Joe

[Bethany]

Joe is our hermit crab we got him about 2 years ago. I have actually never posted about him:o so here are some pictures i took today, he kept crawling around and i couldnt get a really good picture:(
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii233/horsecrav202/100_4448.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii233/horsecrav202/100_4454.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii233/horsecrav202/100_4451.jpg

And an over view, the paint on his shell is starting to chip off:(
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii233/horsecrav202/100_4456.jpg

[Cdog]

Cute little hermet crab you have there. How often do you paint his shell and when does he get a newer and bigger shell, or is he full grown? Love the painting skills by the way :)

[Budgieloveee]

Beautiful shell! :) Thanks for the pictures :)

Joe's a cutie! :D

[stacey101]

He is beautiful!! I love hermit crabs !! he shell is beautiful! thank you for sharing!

[prettybird1212]

Cute little hermet crab you have there. How often do you paint his shell and when does he get a newer and bigger shell, or is he full grown? Love the painting skills by the way :)

you can buy pre-painted shells as they're difficult to paint ;) and hermit crabs get HUGE, so he's probably full grown yet. also, they change shells often so you're supposed to keep extra shells in the cage.

anyway, cute Joe!!!

[tstmard]

Joe's very cute. I hope to get my kids hermit crabs when they're alittle bigger. I had them as a kid and they were fun.:D

[softie]

What a cool shell he's got on his back :cool: Be sure to provide other shells for him! :D

I absolutely adore hermit crabs :) I had a few a few years ago and they were quite a blast :)

[Bethany]

thanks guys!:D

he has a huge cage as we use to have 6:P and he has so many different sized shells to choose from if he wonts to moult!:) i actully got to watch my first hermit crab, Hermie (:P) change shells, it was reallly cool!:)
i didnt paint the shell, as Prettybird1212 said we got them at the flea market, the shells are already painted. Hermit crabs can become as big as your hand!
Tstmard---You should really get one for your kids, they dont require too much care, their an easy pet to begin with and they are fun to play with or watch walk around!:D

[Malorey]

You do know they shouldn't have Painted Shells right?

Also, they really aren't as easy to care for as people think. There is alot more to their care then people think. :/

[SpickyDavies]

you give them shells?!
hahaha

[Bethany]

You do know they shouldn't have Painted Shells right?

i have never heard that before?! why shouldnt they?:S

and im not saying they are really easy to care for but are easier than some other pets...

[legry]

I have hermit crabs. Sorry to break the new (seriously) DON'T GIVE THEM PAINTED SHELLS!!
The paint could flake off and irrate the skin, or he might eat it. ALOT of pet shop items are actually unsafe for pets, and our local pet shop is disgusting! If you haven't yet, ever looked at the crab street journal site? It's really good :)

[Bethany]

I have hermit crabs. Sorry to break the new (seriously) DON'T GIVE THEM PAINTED SHELLS!!
The paint could flake off and irrate the skin, or he might eat it. ALOT of pet shop items are actually unsafe for pets, and our local pet shop is disgusting! If you haven't yet, ever looked at the crab street journal site? It's really good :)

o thank you!! hmm now i cant take him out of his shell and move him to a non painted one....:(

[Avalon_Princess]

Your hermie is gorgeous, but I do need to bring up some points. Firstly hermit crabs should never be in a cage, they shouldn't be around metal period. They need a glass tank to keep humidity up, about 70-80 is your aim. You need a humidity gauge to test this. They also need heating, this can get rather expensive as i have a large hermit tank (four foot) I went all out and bought a thermostat and heat lamp, but that cost over $200 all up, if you have a small tank you make do with a heat pad. They also need deep, damp substrate, about twice the height of your biggest hermie, sand (NOT the coloured calci sand, it clumps) or coco fibre will do. It needs to be damp, a similar consistency to what you'd use to make a sand castle. They also need two bowls of water, both deep enough for the largest hermie to fully submerge in, one bowl fresh water, one bowl saltwater.

You need to offer him natural shells EXACTLY the same as the painted shell, just unpainted. If you can't find them unpainted buy a painted one and with the help of a chisel scrape every bit of paint off and give it a good rub over with nail polish remover, and then give it multiple soaks in boiling water before offering it to him.

