The only thing worse than finding a house to buy

**Cricketlegs** · 04-27-2007, 12:55 AM

is trying to find one for your hermit crab!

Really, it is.

One of them has been going nuts trying on the same shells over and over so I go out and buy($5) a big basket full of assorted shells and end up with about 8-10 shells and put them ALLLL in and he is checking them all out one by one.

I think I am stressed out!

Crazy Hermie--his name is Rouge.

**Marie78** · 04-27-2007, 03:09 AM

How cute, I never had a hermit crab before. A friend of mine did, but I never saw it because it was always in it's shell. I hope Rogue chooses a new home soon, you are such a good mommy to spend $5 for him to have housing choices

.

**lullaby80** · 04-27-2007, 06:02 AM

Awww how cute.

Got any photos to share?

**Nada.Leona** · 04-27-2007, 07:05 AM

Maybe it's time to take a road trip to the beach and let him try on new "houses" til he finds one he likes!

**TheRootedNomad** · 04-27-2007, 07:15 AM

How many do you have??? Or is he solo??? We use to have them growing up. My sister was big into them. I hope he picks a home soon.

**Cricketlegs** · 04-27-2007, 10:17 AM

We have 2. I wish they weren't sold at all and left at the beach where they belong.

They were really more like "rescues" from awful conditions.

Our other one is named Thunder Jack. He has always been small and shy but Rouge is my favorite--a real firecracker with big old pincher claws!

**NoDebtMom** · 04-27-2007, 07:16 PM

Question: What do you have for their "bedding" or whatever it's called? Mine came with some kind of shaved chip stuff and I changed it to sand. They don't seem to be burrowing like they used to and it gets gross. I know nothing about them, dd got them as a gift.

**pita1213** · 04-27-2007, 07:30 PM

we had 2 but one died after molting. i don't think he handled teh stress from that well.
we have a glass tank that has about 2 or 3 inches of sand in it. one side has one of the little heat pads made for aquariums. gives him a warm side and a cool side of the tank. you need to change the sand every 3 or 6 months, i can't remember which right now. i also scoop it out like a little box, when i notice hermie poo. we've had problems with mites when i put in the coconut bedding, a half coconut shell for a house, and when we had wood climbing things for him to climb on. now i just use the calci-sand and plastic things for him to climb on.i also freeze the container of food like you do flour to make sure there's nothing in that.
once a week i clean teh food and water shells (more often if needed) and his salt water pool. before he molted, he got a bath on sunday. haven't given him one in a while because of molting. mostly it's just so i can see if he's doing ok and to check for mites. i spray him with water or put a little water in a dish and put him in. he seems to like it because he'll come out of his shell a bit while i spray him.
use the water conditioner since cholrine in tap water is bad for them. after i scrub everything i rinse it with the treated water.

as far as changing shells, when we first got hermie and we bought him extra shells, i swear he changed shells for times in one day. trying on differetn shells then finally picking one. he's on his 3rd shell now. it's not much bigger than his second one, but he seems to like it better.

**ubumartin** · 04-27-2007, 11:21 PM

That sounds so cute. I can imagine it would be very difficult for him to choose. I remember we looked at dozens of houses before we picked ours!

**dcompton** · 04-28-2007, 10:21 PM

I've been tempted to get a couple of hermies. I hear they're nocturnal, like me, so we would at least be on the same schedule. But I am donating my aquarium to a hospital and telling myself firmly, over and over, "no more pets... no more pets...."