In: General
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By Bill (Kazabee, Inc.) The purpose of this post/poll is twofold; one is to present information that is known about the natural biology of hermit crabs (Coenobita spp.), and how it relates to the effects of regular bathing. The second purpose is to find out if such information will cause some crabbers to change their mind regarding the practice of actively bathing pet hermit crabs. This is a repost of my original. A minor change in the wording of the poll question had to be made and this was the only way to edit it. I apologize for the inconvenience. Many veteran and novice crabbersRead More →

In: General
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Originally written by Vanessa Pike-Russell Look closely at the hermit crab environment and ask questions about the food, bedding, housing and temperature needs for your new pets. If you have never owned hermit crabs before a book on caring for hermit crabs is a wonderful resource. There is a list of hermit crab guides listed under Books in Product Reviews. Make sure that you can purchase extra shells from the shop or alternatively from a seashell shop, craft store or tourist shop. When I am selecting a crab I will ask permission to pick up and handle the hermit crabs. Slowly and gently pick upRead More →

In: General
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Written by Marie Davis Article reprinted here with exclusive permission to Marie (ladybug15057) for use on the Crab Street Journal and, by author’s stipulations, may not be reprinted elsewhere. You are always welcome to link to this article. There is a newer product on the market called Crayola play sand. It comes in 4 vibrant colors pink, purple, green and blue which means some form of coloring additive is used. From past research I have done, I had learned that just because it is FDA, OHSA, EPA, etc. approved or within their standards, or considered safe for children does this necessarily mean it is safeRead More →

In: Crabitat, General
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Written by Vanessa Pike-Russell Hermit crabs are advertised as cheap and easy to maintain, which is not necessarily true. To keep your hermit crabs happy and healthy, you will need to provide a lot more than food and water. In this article we will give you a list of essential and optional items you need. Also you will find some info on basic care and upkeep of the tank, considerations when purchasing. This is an expanded version of the shopping checklist. 1. ESSENTIALS Glass tank with lid: A glass tank is preferred over plastic tanks, which will scratch and will not be able to holdRead More →

In: General
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Written by Michelle Stephens (Lolagranola) of Naturally Crabby The following is the raw results from a hermit crab survey that I set up over the course of one month. I invited crabbers from lots of different forums to participate and we had, in the end, over 300 participants. While this is a great number, more than I had hoped for, keep in mind that it’s not a perfect sample. It’s a sample of crabbers who are willing to go online to read about, research, and talk about crabs. There is still a significant demographic of crabbers who don’t do that. 1. How many crabs doRead More →

In: General
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Setting up a proper crabitat can be expensive even with a 10 gallon tank and the bigger the tank the bigger the price tag for stocking it. With some planning and creativity you can upgrade to a large crabitat without going broke. This article is about ways to save money when setting up as well as some common mistakes to avoid. The first thing I can’t stress to people enough is that there are places you can shop that are far cheaper than a pet store!! A new 150 gallon tank will cost you hundreds of dollars. I bought my 150 gallon tank out ofRead More →

In: General
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In 2006, an editor from World Book’s Animals of the World contacted Stacy Griffith and Vanessa Pike Russell to ask for permission to use some of their photos. Permission was granted and the photos are found in the 2007 volume titled Purple Pinchers and Other Hermit Crabs. It was a great honor to be invited to participate in such a well known encyclopedia series. Vanessa and Stacy had two photos each featured in the book.Read More →

In: General
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Written by Angelo Garcia Ever wanted to get one of those neat looking tree decors for your hermit crabs, but didn’t want to shell out tons of cash? Well, here’s a much more affordable way to make your own decor and still make it look really nice (not to mention, realistic!) I wanted something to look like it came from a brackish marsh, rather than something that looks like a forest, and I’m happy to say, that it turned out pretty well! This was the look I was trying to go for: Photo courtesy of D.D.Reptiles.net. What you need: [ ]T-Rex Bio-vine or Exo TeraRead More →

In: General, Painted Shells
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Written by Stacy Griffith Its been nearly 2 months since I brought home 8 E’s from Petco. Thankfully four of them shed their painted shells before being moved to the main tank. You can watch one of the in the video below. The sole reason shells are painted is to entice your children into begging you for a hermit crab. In most instances the child doesn’t necessarily want the crab but the brightly colored shells. This has been a losing battle for us for many years and I still have no ideas how to convince Petco and others to stop buying from suppliers who pushRead More →

In: Biology, Caresheets, General
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One of the biggest concerns when buying hermit crabs is early death due to PPS or Post Purchase Stress. The term PPS has been used commonly for many, many years in the hermit crab community. PPS is blamed for unexplained deaths of new crabs. The physical stress occurs mostly PRIOR to your purchase and how many of your new crabs die unexpectedly relies on how much stress was inflicted prior to purchase. The act of harvesting and shipping hermit crabs is very stressful as the crabs are denied humidity, food, water and warmth for long periods prior to shipping and during shipping. They mostly arriveRead More →