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New species of land hermit crab discovered – Coenobita lila

Tagged: coenobita, hermit crab, lila, new, purpureus, species

Welcome to the world Coenobita lila! It’s not often a new species of land hermit crab is announced so this is a pretty big day for us. Until now the purple land hermit crabs found in Borneo were considered to be C. purpureus AKA Blueberries. This new research document confirms this is false and that the hermit crabs found in Borneo are actually Coenobita lila (for lilac). Check out the details on the Coenobita hermit crab species site: New species of land hermit crab discovered: Coenobita lilaRead More →

Ask Milo – New crab is burrowing

In: Ask Milo

Tagged: buried, burrowing, digging, hermit crab, new, normal

Hermie Newbie asks: I just got new hermit crab. Now I have two. I have only been a hermit crab owner for a few months. Long story short, I got two from a friend. Anyway one of them died so I got a new one yesterday. He keeps borrowing. Is that normal? Should I do anything about it? Hi Hermie Newbie, Yes, burrowing after purchase is very normal. Normally they don’t have the right substrate or substrate depth to do so and really enjoy it when they can. He could be ready to moult or just wanting to recover from Post Purchase Stress. Home PleaseRead More →

So you want to buy a hermit crab?

In: General

Tagged: basics, beginner, buy, first, getting started, hermit crab, hermit crab care, introduction, new, owner, pet

Written by Stacy Griffith and originally published on All Things Crabby.com Now that you’ve decided that a hermit crab is the pet for you, it’s time to make sure you are right for a hermit crab. If you know as much about hermit crabs as I did when I first purchased one, you are going to appreciate this information. I will cover the basics for setting up a crabitat (a cute name for your hermit crabs habitat). So BEFORE you run off to the pet store and pick out your new pets, print the shopping list at the bottom of the article and take it toRead More →

PPS (Post Purchase Stress) Minimizing the Impact

In: Biology, Caresheets, General

Tagged: death, hermit crab, hermit crab care, impact, minimizing, new, pps, sue latell

written by Sue Latell March 8, 2006 I have belonged to the on-line crabbing community for a little over 3 years now. From day one there was discussion about the number of deaths immediately occurring after purchase. It evolved into a named syndrome: PPS. Many “unexplainable” deaths that occurred in the time-frame from newly acquired to first post molt death were labeled PPS. Time lines wavered (anywhere from one week-up to one year), and alarmingly glossed over (in my opinion) too many other potential causes. The interesting aspect about this subject is that for all the debate that occurred, and the viable, if not absoluteRead More →

The Post Purchase Stress death cycle created by Mary Milhorn

Technique for Adjusting PPS Crabs – Method

In: Biology

Tagged: death, hermit crab, hermit crab care, method, new, post, pps, purchased, stress, sue latell

This is a (hopefully) more simplified revision of the original. I have also created a printable calendar for tracking. Introduction: The objective of this method is to reduce the impact of physical stress by keeping the hermit crab above ground eating well and exposed to light. Both are vital to the hermit crab’s ability to recover. This is a thirty day method. While this can be accomplished in three weeks, there is no reason to rush. If you are adding new hermit crabs to your existing colony it is important that you do not introduce sick or contagious animals to your healthy colony. Thirty daysRead More →

Preventing death in new hermit crabs

In: Biology, Caresheets, General

Tagged: death, died, hermit crab, new, post, pps, preventing, purchase, stress, sue latell

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 →