FAQs on Terrestrial/Freshwater Hermit Crabs
Systems
Related Articles: Terrestrial Hermit Crabs, Freshwater Crustaceans, Invertebrates for Freshwater Aquariums by
Neale Monks,
Related FAQs: Terrestrial Hermit Crabs 1,
Terrestrial Hermit Crabs 2,
& FAQs on Terrestrial Hermits: Terr. Hermit ID, Terr. Hermit Behavior, Terr. Hermit Compatibility, Terr. Hermit Selection, Terr. Hermit Feeding, Terr. Hermit Disease, Terr. Hermit Reproduction.
& FAQs on Marine/SW:
SW Hermit ID, SW Hermit Behavior, SW Hermit Compatibility, SW Hermit Selection, SW Hermit Systems, SW Hermit Feeding, SW Hermit Disease/Health,
SW Hermit
Reproduction, &
FW Crustaceans
1, FW Crustaceans
2,
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All so-called
"freshwater" hermit crabs are actually amphibious, and
as such, unsuitable for use in an aquarium. The only truly
non-marine, fully aquatic hermit crab in the trade I'm aware
of is Clibanarius tricolor, the blue-leg hermit crab. It does
very well in brackish water aquaria at SG 1.010+. It cannot be
adapted to freshwater. Cheers, Neale.
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tiny crawlers, assoc. w/ terr. hermit
10/4/10
Two days ago I purchased a hermit crab for my child. To our surprise,
the hermit crab had company today! There were tiny worms in the
mulch-like substance that was recommended for the tank. I thought they
may have been bristle worms( I know that they sometimes buddy up with
hermit crabs in their shells), but your many descriptions do not match
what these appeared to be. They were approximately 1/4" long and
light brown in color. They resembled a very small earthworm. I
apologize for not having a picture. I panicked, and dumped them. There
were at least three of them. Do you have an idea of what they were? My
next question is, "Are they harmful to the crab or my child?"
Thank you for your time.
<In the mulch... Very likely these are/were not actually worms of
any sort, but insect larvae... And other than being noisome, likely not
harmful to your child. Bob Fenner>
Re: tiny crawlers 10/5/10
Thank you
<Welcome!>
Hermit crab advice for classroom care 9/7/04 Dear Mr. Fenner,
<Anthony Calfo in his stead> As new hermit crab parents, we were
very impressed with your website and we learned a lot about how to care
for our hermit crabs (Dion, Duncan, Lucy, and Henry). We are
also new teachers and our hermit crabs will be our class pets. They
will be living in our classrooms. We read that they must be sprayed
daily with water, <yes... very important for their good health...
even breathing> but we were wondering what we should do on Saturday
and Sunday when we are not in our classrooms. <hmm... they will
survive. But do spray them well weekdays without fail... particularly
Friday and Monday of course> <<RMF would place a damp sponge
in their system... re-wet it daily>> Also, should they be fed
daily as well, or is it okay to leave extra food on weekends? <less
is better in some cases... avoid feeding heavily. A few times weekly is
fine: Monday Weds and Friday> Is it possible for them to survive
without our care over the weekend? <yep... no worries> Please
respond ASAP as school is starting on Thursday. Thanks for all your
help! Sincerely, Candice and Sarah ( <with kind regards,
Anthony>
Help. Terr. Hermit crab beh., rel. matters
7/9/10
we have had hermit crabs for over three years, we have seen them naked
but this time one went naked and climbed into the water dish, and what
we started to think he was molting. He hasn't moved or done
anything for 5 days. He was moving just a couple of days ago. But
nothing, we had to remove the water dish because the other one was
trying to get at it. I don't smell anything. Would this be consider
molting? If so, how long?
He is very small. He has molted before but never on top of the
surface.
thank you
<Greetings. It isn't normal for Hermit Crabs to moult outside of
their shells or at least outside some sort of burrow, so if you see
your Hermit Crab moulting on top of the sand or coir, something is
probably amiss.
