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Very strange, the social insects like ants operate their societies by chemical smells (pheromones). It’s entirely possible that they are picking up and undetectable chemical (pheromone) emitted by your husband. Any changes in medications, bath soaps or things like that lately?
Thank you so much for an answer. I told him I thought it was because as he ages he has become less good about bathing and so his clothes are sweaty. Sounds like I might be right. No medication changes this last year and I never change his soaps because he has very sensitive skin, so I’m going to go with your answer and it’s just his personal smell. Makes sense as I sleep in the same bed and have had no problems with them. I sprayed the outside of the house at the foundation line and around all the windows on that side of the house. Hopefully they will leave him alone.
Hello there!
My nickname is Elsie (First & Middle name initials are “LC”) and I am just about to get my first hermit crabs! I’ve had fish, dogs, cats, gerbils and a very mean guinea pig previously (some only during childhood) but currently I only have three cats living with me. (My fur-babies. <grin>) I’ve thought about getting a new pet for over a year now and I knew I wanted a different companion animal this time – a species I hadn’t lived with before. I looked into hedgehogs, birds, chameleons, but I didn’t think I had the time or experience to take good care of any of those. I had settled on getting a betta fish, but when I went into Petco to look at the fish, I saw the hermit crabs. Instant desire! <grin>
I’ve been reading about them in books and looking at online advice for about 2 months now, and slowly building my crabitat in the meantime. Well, I’ve finally finished it and this weekend, I hope to get some of the E’s and PP’s I’ve been looking at in stores. YAY! <grin>
Other things to mention : I live in Texas, near Houston. I’m not on any social media – at all. In fact, I don’t have a home computer, and my email address is work-based, so I won’t be posting very often. (And yes, I know I’m a weirdo in today’s world. <grin>)
That’s about it! Looking forward to getting my HC’s and I will post pics (if they’ll let me!) when I get them settled. Cheers!
PS Forgot to mention – I picked up a 40 gallon tank very cheaply, so that’s what I have currently set up as the main crabitat.Welcome Elsie! I am glad that you are doing your research before you have hermits, that’s the very best way. I would say that you need to be careful of some online sites. Some of them are very old and their info is not up to date, but if you’ve found Crab Street you are good to go. Stacy Griffith has spent years doing research and before her Vanessa Pike-Russell did the same thing, so the site is fairly current and full of good, science based, information. I hope you will love your new shell babies. As I’m sure you know this site has tons of info to answer your questions and although this site isn’t monitored as closely as our social media sites if you post a question someone will attempt to get your an answer! I’ll look forward to pictures as well.
Hello, Anne! Thanks for the welcome! <grin>
Well,I’m now the caretaker of 6 E’s and 1 PP. (I was hoping to get at least two of each species but unfortunately the Petsmart had sold their last PPs literally hours before I arrived.) Ah, well. Just means I’ll have to keep looking at more hermies. <grin>
I got everyone home okay and the crabitat has been stable in temp & humidity for a few days now. I’ve seen 2 shell changes, and know about a third because I found the painted “owl” shell the next morning. I’ve seen everyone come out to drink and eat – including my shy PP who otherwise has stayed buried in the moss pit all the time! <grin>
So good, so far then.,
I’m planning this weekend to start slowly building up the substrate to the recommended full height,and hopefully everyone will continue to do well. <crosses fingers>
I’ve only taken one pic of one of my E’s, and it was in the Petco habitat right before I purchased them. I’m nicknamed this one “Little Bit” (and I’m waiting to give them all “proper” names after I’ve had them for a full month.)
Cheers! ElsieVANESSA! I am new here and I started reading the intros and I was reading yours and I’m reading and I come across your challenges and I’m like… I have that too. I HAVE THAT TOO! Yeah we both belong where it’s hot huh, just like crabs! My pan-hypo-pit is the result of an equally unknown disorder called (ready?) septo-optic dysplasia. Which basically means the glands don’t work, my brain’s halves are an old married couple and don’t talk to each other sometimes, I have a touch of autism, and I’m blind in one eye. To name a few. it ain’t gonna slow me down any, unless of course it’s cold in my room and I have to get up. lol!