If you're willing to lay out the money for initial start up, hermit crabs do make fantastic pets, my tank probably ended up costing over all somewhere in the $500-600 range, but it needs virtually no maintenance now except for feeding, refreshing water and occasional clean outs.

Sorry if you already know this, but there's so much misinformation out there I attempt to put out the correct info wherever I can.

[Avalon_Princess]

Your hermie is gorgeous, but I do need to bring up some points. Firstly hermit crabs should never be in a cage, they shouldn't be around metal period. They need a glass tank to keep humidity up, about 70-80 is your aim. You need a humidity gauge to test this. They also need heating, this can get rather expensive as i have a large hermit tank (four foot) I went all out and bought a thermostat and heat lamp, but that cost over $200 all up, if you have a small tank you make do with a heat pad. They also need deep, damp substrate, about twice the height of your biggest hermie, sand (NOT the coloured calci sand, it clumps) or coco fibre will do. It needs to be damp, a similar consistency to what you'd use to make a sand castle. They also need two bowls of water, both deep enough for the largest hermie to fully submerge in, one bowl fresh water, one bowl saltwater.

You need to offer him natural shells EXACTLY the same as the painted shell, just unpainted. If you can't find them unpainted buy a painted one and with the help of a chisel scrape every bit of paint off and give it a good rub over with nail polish remover, and then give it multiple soaks in boiling water before offering it to him.

If you're willing to lay out the money for initial start up, hermit crabs do make fantastic pets, my tank probably ended up costing over all somewhere in the $500-600 range, but it needs virtually no maintenance now except for feeding, refreshing water and occasional clean outs.

Sorry if you already know this, but there's so much misinformation out there I attempt to put out the correct info wherever I can.

[Bethany]

Your hermie is gorgeous, but I do need to bring up some points. Firstly hermit crabs should never be in a cage, they shouldn't be around metal period. They need a glass tank to keep humidity up, about 70-80 is your aim. You need a humidity gauge to test this. They also need heating, this can get rather expensive as i have a large hermit tank (four foot) I went all out and bought a thermostat and heat lamp, but that cost over $200 all up, if you have a small tank you make do with a heat pad. They also need deep, damp substrate, about twice the height of your biggest hermie, sand (NOT the coloured calci sand, it clumps) or coco fibre will do. It needs to be damp, a similar consistency to what you'd use to make a sand castle. They also need two bowls of water, both deep enough for the largest hermie to fully submerge in, one bowl fresh water, one bowl saltwater.

You need to offer him natural shells EXACTLY the same as the painted shell, just unpainted. If you can't find them unpainted buy a painted one and with the help of a chisel scrape every bit of paint off and give it a good rub over with nail polish remover, and then give it multiple soaks in boiling water before offering it to him.

If you're willing to lay out the money for initial start up, hermit crabs do make fantastic pets, my tank probably ended up costing over all somewhere in the $500-600 range, but it needs virtually no maintenance now except for feeding, refreshing water and occasional clean outs.

Sorry if you already know this, but there's so much misinformation out there I attempt to put out the correct info wherever I can.

Thanks for the information...what do you mean they should never be in a cage? Joe is in a huge tank with a heating light over it...he does have 2 water bowls, plus one with a sponge to drink from...he has a bunch of natural shells in his cage, different sizes. He has normal sand from the beach by our house that was heated so all the germs were gone:) Thanks again for the information:)

[Avalon_Princess]

Someone was talking about a cage, By cage I meant bird cage, anything with metal, as the rust is even more poisonous to hermies then it is to budgies.

Good to hear everything's fine, just thought I'd post just in case.

Emma

[Bethany]

Someone was talking about a cage, By cage I meant bird cage, anything with metal, as the rust is even more poisonous to hermies then it is to budgies.

Good to hear everything's fine, just thought I'd post just in case.

Emma

oh ok:) It was a great post by the way:)

[Will]

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=10233 This is a really good care sheet on hermit crabs, if anyone is interested. i learned a lot from it. I'd like to get some hermit crabs one day:)

I'd love to see your set up! :D

but that cost over $200 all up

:eek: What all did you buy?