Start by checking diet, particularly the availability of iodine, as
iodine deficiency seems to be a very common reason for improper
moulting. Note that Hermit Crabs can be cannibalistic, and it is
crucial that recently-moulted Hermits get themselves into shells as
fast as possible. If that isn't happening here, you need to
separate them. The fact your Hermit hasn't moved is very worrying,
and I'd be isolating him regardless. Make sure the vivarium is
suitably warm -- unless you're in the tropics room temperature
won't do -- and sufficiently humid. Like a lot of cold-blooded
animals "dying" can take months, even years, so just because
you've been successful thus far doesn't mean you've
actually been keeping them properly. Sometimes it takes a long time for
the problem to become fatal.
So sit back, review living conditions, and make sure you're
providing everything you should. Most of the people selling Hermit
Crabs in malls and whatnot haven't the foggiest idea what they
need, and those little plastic habitats they sell are pure garbage. At
minimum, you need a 10 gallon aquarium with a couple of inches depth of
damp sand or coir, plus a shallow basin of either dechlorinated
freshwater (for Purple Pincer Crabs, Coenobita clypeatus) or brackish
water (for Ecuadorian Crabs, Coenobita compressus) depending on the
species you're keeping. This is VERY important, and if you provide
the wrong type of water you will create problems in the long term.
Unfortunately both species are equally available, and the retailers,
particularly those in malls, have not a clue which one they're
selling. Place a heating pad under the tank to maintain a steady 25
C/77 F. You need a hood to keep humidity in the tank, but sufficient
ventilation to prevent fungal infections. You need to clean the sand or
coir regularly, ideally every couple of weeks. The diet should be
varied but calcium-rich, so lots of things like whole lancefish and
unshelled shrimps rather than just prawn meat or fish fillet. Some
vegetable matter, such as banana, is also important. An iodine
supplement is almost always required, though some Hermit Crab foods may
include iodine -- check the labeling. I hope this helps. Cheers,
Neale.>
Hermit crabs friend or enemy
3/24/10
Good afternoon,
We purchased 2 hermit crabs about 2 years ago. Both have molted
once.
However when crab A molted a second time crab B attacked it. I looked
at the cage and saw that crab B ejected crab A from his shell. We
separated the crabs and crab A survived. After 4 weeks we reintroduced
the crabs
together and crab B immediately moved to what looked like an attack of
crab A. Crab B came with its large pincer out and basically charged
crab A. Everything we moved crab A and crab B apart, crab B charged
crab A. Are
they now enemies? I plan to keep them separated; is this the right
thing to do? Can crabs that once lived together peacefully for almost 2
years not get along after being separated?
Thank you
Jonathan
<You don't say whether these are marine, freshwater or
terrestrial hermit crabs, but in general, yes, all hermit crabs fight
over shells. This is widely observed in the wild because whole shells
are a limited resource, and there are more hermit crabs looking for
shells than there ever are enough empty shells. So there's some
survival of the fittest going on! Make sure you have adequate empty
shells *of the right sizes and types* of the hermits you're
keeping. Normally aggression between specimens is minimal if they have
enough shells to choose from. If they're fighting, chances are you
don't have the right shells or enough of them. Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: Hermit crabs friend or enemy
3/24/10
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your very prompt response.
<My pleasure.>
They are both terrestrial crabs.
<Okay.>
I learn something new everyday. To my eye crab A and B are in the same
size shell- but I guess crab B sees something in Crab A's shell
that he wants.
<Guess so!>
We will get some new shells and see what happens.
<Good.>
For a follow up question- Crab B has not molted a second time and I
think he is overdue -b/c crab B molted before A the first time and A
has already molted second time and crab B's color is "washed
out". Can crab B getting ready to molt but he will not b/c he
cannot find the right shell?
<Terrestrial hermit crabs need something to dig into before they can
moult.
