I've had my little guy (E) two years. He's been happy and active the whole time going down to molt every few months and coming back up bigger and bigger with brighter and more beautiful color each time. I've given so many shells and he never changed at all.

This time was different. He changed to a really strange shell and then surface molted inside his water pool. The shell that came back was pale and blue. I gave him a week or so of just trying to let him be. I decided last night to pick him up to check on him and he scooted right out of the shell. I started naked crab protocol and let him be overnight. Got home from work today and he's gone. I feel like I failed him.

i'm very surprised he went for this one as i assume he's a pp and i've heard they prefer shells with round openings. i have plenty of those in several sizes but i guess he just liked this one. either way i'm so happy since i've been keeping hermit crabs for years and this is the first time i've actually seen this happen live!!

New molt, same shy Pepper! 🦀💜 After about a month underground, our little guy is back—and already climbing again. So happy to see him exploring Creature Cove! 🥹

im so in shock and sick to my stomach i had just checked on my crabs 15 minutes prior and one was eating from their dish and one was sitting in her tire i come back and the other was eating the one in the tire what do i do i have to burry my dead crab but what should i do with my big one ?!?

Hello! I have two purple pinchers that are a little smaller than a quarter. I got them separately from Petsmart about 8 months ago and they live in a 40lb tank with 2 other crabs. They all get along and I have small turbos in the tank for them. Both seem to be doing really well.

One, is named Friend. It's in a small pearl turbo. The other is named Bebe (after the baby from Death's Standing) and it's in a small green turbo at the moment. In the 8 months I've had them, they've both molted twice. They seem to be doing well. Both eat & drink like the other two crabs. Friend loves to climb, Bebe loves to burrow tunnels.

My question is - what size shells should I buy? They're SO small. So far I've been eyeballing the shells and been getting them from Michael's or Hobby Lobby but I can't do that forever and want to do right by them.

Might be a stupid question but I just want to be absolutely sure on what shells to pick and how exactly to go about picking the proper shells since they are quite small 😅

Thanks!

He doesn’t seem bothered by it but part of it is also really close to his eye and idk if that might cause any issues for him

so i got some dirt and sand ready for them, but i would love to know what things to get for entertainment, food, and the actual setup for their needs! i really dont trust big pet-stores as when i was doing research on things i saw, alot of them are not good for them. Thank You!

I gave my hermit crabs a big tank upgrade today so I also took out their shells and washed them in some saltwater. I’m obsessed with most of these shells and I keep wanting to buy more xd

Pinchers has finally emerged from her first molt. It was a stressful 2 month wait but she is vividly purple and I am relieved!

My two new crabs went under the sand inches away from each other after I got them, 16 days went by and one came up to eat then went back under in a new location. the crab who i’ve never actually seen come up has stayed in the sand for over 20 days and I just noticed a new smell from inside the cage. I am unsure if it’s the moss or if the crab still buried in the sand is dead…it smells strong and kinda musty. Should I risk digging for him or just wait things out? I know the exact location of the other crab that came up and the one that stayed buried.

I adopted this particular hermit crab 3 years ago. He is med/large and has grown so much with me. He is one of my best eaters and always super active during the night and day. He has no fear of me at all and even comes up to the glass during feeding times. I presumed he was a very healthy crab. He has molted with me 3 times but it has been a while since his last molt, maybe about a year now. Just today I noticed he was acting really strange. He was sitting just hanging out of his shell so I could see his eyes and they were completely still. I thought he was sleeping bc he does often sleep like this but he just looked weird so I opened the tank and tapped his shell and he didn't respond. I got extremely worried and tried to wiggle him a bit and his antennas did move and even walked but only a few inches and he hasn't really moved from that spot since and it's been a few hours now. This is very unlike him. He just looks like he's close to death and acting super lethargic. He was totally fine just two days ago!! He climbs and walks all around the tank and used the wheel constantly. I have no idea what could be wrong. Has this ever happened to anyone else before where a healthy crab suddenly acts like this??

I have a 90 gallon tank. The humidity and heat are always between 79-82. 7 inches of substrate, feed them a rotating mix of different essential mixes with a calcium mix, green sand, and worm castings always available, a fresh and salt water dish, plenty of shells, climbing and hiding spaces...

how do you even get like that

A while ago I upgraded my hermit crabs to a way bigger tank. But that also meant I didn’t have about decorations for the big tank. Unfortunately I had to wait a couple of weeks until I could afford to buy more stuff (trust me I felt really bad) but now it looks way better. I also ordered some leaf litter which I will be adding once it gets here

I've been finding myself dreading the times when my crab Truman has to head down below to molt. The amount of times he's molted, you'd think that I was used to it by now. But, the truth is that it gets tougher and tougher the older he's gotten.

For context, I've had Truman for twenty years! He's been a massive part of my life for such a long time. Whenever I came home from school all those years ago, he was there. Whenever I came home from university, he was there. And now, whenever I come home from work, he is there. To say that he's special is an understatement. He's been a constant source of happiness, humour and even stability. Who would have thought that a hermit crab would provide all that?

This is what makes molting so incredibly difficult. Roughly twice a year, he buries himself under several inches of substrate, and he's gone for months at a time. I never know how he's doing; I have to leave him to it. I make sure that he has everything he needs, and hope that he pulls through each time.

The enormously bitter pill I have to swallow however is that, sooner or later, he won't come back up. I absolutely dread that awful day when it arrives. Truman has been with me for so long that I struggle to imagine what life without him will be like. I know I will struggle when he's gone. Whenever Truman is not molting, I try to make each day count.

So after many years I've found that molting is by the far the most stressful part of crab ownership, especially in older crabs. Has anyone else found this to be the case? Pardon my venting post; I just wanted to unburden myself a little.

He has been in a green turbo shell for ages and he is now a fashion icon

I have a 55 gallon I'm wanting to turn into an enclosure for my hermit crabs, but I'm not sure where I need to start, I should have enough coco bricks because I planned for this, but how much sand do I need for an enclosure this large, and after substrate I'm pretty lost on what all I need, especially heaters, I have no idea what size I need or any other stuff I need to decorate, I have shells and the water situation covered, it's just everything else I need help with

shes so healthy and energetic and playful so no signs of shell rot , besides that area i circled in