Hermit Crab info

[SandDeku]

Hello, I think I found what I want. I'ved had bad luck keeping these in the past. But something about them keeps alluring me to them.
Here are a few questions Id like to ask:
1)Is it true they need a different food every day or they wont eat? Cant I just buy 3-4types of foods that are commercial and mixed in with some turtle pellets(high protein and calcium and vitamins), mixed in with some hermit crab food? I saw this site called aqualandpetplus saying they prefer powder food. Whats your opinions? How much food is good? Could you give me a guide of foods?
2)Is a 30g tank suitable? Iam planning on making a beach area, and a water area with a filter so they can soak in there instead of a weekly bath which seems may stress em out. Iam currently building the background of the terrarium out of gravel. I used silicone and only a few of them sticked to the glass.... The rest are comming off when I touch em. I let it dry for like 24hours.....
Whats a good kind of glue thats strong and will hold for ever? I used one 3oz glue stick tube thats for aquariums it has silicone in it and idk if it worked.
I plan on making a tank thats half and half (or more like 2/3rds of the tank is land and the other is shallow water with a filter).
3)How many hermits shouldbe a minimum? and how many can I house in this tank size?
4)Where can I get large pieces of chola wood? I kinda like the looks of it.
5)Id like to make a second floor for them, so it can like its a tree or something.
6)I remember using sand, and it was messy, is there another nice looking substrate that isnt messy? When it got wet the sand got everywhere. Dishes, ornaments. Etc.

Id like to use a mangrove plant in the tank(the shoots) is this possible or even a good idea? I was also thinking of using ivy and phelodendrun(in a pot with gravel covering the dirt to prevent the crabs from digging it up)

Are the colored shells bad? Someone had said they were but I wanna know.

what is the easiest species of hermit crab to start with(land)?
any place where you may recommend to buy em? I remember hearing that petstores carry wild hermit crabs and those die off easily.
I like the red ones and those with the purple pinchers.

How active are they during the day time? Is there a way to get to see em moving during their hours? Maybe leave the light on during that time(I did that once and it worked)?? Or would it hurt it? I just want to see it like I would in daylight but I dont want it to get harmed or anything.

whats a way to heat up the tank without drying them out? Any ways of keeping tank at 75 degrees?

Could you gu ys give me a few links for the perfect guides of keeping them?

 

[spydrhunter1]

Hello, I think I found what I want. I'ved had bad luck keeping these in the past. But something about them keeps alluring me to them.
Here are a few questions Id like to ask:
1)Is it true they need a different food every day or they wont eat? Cant I just buy 3-4types of foods that are commercial and mixed in with some turtle pellets(high protein and calcium and vitamins), mixed in with some hermit crab food? I saw this site called aqualandpetplus saying they prefer powder food. Whats your opinions? How much food is good? Could you give me a guide of foods? Commericial foods are not great, there are alot of preservatives, There are several sites that produce organic foods, I recommend Keep on Crabbin and the hermit crab addiction store. It's true they don't like the same foods everyday, I change ours out every other day with fresh fruits and vegetable and meats twice a week and dry food the other days,.
2)Is a 30g tank suitable? Iam planning on making a beach area, and a water area with a filter so they can soak in there instead of a weekly bath which seems may stress em out. Iam currently building the background of the terrarium out of gravel. I used silicone and only a few of them sticked to the glass.... The rest are comming off when I touch em. I let it dry for like 24hours.....
Whats a good kind of glue thats strong and will hold for ever? I used one 3oz glue stick tube thats for aquariums it has silicone in it and idk if it worked.
I plan on making a tank thats half and half (or more like 2/3rds of the tank is land and the other is shallow water with a filter). Remember you're going to need two types of water, fresh and sea water, I find it easier to just use large reptile bowls.
3)How many hermits shouldbe a minimum? and how many can I house in this tank size? No less than two, I have thirty in a 55 gallon crabitat
4)Where can I get large pieces of chola wood? I kinda like the looks of it.
ebay: Indianbabe is a great seller and cheap.
5)Id like to make a second floor for them, so it can like its a tree or something. Hemps nets are great(hermit crab addiction), attach with locking suction cups.
6)I remember using sand, and it was messy, is there another nice looking substrate that isnt messy? When it got wet the sand got everywhere. Dishes, ornaments. Etc. Eco earth is great, mix it initially with sea water to keep it damp use fresh dechlorinated water
Id like to use a mangrove plant in the tank(the shoots) is this possible or even a good idea? I was also thinking of using ivy and phelodendrun(in a pot with gravel covering the dirt to prevent the crabs from digging it up)
Real plants will be destroyed in no time at all, silk is better. Besides commericial plants have been treated with insecticides,
Are the colored shells bad? Someone had said they were but I wanna know.
Yes they are toxic, crabs scrape the paint off and eat the flakes
what is the easiest species of hermit crab to start with(land)?
any place where you may recommend to buy em? I remember hearing that petstores carry wild hermit crabs and those die off easily.
I like the red ones and those with the purple pinchers. Coenobita clypeatus the purple pincer
How active are they during the day time? Is there a way to get to see em moving during their hours? Maybe leave the light on during that time(I did that once and it worked)?? Or would it hurt it? I just want to see it like I would in daylight but I dont want it to get harmed or anything.
I use a dual hood with a 25 watt moon glow bulb and full spectrum day bulb, 12 hour dark and 12 hours day
whats a way to heat up the tank without drying them out? Any ways of keeping tank at 75 degrees?
You'll need a UTH on the tank bottom, but put in on a thermostat, or the substrate will go over 80 degrees and becomes lethalCould you gu ys give me a few links for the perfect guides of keeping them? Crabstreetjournal.com is a great site, even has a newbie section
If properly taken care of they willl live decades, the current record is 34 years and they're going strong. Some of mine I've had for more than 10 years.

