I've been reading on various forums around the neighborhood that some crabbers have been adding rollie pollie bugs to their crabitats in an effort to create a more natural and closed system. Personally I was skeptical and decided to let the first wave of bug experimentors have a go at it but I must say, everyone has a lot of great things to say about how well contained they are and how neat and tidy the crabitat seems to be since their addition.

After doing some research of my own I was also interested to find out that they aren't in fact, bugs, but crustaceans. So they are distantly related to crabs themselves! They feed on decaying materials as well as mold so they are a real help keeping your crabitat clean and eliminating problem areas like that hidden piece of food. And because they dig, if you've got buried food that is beginning to mold they will take care of that as well.

I recruited my son and a few friends and we went off in search of the rollie pollies. I knew right where to head because I've encountered them several times before . . . the brick pile. The love dark moist places and the brick pile was like a rollie pollie Hilton. It didn't take long before I had quite a few in my jar.

It doesn't seem like a lot, and I didn't count them at the time, but I counted the ones I could see in this picture and I got more than 65. There doesn't seem to be a rule of thumb for how many you should add. I was planing on adding 30-50. My tank is a 90 gallon terrarium with 20+ crabs in it. The substrate is coconut fiber bedding that goes from 6 inches to 8 inches. There's just no hard and fast rule. I don't think I'd add more than 1 per gallon at this time. But to be honest, that's a guess on my part. I think I'd rather err on the side of caution and have more work for them to do in there than I have bugs to do it with.

They are an interesting addition and my friends, my son and I had a wonderful time scouring the backyard for bugs. Make sure, if you add them to your tank that you provide some maple leaves or bark or other organic material for them to munch on if they run out of moldy egg yolks.

hermit crab tank" alt="pill bug in hermit crab tank" height="324" width="432" />

Last spring I sold a lot of the crabby garden seed packs.  It's a lot of fun to grow your own safe food for your crabs and they enjoy it too. Last month when I upgraded to the 90 gallon I mixed a variety of seeds in with the top inch of substrate before I put the decorations in. It worked out really well and now that it has been a few weeks you can see that my crabitat has taken on a distictly more "natural" look.

If you want to add seeds to your tank, there are a couple of things that you need to make sure of before starting.

1. The seeds. You need to be careful what type of seeds you are using. They need to be a plant that hermit crabs can safely eat. Some great starter seeds are wheat grass, millet, amaranth, clover, turnip, and bean sprout. Just mix them in with the top layer of your substrate and make sure you've got some good light coming into the tank.

2. The quality of the seeds. Some seeds are coated with anti-fungal chemical and germination aids. Make sure that your seeds are organic or are untreated.

And that's it! It's just that easy. Plant lots, the crab will eat it quickly. It works better in fiber bedding than it does in sand. If you've got a sand tank, you can plant some in a small container of fiber bedding and grow your own little crabby farm, just for their pleasure! I will be selling more seeds this spring, and hopefully will soon have some clover and millet pictures to share!

hermit crab setup" alt="90 gallon terrarium hermit crab setup" />When a person gets hermit crabs one of two thing happens. Either they keep them for awhile and tired of them and eventually pawn them off on friends and neighbors, or they start exhitibiting suspicious behavior. If you've spent a day driving around to all the petstores in town . . . . If, when you get there you look at every single crab in their tank . . . . And after that is done if you look at your companion and you both have already silently agreed that you're going on a roadtrip without further ado to start all over again two towns over . . . . Well, then your a crabaholic.

Crabaholics eventually will start thinking of upgrading their tank. This is why I always suggest a minimum tank starting size of 20 gallons. It gives you some time before you will need to upgrade. Some crabbers will take the big leap and create a colony tank which is any tank that is 50 gallons or larger.

