefully someone with more experience chimes in on this.

 

[galaxyvomit]

I don't know much anything about hermit crab care (I've kept just about every other arthropod at some point or another though), but that's how I would set them up. I think them having the saltwater is key, but hopefully someone with more experience chimes in on this.

Thanks! I've basically just been trying to recreate the beach as closely as possible

 

[Ajohnson5263]

Make sure to use silicon base sand (rinsed play sand works well) instead of calcium based.Other than that, make sure your water is treated. Diet and husbandry should be similar to common hermit crabs you see at pet stores.

 

[galaxyvomit]

Make sure to use silicon base sand (rinsed play sand works well) instead of calcium based.Other than that, make sure your water is treated. Diet and husbandry should be similar to common hermit crabs you see at pet stores.

Thank you!!!

 

[galaxyvomit]

so ive been buying jugs of distilled water and putting aquarium salt in that, because thats what the guy at the pet store said was best. but instead, could i fill the empty jug with tap water, then put the drops in it to make it pet safe? it seems like it should be okay buut i thought i would double check if anyone else knows

 

[Myrmeleon]

Should be fine best to my knowledge

 

[dragonfire1577]

Are they land hermit crabs or aquatic ones, photos will help a ton here as both have drastically different needs.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

If they are land hermit crabs they’ll need deep substrate to moult properly, regular play sand mixed with a small amount of coco peat about 6” deep works well. They’ll eat just about anything, not too much to worry about there. They need two water dishes deep enough to submerge in, one salt and one fresh (or at least the species here needs both). They prefer places to hide like cracked open coconuts and something to climb as well

 

[BenLeeKing]

The museum that I work in feed theirs brine shrimp if this bit of information helps~
The hermit crabs we have are aquatic ones though, and like what the previous people said, you need to first determine if they are land or aquatic hermit crabs

 

[galaxyvomit]

Are they land hermit crabs or aquatic ones, photos will help a ton here as both have drastically different needs.

I looked them up, and i believe they're called thin stripe hermit crabs. I can't really get a picture where you can see enough detail to tell unfortunately, since they don't like to come out of their shells when I'm near. They're definitely aquatic, they've only come out the water like twice since i got them haha

 

[galaxyvomit]

The museum that I work in feed theirs brine shrimp if this bit of information helps~
The hermit crabs we have are aquatic ones though, and like what the previous people said, you need to first determine if they are land or aquatic hermit crabs

That's actually super helpful, because as of right now they keep eating each other :/ I've been feeding them goldfish flakes, earthworms, and they also seem to be eating algae, but when the smaller ones go to switch shells or whatever, they end up being a snack too

 

[dragonfire1577]

I looked them up, and i believe they're called thin stripe hermit crabs. I can't really get a picture where you can see enough detail to tell unfortunately, since they don't like to come out of their shells when I'm near. They're definitely aquatic, they've only come out the water like twice since i got them haha

Look into info on saltwater aquariums, you will need to set them up with a setup similar to a saltwater aquarium with seawater and a filter. You can likely get away with a very basic marine setup for them since they are small inverts.