Saturday, March 3, 2012

New hermit crab owner help!!?

I just bought 2 new land hermit crabs, small, around quarter size, and the giant little crab shack. I know that hermies are nocturnal, but I really would like to have them active during the day. I heard if you just wake them up during the day, they will eventually break the nocturnal habits. The only way to wake them up involves me handling them. BUT I want my hermies to like me, and at the pet store they are treated badly, handled a lot. I want them to ajust and to know I'm not going to hurt them.

So is it okay if I pick them up, or should I give them a month before trying to break their habit? Or let them be?

i'm so confused.

Help.

THXNew hermit crab owner help!!?
Due to your hermies being new, please do not handle them for at least a couple of weeks. They have been through so much since their capture and have been lacking many of their needs to remain healthy by. Let them have time to de-stress from all they have been through. Too many hermies die due to PPS (Post Purchase Stress) but an article has been done to help the hermies from going through a form of 'shock'. Please also offer a good healthy fresh food diet, not commercial food.

Meanwhile to sort of help your hermies get use to you while they are de-stressing talk to them in a soft voice when you walk into the room, or approach the tank to change the food and water daily. Whereas hermies cannot hear, they will become accustomed to your voice vibrations, and it meaning them no harm. A couple weeks of de-stressing can give you possibly years of enjoyment with your new friends. After they have adjusted you can then give them safe out of the tank time. Our hermies here get exercise in hard plastic baby pools with home made toys we made for them for exercise.

Whereas normally in the wild hermies are nocturnal creatures this is due to the hot dehydrating sun and predators. In ones crabitat after the hermies adjust it is not uncommon to see a hermie or more scooting throughout the tank at all hours of the day.
You're welcome, but I cannot seem to locate where your other hermit crab question is? Sometimes it takes awhile for Yahoo answers to send out the alterts. Many by the time I get them are a week or two old.

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New hermit crab owner help!!?
Well when we had our hermit crabs one was very friendly. I would suggest just maybelike giving them food. And put them on a table and leave them be, keep still and watch them. When they come out of there shell to look around don't scare them with your hand just watch them but grab them if they escape.It will show them that you are just curious
I've had hermit crabs before, they are naturally a nocturnal animal.. just as hamsters are very active at night. This doesn't mean that hermits will not be active at all during the day, but rather most of the the day. A good way in handling them is by doing so ever few days, so to let them get used to you. Pick them up and set them on your palm or setting them down out of the cage, keep doing this until they actually start crawling around.. just be sure they don't fall! Especially far off the ground. Also, don't force them to come out of their shell either, they will come out when they are ready. Since you got it from a pet store, they might have had a lot of hermit crabs.. kept all together, overloaded in a cage.. good chance not all were handled so take that into account. Hermit Crabs are really easy to care for too, just take some time and read about hermit crabs.

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