Colony tanks have unique qualities that smaller tank owners don't face.  They aren't necessarily more difficult to care for, except when it comes to a deep clean, but you must think about tank maintenance in a different way. In a smaller tank you might have 2-5 crabs that you can recognize by shell and behavior. A colony tank might have anywhere from 20-100 crabs and individual recognition becomes difficult. There are always favorites and ones that are unique enough to stand out and be remembered but you will also have a group of crabs that blend together after 4 or 5 shell changes. I found this a hard transition to make. I like naming crabs and getting to know their personalities. I still have my favorites though

Molting is another issue that colony crab owners must contemplate. Personally, I let my crabs molt in the main tank. This means that of my current clan, 30-40% of them are up at any given time. I think this is one of the perks of a large colony. Smaller groups sometimes go through molting spurts that leave you watching an empty tank for weeks. In a colony, someone is always out and about doing something.

Tank layout is also important. A colony tank has room for larger and more diverse decorations. Even with a second level, smaller tanks are always fighting for space. My 90 gallon terrarium has room for two large pools as well as a large cave and lots of driftwood. Even with several food dishes and a substantial shell area there is still substantial room on the tank floor for walking. On the other hand, your colony tank needs to have an overabundance of hiding spots both at ground level and on the second level. Large and small opening hidey holes also give smaller crabs a place to hide where they feel secure. Large openings ensures that the larger crabs also have a place to hide. Make sure you larger water pools have a way for smaller crabs to exit. I use a large shell propped up in my largest pool.

Making the leap to a colony tank can be exciting. Making the adjustment isn't that hard, as long as you are thinking about it from the beginning. I recently inherited a 90 gallon fiberglass terrarium and was excited to get out many of the decorations I'd had to store over the years because my 35 gallon was just too small for them. I've also enjoyed seeing other hermit crabs owners colony tanks including Daethian's 150 gallon.

Do you have a colony tank? Would you like to put a picture of it up here? Drop me an email!

One of the most underutilized crabitat items today is natural moss. Often a pet store employee will send a new crab owner home with a water dish and a sponge and never once mention the possibility of using moss, even though they could milk that person for another eight dollars for the Fluker's terrarium moss!

Moss is one of the cheapest and most versatile item you could get for your crabitat. On top of that, it's easy to find and can be stored almost indefinitely.

Here's a list of just some of the things that you can use moss for. If you have new ideas I haven't thought of, please post them in the comments and I'll add them to this post.

• Use moss instead of a sponge to keep the humidity stable, remist when dry, no need for daily sterilization.
• Use moss to place your shells on to keep the substrate from filling up your shells
• Mix moss into your substrate to create a diverse ground cover that helps retain moisture and adds structural integrity to tunnel digging
• Create a "moss pit" on a hammock or in a container, it will be a favorite hang out for your crabs.
• Drape moss over driftwood, and around the bases of artificial plants to create an authentic look
• As it decays, crabbies will use it for a snack, they love digging in it

There are several places that you can get your moss. Pet stores almost always carry moss. The most common kind of moss that you can find there is Fluker's Terrarium Moss. However, you aren't limited to pet centered products. You can find moss at your local hobby store or the hobby section of your local Wal-mart. You can collect it from the wild, you can even purchase live moss for them to enjoy.

However, as you get ready to purchase moss there are some things you need to keep in mind. Avoid dyed moss. Dyed moss is easy to detect because it is an unnatural green color. It often smells a bit like paint (when in doubt I often make a small hole in the bag at the store and take a sniff, although this WILL get you strange looks). It may also have a warning on the bag that the moss is not for human or animal consumption.

The variety of moss is also important. I have had good luck with terrarium moss, hiawatha moss and sheet moss. I've never found reindeer moss that was not dyed and spanish moss is treated with harmful pesticides.

I've purchased live moss off of the internet and it is great as a special treat but can be costly and hard to find. It does not live more than a few weeks although the crabs will eat it alive and after it dies.

If you are interested in collecting your own moss you must be very careful where it comes from. Parks and recreation areas routinely spray fertilizers and pesticides. Collect from your own yard or someone else's property with permission. Then prepare as instructed below.
PREPARATION
 Grab a quart size or larger glass bowl. Place a large handful of moss into the bowl and then fill halfway with prepared salt water. (The kind you give your hermit crabs to drink.) Push down top moss until it's all wet. Microwave for one minute. This will kill any seeds or bugs or eggs that have been hitchhiking on your moss. Take the moss out of the microwave and let cool. Gently squeeze off the excess water and place in your crabitat wherever you want it! Once it turns from green to brown, remove (check for hiding crabs) and then replace.