I’m so sorry; I had to get that out. I have a greeting post that I made before I read this introductory thread. I can link it after it shows up on the site. I generally have bad luck with computers so it’s not surprising I can’t find it lol!
Hello,
My name is Tiffany and I started crabbing in late 2015 when my husband brought up his childhood hermit crabs. He started explaining how they had them as pets and they were super easy to take care of and I remembered as a kid reading an Eric Carle children’s book about them. I thought why not add to our family of 3 ( myself, my husband, and our bulldog Titan). I usually research intensively before doing nearly anything but I figured my husband knew since he owned them before so we made our trip to the local pet store and bought 3 in a 10gallon tank. All three were in painted shells that I figured weren’t all that good for them but nothing I could do. I knew they needed spare shells and the different water sources as well as coconut fiber, which was recommended to us by the worker, along with things to climb and hide in. The food we grabbed some pellets, also recommended to us, and the gauges. Anyways long story short my crabs were hardly seen except one, in an American Flag painted shell, who roamed and climbed everywhere. He soon became my favorite, being that he was pretty much the only little guy I saw out at night. Unfortunately, a year and a half later I found him dead in the substrate out of his shell. I was so devastated and had no idea why he would’ve died.
So I decided something was wrong and I of course hit the internet and searched for information that just made sense and didn’t seem “commercialized”; and thank goodness I found the crabstreetjournal! After reading about the proper care of these little guys I about freaked out and thought, how the heck did my crabs even live as long as they have! Immediately, I went out and bought the “proper” things for my little guys. It is still a work in progress of course; which I think it always will be, mainly because it’s so fun decorating and upgrading tanks for them but condition wise it’s night and day. I now see my crabs all the time thriving and I just can’t thank you all enough for the information, pictures, and experience you have all shared. As my husband says, I am obsessed with these crabs; and I am happy to have found a place where others are too! 😉Hello, Tiffany and welcome to Crab Street. Your story is so familiar to us, we actually hear pretty often from people who didn’t know and then depended on a pet store to give them information. So glad you have found us and I know your crabs are healthier and happier. The “mission” here is always education and care, so I think you’ve found the right place. If you tank photos of your crabs, you should consider entering our monthly contests, there are prizes!
Thank you Anne for the warm welcome. It is just so unfortunate that there has to be a “trial and error” approach to hermit crabs because of the marketing; as well as education of the pet store workers (not their faults in most cases I think). Which is why I am just overjoyed there is this website, especially with a lot of people being internet researches now a days; including myself. 🙂
It is sometimes so hard to get photos of these little guys but when I do it’s so rewarding. I just entered my little e, Marcell into the contest; thank you for informing me!This website also has a facebook community, a google+ community and a good presence on Instagram, Reddit and pinterest. Stacy Griffith, our leader and without whom none of this would exist is always doing everything she can to educate anyone she can contact.
Hello and welcome to you both! We don’t get a lot of new folks on the forums (booo ) so it takes me a few days to get over here! Most of our chat activity is happening on Facebook and Instagram these days.
Hi all! Call me Hailey or Sassy, it’s a nickname I’ve gathered 😛
Well, as a kid, my uncle brought me and my sisters two hermit crabs. They had painted shells, in little prisons, the works. At the time I was engulfed in college applications to do any sort of real research but I can tell that the little crabs were happy with my sisters, as they lived for a good year until we had to give them away.
They went on to live fairly well, the person we gave them to was an old friend and they still have them haha, but now that I’m older I’ve gotten back into loving these babies.
I just want such a huge tank for them, a literal hermit crab paradise. I feed my dudes so much fruit it’s hilarious. Pecan leaves, fruit, all that good stuff.
I didn’t actually know anything until I happened upon a Reddit forum for hermit crabs, which had a quick link to here and HCO, which opened my eyes and well, here we are, a year into owning my cuties and giving them a happy life.
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