Paludarium/vivarium vampire crabs

[mantisfan101]

I want to try setting up paludarium/vivarium and I was originally going to go with dart frogs but my parents strictly forbid any reptile or amphibian so I decided to turn to vampire crabs instead. How’s care fir these guys? I know that they’re fully freshwater but I keep findng conflicting information; do I need a water setup? Do they need to be kept in a bio-active setup? Any help is appreciated!

 

[mantisfan101]

Bump, I got 3 but one of them died on the way here She’ll make a good preserved specimen tho!

 

[SamanthaMarikian]

Idk much about them and nobody else has replied so i’ll just drop my two cents. I think a paludarium could be a good idea and if they end up not using it, just go full fresh. Have you looked up any other videos from people using the same thing?

 

[mantisfan101]

@Elytra and Antenna , can you help me out?

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

They can survive without water and even molt without it but a purely terrestrial habitat will kill them, whether a few days or a few months. Feed them little crickets and isopods. Good luck

 

[mantisfan101]

They can survive without water and even molt without it but a purely terrestrial habitat will kill them, whether a few days or a few months. Feed them little crickets and isopods. Good luck

Would feeder roaches be ok? And would porcellio sp. be an ok feeder option for them?

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Most roaches hide too much, maybe red runners.

 

[mantisfan101]

Most roaches hide too much, maybe red runners.

Thank you, and when you mean isopods would porcellio scaber or armadillidum vulgarum work?

 

[mantisfan101]

Welp the largest male out of the 2 just kicked the bucket and it looks like the other one is going down the same path. For whatever reason it’s coloration is much more mottled compared to the others; is there any reason or explanation for this?

 

[Arthroverts]

@DR zuum may be able to help you out, as he has worked with several crab species, including Vampires.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[DR zuum]

Brother it's luck of the draw on healthy ones arriving trust me it's about a 70/30 split, they go through he'll getting here everybody thinks they can go without water for long periods of time yeah they can then they croak. These crabs live by running freshwater streams for a reason, if you are not setting up your paludarium with moving filtered water forget keeping them long term, isopods = white dwarf soft just the right size, springtails rampant for tank cleaning and lite snacks, bladder snails, get snails from reputable source. Small crickets as well.

 

[DR zuum]

Next one dies I hope you don't lose any more but if it does cut it open gill air sac area will be dark if not black fouled.Too long away from water during capture shipping they can do days not weeks.