Slightly damp moss or coir are recommended for this. They also need to
drink a lot beforehand, because the water is used to pump up their
bodies and so crack the old skeleton. If your crab is drinking a lot
and digging a lot, that's a good sign moulting is around the
corner. Before moulting happens, isolate the moulting crab if at all
possible: crustaceans can be remarkably cannibalistic towards one
another if they find some poor crab that's just moulted! Without a
separate moulting tank, hermit crab keepers usually end up with just
one specimen. In any case, leave the moulting crab alone while it is
moulting, and be sure to let the crab eat its old skeleton. After
moulting the now-larger hermit will go looking for a bigger shell.
Moulting should take place every 1.5 years, and to moult properly
the hermit needs a good, calcium-rich diet (unshelled prawns, whole
lancefish, etc), particularly in the weeks leading up to the
moult.>
Thank you and thank you for your insight
Jonathan
<Cheers, Neale.>
What's wrong with them? Hermits, terr.... sys., fdg.,
beh.... 8/5/09
Hello, my name is Ben.
Sorry to bother you, but there is something that's really bothering
me and I'm worried about my Hermit Crabs.
<Interesting pets, and not difficult to keep, but often trickier
than the sales clerks suggest. Suggest you visit one particular site
that's all hermits, all the time:
http://hermit-crabs.com/
It's a good site, and very frank about what's needed to keep
them healthy.>
My brothers and I bought 3 hermit crabs (sorry, not so sure about the
species) at Petsmart two days ago, we also bought frog moss, sponges, 3
shells of the appropriate size and some decorations. I had everything
else ready at my house, hideys, chlorine remover, dishes, and bag of
play sand.
I didn't buy any salt, though.
<Ah, this does matter. There are at least two species equally
commonly traded in the US: Coenobita clypeatus, which needs a
freshwater bathing pool, and Coenobita compressus, which needs brackish
water or seawater in its bathing pool. Now, the critical thing to
remember is that both species are widely sold, and sales clerks will
say that both species need freshwater. That helps them make their sales
quota! So do not, repeat DO NOT, take on trust any statement that the
Hermit you have is a freshwater species. Review the link below, and
confirm for yourself.
http://hermit-crabs.com/species.html
Use marine salt mix to make up the brackish water should you need it.
At the amounts you're using the cost will be trivial, but
you'll regret using cooking salt, aquarium tonic salt, or anything
else that wouldn't be used
in a marine aquarium. You're after brands such as Reef Crystals,
Instant Ocean, or whatever the cheaper generic marine aquarium salt is
at your pet store.>
The lady who helped us mentioned something about them having only
freshwater hermit crabs in store and that salt water was not necessary.
I also didn't buy any commercial food, they didn't have any in
store and I
heard they can a lot of other things instead.
<Certainly, these crabs are entirely omnivorous. An ideal diet would
include soft fruit, freeze-dried or wet-frozen krill, squashed cooked
peas, and chunks of lancefish, which you can buy frozen at pet stores.
Lancefish are small fish, a bit like whitebait, and because they
contain bones, they're a good source of calcium.>
I've fed them daily, watered the moss, misted the tank, gave them
water.
(I've made sure to always use the water I setup with drops of
chlorine remover every time I use any water)
<Very good.>
Well, here's my problem, I don't think they've eaten since
I got them 2 days ago. I've fed them apple, melon, carrot, with
small dabs of peanut butter or honey. I haven't really seen any
change in the food from when I put it there. So I'm worried whether
they're eating or not? Why not? How long could they go on like
this?
<It is actually very common for Hermits to "go quiet" when
first introduced to their new habitat. They're also somewhat
nocturnal in the wild, and become more day-active once they settle
down. So, between these two factors, you might well not see very much
for the first couple days, even a week or so. Provided your Hermit is
still alive, I wouldn't worry unduly about a quiet specimen for at
least a week or so after purchase. Remove uneaten food to prevent fruit
flies, fungus, etc. A small piece of lancefish would, I bet, be the
thing to get them eating, so try that one night. Dead fish are a real
treat in the wild, and land crabs get very
excited when they smell one!>
I also haven't seen a lot of action from them. Of course I'm
not aware of what goes on after I fall asleep, but when I'm awake,
they mostly hide all day. At night we take them out to play and
exercise them a bit since
they're nocturnal but they don't seem to trust us much.
