My hermit crab doesn't seem to be eating.?

The stuff I have read has said that I should have to give it more food ever couple of days. I haven't had to give it more food in about 2 weeks.
Answers:
With just having one hermit crab it is really hard to tell if and when it is eating. If you have sand in your tank you can smooth it out before bed and see if there are tracks to it the next morning. There are some foods that the hermies will not eat, which could also be the problem. Hermies are social creatures and if you just have one, then it could be that it isnt eating due to being stressed being by himself. If you have the same food in there for 2 weeks, then it would be bad by now and would probably not be eating it.

If you have had it less then a month, then it could be that it isnt eating due to destressing. If it is gearing up and fixing to molt, they will sometimes not eat before they molt. Usually they eat alot and then stop when it gets really near to time.

Here is some basic hermit crab care tips. Changing some of these might also help it to eat more. If you add fish foods, Total brand cereal and cuttlebone to the tank, are foods that hermies love.
1. Hermies need humidity. You can keep your humidity up to 75 to 85% relative
humidity by adding sponges to the water and having a lid for your tank.

2- Use declorinized water ONLY for your hermies. Best not to use bottled water but go to a pet store that sells fish (even WalMart) and buy a bottle that is
green and says DECLOR. Also you need Salt Water and there is Instant Ocean
and other products you can purchase at the petstore. It has to be Marine Seal
Salt or 100% Sea Salt no additives or perservatives in it. I prefer Instant Ocean.

3. Foods for your hermies can be purchases at the petstore. FMR food is a
good one to use and there are many differant types of foods such as Gardners
Food and Shrimp and Cuttlebone for your hermies. Most all of the fish foods
are wonderful foods for hermies.

4. Temperature gadges and humidity gadges are a MUST. It tells you how the
crabitat is doing and helps keep your hermie alive. Temps are usually around
75 to 80 for a healthy crabitat. Humidity between 75 and 85 percent.

5. Food bowls or shells can be used to feed your hermies. Also you can use
the same type bowls for their water but they always need BOTH types of water
in their crabitat, dechlor and salt water.

6. Substrates that can be used are playsand, forest bedding, or a coconut fiber. Put it at least twice as deep as your biggest hermie. Usually sponges alone will not add enough humidity. THe coconut fiber substrate is wonderful
for helping with the humidity.

7. Never use a wire hermie tank to house your hermie. It is ok for
transporting a hermie, but it won't hold humidity, therefore a fish tank or a
plastic tank is prefered with a lid. They have to have a lid to help hold the temperature and humidity.

8. There are also many treats your hermie may enjoy. Fresh fruit is an
option but make sure you take it out of the tank within 24 hours bc of those
pesty gnats. I use FMR treats for my hermies and they go wild for it.

9. Clean those crabitats once a month for a deep cleaning and make sure to
tidy it up everyday by scooping out the droppings with a hand drainer you can
purchase at your local grocery store. Also some ppl use those mesh drainers
that they use for fish to clean up droppings. Also the water should be
changed everyday to keep it fresh and rinse out those slimey dishes. The
hermies exo leaves a debris at the bottom of their water dishes and you can
wash them out with water and a paper towel.

10. Make sure that the hermies have extra shells. They need some the size they
are in up to 1/2" bigger. Also, they need an assortment of shells, not just
one kind. What you like doesn't mean the hermies will like it.

Sabrina
58 hermies since July 2004 and 1 Raccoon May 2006. RIP BANDIT
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/oimsofunny.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hermieswap.

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Most likely your crab is getting ready to shed his exoskeleton. All invertebrates have to do this in order to grow bigger. He could also need a bigger shell to live in. You should offer a choice of shells of slightly different sizes for him to choose from.