I just got 4 new hermies(thanks to all of you giving hamsta info....i found it very useful!). So, ive had these things for 1.5 weeks now, and 2 of them buried themselves. All I see is this big moving lump of sand- each day, its shifted a little, or wet looking.... what are they doing under there? should I dig them up? or are the just dead? thanks!

oooooo dont dig them up
they may start molting
do u smell a fishy smell?? Devs can help you with this if they are molting... or go on www.hermitcrabs.com or hermitassociation.com has a messageboard:D:D

haha i guess those replies every1 gave me should be helpful loool.. again thanks to all who replied about that preiously:)

Ramy

Hi smack,Congrats on your new crabbies!!! Don't dig your crabbies up.as much as you would love too.If you recall from Hamstas post,Hermies are wild caught,so when you bring them home,they're usually going thru this "De-Stressing "time.They will sometimes bury theirselves for that reason,for the fact that the new home has caused them to go into a molt,etc... If you see the lumps of sand are moving/changing ,then you know that they're still alive. They could stay under til nightfall,or for a month or two....each crab is unique. I've had crabs that would stay buried thru out the day,and then come up at night to feed. As tempting as it is to play with these new guys,give them a couple weeks to get use to their new surroundings.. By the way,if a Hermie dies under the sand,you can usually tell by the foul smell in the tank.. I hope you read Hamsta's thread really well,it takes alot of patience and work for the first month to get these guys doing okay.....Be patient,and let them get to know you!! Good luck!!! Do you know what kind they are? Oh,and I bought 2 more on Thursday....Cute little buggers!!!

Thanks to all your info...I will read over hamstas stuff again....and check out hermitcrabs.com( I already got alot of info from there, but never payed much attention to the moldting part.....Are some crabs more active than others? the 2 that are still unburried, the one lays in the dirt stuff all the time, but the other is always on the move.....I dont know waht type they are(whatever Pet Supplies Plus was selling) but some look like the Purple ones(they have purple claws, but the other ones were harry legs and bright red....I tried reading through the types, but got confused.....Thanks for your info!

Well those do sound like Purple Pinchers,but the Bright red...hmmmm... If you mean really bright red -could be strawberries and if thats the case then I'm mad cause my Petco never has strawberries!!! <_< Pp's are usually real active--most of the time,my E's are that way too. Between Hermit Crabs.com and Land Hermit Crabs .com you should be able to figure it out. Would love to see pics of the crabs and tank when you can!

Hi! I am on my way now to do some research on crabs at hermitcrabs.com, etc.....
I just love them! The active one, I can just sit for an hour and watch it do stuff...plus, I absolutely LOVE the little foot prints they leave!
I am trying to get pix of them(im a little behind the times, we dont have a digi cam), and im *begging* my mom to take some pix of them(she doesnt like them)

I saw this pic once of someones habitat, and it has 2 floors, so I made mine like that. I have the top floor with the 'hermit dirt' stuff that comes in a brick and grows in water with one of the half coconut shells and a sponge in water(for humidity) and on the bottom, I have sand substrate, with their food and water bowls, and another half of the coconut shell, their extra shells, a hunk of driftwood, 2 large lumps where the 2 crabs are burried, and the ramp going up to the top floor with that coconut fibre mat on it. I think it looks cute, and all the stuff(mostly!) is homemade! I wanted to get these guys on a budget!

One question....what can you use to paint the shells? nailpolish? they came in painted ones adn theyre so cute, I want to paint my extra shells!

also, how long can they go w/o food? theyre not touching the food recently? should I offer them something else?

Glad to hear all the excitement about them! Hey I just finally broke down and bought a digicam so believe me I know how youy feel! I've had Hermies buried for weeks and as far as I know ,they werent eating.one of those sites may help you more with that. You have only just gotten them,so be patient ,the one moving around will look for the food when he gets comfy. What do you have for them to eat? There is absolutely nothing wrong with homemade stuff-I'm on a budget too-you make what you have work. My tank could be way cooler,but right now I can't afford it,and I know the Hermies like what they have! Click to view attachment This isn't the best pic-was taken a whle back,and the glass looks like crap but it will give you an idea of what it looks like.Some of those members have really detailed super fancy 90 gal tanks set up for those that are awesome! Check them out! As for the shell painting,I'm sure that's another question thewy've answered. I dont know for sure so I wont say anything unless I do . Good Luck!

Hi...your tank is nice! I spent hours and hours looking at pics for inspiration on how to do my tank, since I only have a 10 gal for them.
Even with all I made for them, I still spent some big bucks that I dont have, since Im a wanna-be college student.....
The food I have for htem is T REX land hermit crab food, its sort of greenish funnysmelling powder, and I offer them shrimp and fish food on the side. The one active one I see eating a few times a night now.
How often do they change shells? I really want to see one change, but everytime I look at them, Ive missed the active one changing his shell(he has at least 6 times since I got him)
I joined the mesage board at the hermit crab site, so Illg et some input from there too!
Thanks!