<They won't. It takes weeks before they become
"trusting".>
It takes long for them to come out and when they do they try to scurry
in the opposite direction, we always try to be as gentle as we can.
Please, could you give us some tips that could help us earn there
trust?
<Time.>
Please, I'm afraid they'll die, I've had hermit crabs
before, but I wasn't well informed or prepared the first time. This
time I did research on everything before getting them and I was
prepared, but I don't understand
why they aren't eating. Thanks for taking time to read this, and
I'm sorry to have bothered you.
Thank you,
Ben
<Do read the site mentioned, identify the species you have, adjust
the salinity of the bathing pool if required, and give your Hermits
time to settle down. Remember they need warmth, and if your habitat is
too cold
(air temperature less than 22 C/72 F) they're not going to be
active at all, and will probably die quite quickly. These animals live
in the Caribbean area, so if you don't live somewhere with a
similar tropical
climate, you WILL need a heater. An undertank heating mat is ideal, and
doesn't cost much. Alternatively, some type of heating lamp could
be used; not a regular lamp, a proper heating lamp mind you! Visit a
reptile pet store and review the options for heating lizards, snakes
and other warmth-loving animals. All of these tropical pets need heat,
and it's a shame sales clerks often suggest they can be kept at
room temperature in
the US and Europe; they very largely can't. If you happen to live
somewhere warm like Florida where the air temperature would be
adequate, don't forget that air conditioning will cool the air in
your home, and that will also cool the air in your Hermit habitat. So
do think very carefully about heating: it's probably the single
most common reason why tropical "critters" of all kinds die
in captivity. Cheers, Neale.>
Hermit crab hiding spot, terr. --
07/01/09
Hi, my son loves his new little friend, Hermie, who is a bit shy, so we
purchased a small, hollowed-out half log called a Pet Refuge by
Mac's Creatures & Critters of Murphy, Oregon, from Petco. The
problem is, I
cannot find any information about which type of wood this refuge is
made from, knowing that evergreen-type woods are not good for hermit
crabs. Do you have any familiarity at all with this brand?
Thanks,
Krishna
<Only from what I see on Petco.com's site... However, I worked
for the co.
(as a consultant and buyer) for three years... and was just visiting
corporate/DC 100 last week... and know the company to be ethical... And
very responsive to direct queries... Do write them/Petco and ask
directly;
or for "Mac's" address (don't see via the Net) to
contact them re. Bob Fenner>
Re: Hermit crab hiding spot 7/2/09
Will do, Bob. Thank you very much for your quick reply.
<Certainly welcome Krishna. BobF>
Hermit crabs 11/10/08 Hi! My little sisters and I
have pet hermit crabs. We put them in one tank. There are no bugs in
it, but for some reason when I looked in the tank today, there was a
web across one of the shells with little black dots in it. Is it from
the crabs? Do you know what it is? <Greetings. It is possible I
suppose that these webs are spider webs, or silk webs spun by something
else. In that case, they won't do any harm and can be rinsed off
with some clean water. But I'm a little more concerned that these
webs might be in fact fungal hyphae. Fungi will grow on anything that
is organic, warm, and damp. Hermit crabs need to be kept warm, as you
know, since they're tropical animals that quickly die if they are
kept at room temperature. But they also need a well ventilated
environment. Usually these two things are taken care of by putting a
heating mat or stone in the vivarium (for warmth) and then placing a
lid on the tank (to keep the heat in) but the lid is left slightly ajar
so air can move through the tank (for ventilation). Hermit crabs are
quite difficult to maintain if you don't "tick all the right
boxes", and I'd encourage you to review their needs carefully.