 

[SandDeku]

thanks. I like hermit crabs. I just dont know where to buy em. Or if I should buy em from petstores. The glue Iam using is called clear sillicone by "loctite". I may need to get some more glue because not all the gravel stuck. A Large percentage did. But there are still some parts that are blank. Iam wondering if I can coat them with more glue to keep them in place. If I touch em some come off. SO yeah. I just wanted to make a rock wall for whatever I keep cause it looks nice and fancy. Im banging on the lip of the tank so any random pieces fall out. There was another type of glue I was suggested. I forgot the name of it. In any case, what is the diet of your crabs? Could you suggest me some people who make their foods that sell em? Id rather do that, then give em fresh veggies daily. Maybe every few days but not every single day. Can I give it earthworms from time to time? And crickets(prekilled)??

 

[spydrhunter1]

Ours get fresh veg., fruits, and meats only twice a week. The rest of the time we use organic foods from small companies.
Here's a few we use:
http://www.keeponcrabbin.com/
http://www.hermitcrabaddictionstore.com/
A list of safe foods is here:
http://hermitcrabcuisine.com/

 

[SandDeku]

Ours get fresh veg., fruits, and meats only twice a week. The rest of the time we use organic foods from small companies.
Here's a few we use:
http://www.keeponcrabbin.com/
http://www.hermitcrabaddictionstore.com/
A list of safe foods is here:
http://hermitcrabcuisine.com/

I read the crabstreetjournal FAQ's and Iam confused it says air temp and soil temp are totally different(I get that), but it also says they should have an undertank heater and a heat lamp on top of the tank with uvb and all that stuff. But isnt both too much heat? Iam just confussed about heating....

Also Iam thinking Id like to make my own prepared foods for it. Id get all the items theyd eat and put it in a blender set to liquid, and Id put it on flavorless and colorless jello for the crab to easily eat it.
Id like to make 3 different types of jelly food. 1: Animal matter. 2:Veggies 3:Fruits and calcium and multivitamin suplements.

But in these types what are the most needed animal matter food and what are the healthiest? also what are the most needed plant matter and healthiest for them? Fruits? I remember reading they need oils in their foods as well. The should also have a moist air temperature but how do you keep t he air itself moist? It said to put in a lid in the tank made out of glass.... But if I do that the UV rays wont go through to do any effect to the crabs and the heat lamp also wont take effect? It just seems contradictory.

 

[LeilaNami]

I read the crabstreetjournal FAQ's and Iam confused it says air temp and soil temp are totally different(I get that), but it also says they should have an undertank heater and a heat lamp on top of the tank with uvb and all that stuff. But isnt both too much heat? Iam just confussed about heating....

Also Iam thinking Id like to make my own prepared foods for it. Id get all the items theyd eat and put it in a blender set to liquid, and Id put it on flavorless and colorless jello for the crab to easily eat it.
Id like to make 3 different types of jelly food. 1: Animal matter. 2:Veggies 3:Fruits and calcium and multivitamin suplements.

But in these types what are the most needed animal matter food and what are the healthiest? also what are the most needed plant matter and healthiest for them? Fruits? I remember reading they need oils in their foods as well. The should also have a moist air temperature but how do you keep t he air itself moist? It said to put in a lid in the tank made out of glass.... But if I do that the UV rays wont go through to do any effect to the crabs and the heat lamp also wont take effect? It just seems contradictory.

If you have a screen lid, saran wrap is your friend (provided they can't reach the lid). I always tape it to about 3/4 (or however much you will need) of the top of the tank lid for the animals that need higher humidity. Doesn't look great but if you don't care about aesthetics *shrug*. Other than that, you can get a piece of glass cut to size that you can place on the portion of the lid the lights don't sit on.

 

[spydrhunter1]

we use sheets of 1/4" plexiglass over our screen lids, covering about 70% of the lid. Also my bulbs plus the UTH provide enough heat to keep the crabitat at 78-80 degrees. But remember you need a thermostat on the UTH or you'll cook crabs, I set my thermostat in 78 degrees.