Kathy asks:

Hi! I've been a hermie keeper on and off for almost 30 years now, and am thrilled at how much new information is available on proper care. None of my crabs ever lived long as I didn't know about proper temp, humidity, substrate, etc. until the last few years.

But, I currently have one lone purple pincher that I purchased over five years ago that is doing quite well. He had a friend that died during a molt about six months ago, so I would love to add some new friends, but here's my question; my crab is currently moulting (I think - he's been buried under a water dish for over two weeks now, and his last moult was over the summer). Should I wait until he comes back up to add more hermies? I imagine that he would be pretty shocked to surface and find a bunch of new crabs had moved into his house, and I'm also concerned that new crabs might try to bury in the same spot and disturb/hurt him. On that note, why do crabs seem to always moult under the water dishes??

Thanks!

Wimblee says:

Sue Latell developed a method for introducing and acclimating new hermit crabs to your existing crabitat. This eases the transition from pet store conditions to proper conditions and helps prevent over stressing as the body tries to adapt to the new conditions. You can find the two articles relating to that here:

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modules/news/article.php?storyid=23
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modules/news/article.php?storyid=22

So if you use this method, by the time your new crabs are acclimated and ready to go in the main tank, you other guy should be up! At that point I would give them all a quick dip in the water pool together so they all smell the same. That seems to help hermit crabs accept each other faster and will remove the molt scent from the existing crab.

Molting under the water dish...yes that's very common. I'm not sure if it's solely because of the added humidity and moisture or simply being near a water source. Hermit crabs load up on ocean water prior to a molt. So it could be a matter of convenience to burrow beneath a water dish. Some crabs will dump the water to moisten the substrate to their liking.

Hope this helps!
Be sure to visit us at www.crabstreetjournal.com and meet some other hermit crab owners!

Jesse from New Mexico asks:

i was worndering about This root(mangrove)
if i were to feed it to my little hermits what would it do for them. Do you think that it would help heal any cloud eye's????? AND IF YOU COULD TELL ME WHY THERE EYE"S GET COULDY (A BUG OR MOLTING)?

Wimblee says:

I'm still not sure if what I bought is actual mangrove root, I don't think it is. Mangrove root I've seen in the past was more stringy.
Mangrove is a staple food in the wild so it's important to their diet.

Eyes get cloudy before a molt. If the eye is smaller or damaged you can feed calendula flowers to help the eyes.

How great are these!?

You can see the full size images here:
http://hwango.deviantart.com/art/Hermit-Crab-in-Pumpkin-102243739
and
http://hwango.deviantart.com/art/Hermit-Crab-in-Skull-37301316

See the one with the skull on t shirts and stuff here:
http://www.cafepress.com/hermit_skull_2

How fun! Rattitude has given All Things Crabby two blog awards. Check em out:

We are VERY tickled over this :)

I'm now offering my jewelry for sale on my main blog.

I have three Hermit Crab Bracelets left.

To see the other jewelry just click here.

Link: http://naturallycrabby.com/home/blog1.php/2008/10/19/2008-hermit-crab-survey-results

Naturally Crabby has posted the results of the hermit crab demographics survey. Lots of interesting information so be sure to go over and check it out.

One Reader Asks:
I live in Washington DC and I would like to get another family member for my crab. I have been to Petco but didn't like it. Any ideas of shops with knowledge on hermit crabs in the region of DC, Maryland, Virginia?

The 2nd question is I am still figuring out how to properly bath my crab? Do I have to take him out of his shell and immerse him in water? So far, I hold the shell upside down and I spray him with water through the shell opening. As soon as possible I empty the water so he doesn't get drawn.
Is there a better technique for bathing?

Wimblee Says:

I'm not familiar with pet stores in the DC area but some of the members on The Crab Street Journal might be. We have users from all over the U.S. and all over the world. I invite you to register and inquire there about pet stores or if you prefer I can post on your behalf and ask.

As for bathing, no you should not attempt to remove your crab from it's shell for any reason.
I have written an article on bathing that should answer some questions for you:

How To Bathe A Hermit Crab

At Michael's this weekend I found these adorable crabby figurines in the Discovery toys section. I plan to keep one for myself but the other two will be available as prizes in the photo contests at CSJ.

Went to PetsMart for pig bedding and or course checked out the hermit crabs and found this poor guy missing his bp and leg. I gave in and brought him home in hopes of saving him. He's active and busy so far.

Just some pics of my crabs FINALLY eating mango! This is easily the 6th time I've offered them mango and they normally turn their antenna up at it. Persistence has paid off finally: