Coenobita lila - Felix Wang

In: General
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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 →

In: Ask Milo
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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 →

In: General
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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 →

Hermit crab dropped leg

In: Biology, Caresheets, General
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Please note: We’ve updated our language and PPS is now called PPDS – Post Purchase Death Syndrome as this is a more accurate name. 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: PPDS. 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) tooRead More →

The Post Purchase Stress death cycle created by Mary Milhorn

In: Biology
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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 →

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 →