In your natural crabitat moss can be a powerful and versatile (and inexpensive) element in creating a healthy and diverse environment for your crabs to explore. Do you have other ways to use moss? Let me know! I'm always looking for new ways to improve MY setup as well.

Most crabbers as they begin customizing their crabitats start looking for options to create a second level. Second levels are great for added climbing space, keeping shells from filling up with substrate, and giving crabs a place to bask closer to the light. When I first started crabbing I had an odd shaped tank and nothing I found really worked for me. I didn't like the neon green color of the reptile hammock and I didn't like the suction cup soap dish either. I wanted my tank to look as natural as possible. That's when I had the idea for climbing nets made from hemp. There was nothing else like it on the market!

Most crabbers have struggled with mold at one point or another. As an advocate for the legalization of industrial hemp, I realized that it was the perfect material for creating a climbing net. Far superior to any other nets on the market, hemp is strong, mold resistant (naturally), safe for consumption, and easy to find in stores. In summer of 2005 I started selling my nets on ebay and continued for over a year. Now you can make your own following these easy directions!

I knit my nets but its also easy to crochet them. I use large needles, usually between size 13 and 17. You can buy the hemp by the ball at Michael's and Hobby Lobby or any craft store. I buy 48lb test untreated hemp. It's the strongest you can buy that is still easy to work with. I have found that if you smell the twine that has been chemically treated or waxed hemp gives off a very chemical smell. You do not have to go out of your way to find organic hemp. Hemp is naturally pest and mold resistant and is almost never treated in the field.


There is also colored hemp out there but be careful to make sure that it has been dyed with something that will not harm your crabs. Because hemp is a plant, your crabs are more likely to eat it. Vegetable dyed hemp is acceptable although the colors are limited to those colors that can be done with vegetable/plant material. If the hemp twine is blue, black, or white it has not been vegetable dyed, but rather some other process that cannot be guaranteed to be safe for your crabbies. Also remember that vegetable dye is not usually a vibrant color but more muted tones, similar to the color of leaves turning in the fall. Naturally dyed hemp is not the same as vegetable dyed. Remember, hemp is manufactured for crafting not eating!

The following were the three most popular nets I sold in my ebay store.

NOTE: You are welcome to knit these nets for your own personal use but you do not have my permission to sell them.


18x8 in Net
This net will comfortably cover the back of a 10 gallon tank.

• Using size 17 needles, cast on 40.
• Knit in either stockinette stitch (knit odd rows, purl even) or garter stitch (knit all rows) for 16 rows.
• Bind off.

TIP:When working with the hemp, you will have to pull at it as you knit it, especially the garter stitched nets, to lock the hemp in place. The net will seem oddly shaped as your knit it but do not worry, it will be just right by the time we are done.

10x8 inch Rectangle Climbing Net

Covers half of a 10 gallon tank.

• Using size 17 needles cast on 20 and knit for 16 rows. Bind off. Yep, it's that easy!

Now for something a little more complicated. The most popular item in my eBay store was a corner shelf moss net. It is triangle shaped with a small ladder that comes off of the front.

Corner Shelf Moss Net

• Cast on 1
• R1 knit in the front and back of the stitch
• R2 Purl
  R3 knit in front and back of first stitch, knit to end of row, knit in front and back of last stitch
• Repeat R2 and R3 until you have 22 stitches on needle
• bind off.

To knit ladder, cast on 8, knit every row for 16 rows, bind off.

TIP: Once youve finished knitting your net you need to finish it before putting it in the tank. Soak your net in salt water and lay it out on a paper towel to dry. Stretch and pull it until youve got it the shape you want. It will shrink up to 10% of its size the first time you get it wet.

Once its dry, attach it to your tank walls with plastic suction cups (make sure they have plastic hooks as well). Place a pile of damp moss in your moss corner shelf and enjoy!

Don't stop with these three, the sky is the limit, I knit all kinds of different shapes for my crabitat. The only thing limiting you is your imagination!