Once sick, there's little that can be done for them. Many books
have been written about pet Hermits, but in the meantime, why not visit
one of the several good web sites dedicated to their care. I happen to
like this one: http://www.hermit-crabs.com/ Cheers, Neale>
Land Hermit Crabs and Softened Water? - 8/14/03 HI,
<howdy> can I give my land hermit crabs water from my tap if we
have a water conditioning system that uses salt? Kara <not
recommended, my friend. The salt exchangers impart excess chloride that
has been demonstrated to be a problem with some animals. Please do
bypass the softener and/or keep a jug of spring water handy (not
distilled... too pure). Kindly, Anthony>
Re: (land) hermit crab I'm not sure if land crabs are
your area, but if so I would very much appreciate a reply. I
have had a land hermit crab for over a year now. He's to
all appearances happy and healthy, except he has lost quite a bit of
color. In fact, the last time he molted he was just about
translucent. He has a choice of many
foods: Hikari "Crab cuisine", Tetra/Terrafauna
"hermit crab cakes", Aquadyne mix of goldfish food and
vegetables, and Hermit Haven hermit crab food. He has a
large water dish with sponges, shells, and Cholla wood. He
also gets salad or other veggies from my meals. His water is
distilled, and I change the shells when it appears that the calcium has
come off of them. Do you have any ideas as to what could be happening
to my crab? Thank you very much for your time. ~Melissa
<Hi Melissa, it sounds like you take excellent care of your hermit
crab. Varied diet, good water, clean living, the only thing
that I can think of that may be missing is sunlight. A full
spectrum daylight fluorescent bulb may help him/her out. My
experience with land hermits is limited, but it sounds like you are
doing everything correctly, I would try adding some daylight.>
Land hermit crabs hi, I brought 10 little land hermit crabs
back from Mexico for my son for Christmas. they are in a large
Plexiglas tank with little stones and some awesome climbing sticks. I
have hermit food and a sponge that I keep quite wet. I mist them daily
and I have provided lots of shells. (they are changing them like crazy)
two of them are connected right now and they are making "clicking
noises" are they fighting? how do they mate? can you give me any
advice? when I took them, I vowed to keep them alive and I
want all the info I can get.
thanks, Julie Swann <Hi Julie, I am not familiar
with the actual mating ritual of the land hermit crab. I
would be willing to bet they are fighting, most likely over a
shell. While searching on google.com I stumbled upon the
link below, it appears to have a lot of information on land hermits
http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/vanessap/hermit/cs/cs_gender.html
Hope this helps, Gage>
Painting hermit crab shells 1/4/05 My kids want to
paint their Hermit's next shell. What kind of paint
should we use? thanks <use non-toxic "baby-safe" acrylic
paint like you'd find at Home Depot for painting children's
furniture... or better still, perhaps find smaller portions and more
colors at the craft/fabric stores. If it says "baby safe"
then you are in business :) Anthony> GOT CRABS? We
recently got a hermit crab from Texas and we do not know what it eats
and where we should have it Tara Brooks < Go to ZooMed.com and get
their new book on hermit crabs. They even have a couple of hermit crab
kits with everything you need including a beginners book to get you
started. In the meantime, hermit crabs are tropical and require a
heating device to keep their terrarium between 78 and 83 degrees. The
Zoomed ReptiTherm UTH works well as a heating device. They do require a
relative humidity of 70%+, so a water dish with a sponge in it is
really needed. For lighting the daylight blue and nighttime red bulbs
really show them off. Hermit crabs are very active at night and the red
bulb allows you to observe the crabs without really frightening them.
