# Halloween (Moon?) Crabs



## Hypancistrus (Nov 17, 2010)

Hey folks, I'm looking to get a couple of invertebrates for my classroom so my animal behavior students have interesting non-reptile critters to watch and care for. I'm considering Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and was hoping to also get some type of crab. I've been looking into the "moon crabs" we see at reptile shows in the area and now I see that they can also be called Halloween crabs, but that this may be an entirely different species.

Can anyone help me out on this, and/or point me towards some reliable info on these guys? I've tried a basic google search and found a lot of conflicting information, up to and including whether they need all land or half and half setups... the one constant seems to be they CAN'T be in all water. I also read material that indicated that Halloween and moon crabs AREN'T the same species and that this is why care info is fragmented.

I've got plenty of raw materials to work with for caging... vivs from 5 to 20 gallons, screen or glass lids, etc. I can do sand, gravel or orchid bark style substrate. You name it, I've got it with regards to set ups. I have a good budget... I just need to know what to put it towards!

I'd appreciate any assistance. We're going to be attending the Lancaster, PA herp show this weekend and I'd like to pick one up.


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## spydrhunter1 (Nov 17, 2010)

The one thing I've heard is critical is to find out if the crab came from brackish or fresh water. If you use the wrong one, the animal dies. The forums here http://www.absolutely-crabulous.co.uk/ have a section on them.


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## Herpetologydude (Nov 17, 2010)

I believe the Halloween crabs are generally considered to be of the Gecarcinus genus if that helps the search any :/


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## naturejoe (Nov 21, 2010)

*crabs*

Those crabs need salt water and fresh water bowls typically, but spend most of their time on land (in burrows actually).  

I would find you some vampire crabs.  They are a totally fresh water crab up to about 2 inches long.  They are known to breed readily in a vivarium with water and land.  

I had some in an exhibit at a children's museum and they bred like crazy.  

I have seen them available from time to time on aquabid.com.

Crayfish are also very fun to keep.  The marbled crayfish are all female and readily produce young (all female, of course).  Great for a science class.

Good luck.


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## texasroach (Nov 23, 2010)

You should look into getting some kind of aquatic insect, I think they have giant water bugs at shop.bugsincyberspace.com


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## Wolfen (Apr 22, 2011)

*moon crabs*

greets to you ,
the halloween aka mouthless crab is very simple to take care of , they dine on leafy greens and some fish. they require a deep substrate preferably a jungle bark or coconut husk. they require between 75-83 degrees in the tank with humidity. a small water dish to drink and soak from. Mine prefer iceburg lettuce and cut apple but they will eat romaine,avacado,papaya and anything that is commen to their jungle habitat. I have 2 halloweens in a 20 gallon long tank with a red lamp with adjustable dimmer. they are a good crab and not hard to take care of although not recommend picking them up they will pinch and quite hard

Wolfen


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## Introvertebrate (Apr 22, 2011)

naturejoe said:


> Those crabs need salt water and fresh water bowls typically, but spend most of their time on land (in burrows actually).
> 
> I would find you some vampire crabs.  They are a totally fresh water crab up to about 2 inches long.  They are known to breed readily in a vivarium with water and land.
> 
> ...


Do vampire crabs require live food?


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## DemonAsh (Apr 22, 2011)

naturejoe said:


> I would find you some vampire crabs.  They are a totally fresh water crab up to about 2 inches long.  They are known to breed readily in a vivarium with water and land.
> 
> I.


Agree with this. IMO, the vampire crabs look cooler too... 

---------- Post added at 08:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 AM ----------




Introvertebrate said:


> Do vampire crabs require live food?


I fed mine the 'crab sticks' that most pet stores carry. I also did try various veggies, which they never seemed interested in. But mine did LOVE small crickets every now and then.


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## Introvertebrate (Apr 22, 2011)

Thanks DemonAsh.  Some people say that vampire crabs are kept like dart frogs, but if you don't have to raise fruit flies/crickets it certainly makes things easier.


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## DemonAsh (Apr 22, 2011)

Introvertebrate said:


> Thanks DemonAsh.  Some people say that vampire crabs are kept like dart frogs, but if you don't have to raise fruit flies/crickets it certainly makes things easier.


I never kept dart frogs, so the comparison is lost on me, lol.    I had my crabs in a half-aquatic set-up with plenty of rocks sticking out of the water. (They seemed to spend about half the time underwater, half the time cruising the tops of the rocks)   When I would feed my Ts, I would normally throw a few small crickets in for the crabs, but mostly it was just the pellets. They lived about two years, then all started dying off.  

They do get some crazy colors though... Very cool animal to observe.


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## DawnW (Apr 23, 2011)

Dunno if it helps, but this is my setup for my Rainbow land crab (Moon crab) _Cardisoma armatum_













Though the sand is now a bit higher, that was all I had left when I first set up the tank. And the water looks awful, pics were taken as soon as I'd set the tank up, before the crab arrived. They are incredibly interesting to watch, especially when eating. I have been hand feeding mine for a while now, gaining his trust. I feed all manner of fruit and veg, various pellets/sticks, earthworms, mealworms, bloodworm, tubifex. He eats everything!

Can't vouch for other crabs, as unfortunately this is (currently) the only one I have, but he is brilliant to watch. Good escape artists though


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## Bhook (Dec 15, 2018)

Hypancistrus said:


> Hey folks, I'm looking to get a couple of invertebrates for my classroom so my animal behavior students have interesting non-reptile critters to watch and care for. I'm considering Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and was hoping to also get some type of crab. I've been looking into the "moon crabs" we see at reptile shows in the area and now I see that they can also be called Halloween crabs, but that this may be an entirely different species.
> 
> Can anyone help me out on this, and/or point me towards some reliable info on these guys? I've tried a basic google search and found a lot of conflicting information, up to and including whether they need all land or half and half setups... the one constant seems to be they CAN'T be in all water. I also read material that indicated that Halloween and moon crabs AREN'T the same species and that this is why care info is fragmented.
> 
> ...


I ju


Hypancistrus said:


> Hey folks, I'm looking to get a couple of invertebrates for my classroom so my animal behavior students have interesting non-reptile critters to watch and care for. I'm considering Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and was hoping to also get some type of crab. I've been looking into the "moon crabs" we see at reptile shows in the area and now I see that they can also be called Halloween crabs, but that this may be an entirely different species.
> 
> Can anyone help me out on this, and/or point me towards some reliable info on these guys? I've tried a basic google search and found a lot of conflicting information, up to and including whether they need all land or half and half setups... the one constant seems to be they CAN'T be in all water. I also read material that indicated that Halloween and moon crabs AREN'T the same species and that this is why care info is fragmented.
> 
> ...


I just recently got three Halloween crabs and I have had them in the past. You will need a good depth in the substrate the crabs will make very large burrows. I would only get 2 for your 20 gallon because these crabs will grow to be about 5-6 inches including there legs. Get a bowl of salt and fresh water so your crabs can soak and drink fresh water. You will also need some sort of calcium I use cuddle bone. Feed the crabs some romaine lettuce and banana. I hope this helps.


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