The bottom of the terrarium should have some clean fine sand and a
branch or two for them to crawl on. They do best on a commercial hermit
crab food. The big problem with these crabs is that they dry out and
need to be misted often. -Chuck>
Hermit Crab Substrate I could not find anything on your web
site but I would like to ask you a question. Is used fish tank gravel
OK to put in my hermit crab cage with half sand and half used fish tank
gravel? < As long as the materials are well washed then there
shouldn't be a problem.-Chuck>
Hermit Crabs I have a question about taking good care of my
salt water hermit crabs. I have a picture of them to help you out. I
got them in Florida about three weeks ago and they have done just fine,
they have tried out new shells and got back in there old ones then back
in the new ones. Right now I am feeding them dog food cut into little
pieces. Can you also tell what to feed them? < There are commercial
hermit crab foods available at pet shops that sell hermit crabs.>
There water has been changed like every other day and is supplied with
oxygen. There sand cleaned out too. I forgot to mention that I have
three of them. They are not being kept in an aquarium because I
don't have the money or room for that and it's not medal
anywhere. The crabs are in saltwater and the water is almost room
temperature. So tell me what else needs to be done in order for them to
have a happy life and environment? < Don't let the humidity get
too low or too cool. A cool dry environment is just the opposite of
what they need and they will not last too long unless the are kept warm
and humid.-Chuck>
Transporting a hermit crab 7/10/05 My 7 year old
daughter who is currently in Wyoming visiting her dad has purchased a
hermit crab. I am in Idaho and the plan was to drive to Rock
Springs Wyoming to pick her up and then on to Bismark, North Dakota for
a 3 day family reunion. At that point we would all return to
Caldwell, Idaho where we live. Is it possible to transport
this crab with us the entire way? <Yes, certainly> If so, what do
I need to do to guarantee its safe and healthy arrival? <Keep it and
its food, gravel in its container... along with a damp sponge (for
moisture, humidity), and set all this down on the floor, level, in the
shade. Bob Fenner> Never Too Young To Get Crabs! -
08/20/2005 I'm twelve years old and recently went to the beach.
<Let me first open with a couple of statements.... I am
TREMENDOUSLY impressed, and pleased, with your grasp of basic grammar
and spelling. Let this be a lesson to all those older, more
experienced folks out there - make proper sentences, use proper
punctuation and capitalization. Nicole, we truly appreciate
this! Thank you! (Hey Bob, I got the
"truly" right!)> <<Heeeee! RMF>> I found a
shop that sold land hermit crabs, (they seemed happy and well-treated)
and they sold some really tiny carrying cages. The lids are plastic,
with slits. Mine is probably one gallon, and I have two crabs. <This
is quite a bit too small for land hermits.... though it will
serve as an adequate temporary home, if you can keep the humidity very
high.> They have purple claws, though I'm not sure what the type
is. <Many possibilities. All have the same or similar
care requirements, and all make excellent pets. You will
enjoy caring for these guys, I'm sure!> They seem to get along
well, I have: Sand made of calcium, completely edible Hermie Food Water
dish, two inches deep but has stones below (No possible drowning, sand
inside means they go in) Climbing surface Fake plant <I would
strongly recommend that you look into a larger enclosure (10 gallon
tank, if possible) with a lid that covers the tank quite well, to
retain humidity. Another requirement, eventually, will be a
container of saltwater - contrary to some literature, ALL land hermits
available for sale in the US do, in fact, come from marine environments
and do require saltwater in addition to freshwater. I'll
give you some links to some good resources at the end of this
message.> Okay. I don't have a spritzer, but I live in Austin
and it's pretty humid, plus I bathe them every day. <I strongly
urge you not to bathe them daily - or at all, for that
fact. Once they're in a larger space, make one of their
water pools deep enough that they can go completely underwater if they
desire - they'll keep themselves clean. They do not have
people bathing them daily in the wild.... This can actually
cause them harm in the long run, mostly stress-related, I fear.> Do
they definitely need a spritzer? <Unless you're dripping
condensation off the end of your nose right now, you'll need to get
that humidity up. Covering the lid with some plastic wrap
(leave enough uncovered for air exchange) will help, and
"misting" their container daily will help, as well.>> I
also don't have a humidifier or thermometer, but our house is
always on 78 or 80. <This temp. is fine.> And can you use a
spritzer from a body spray if it is empty, soaked, and dishwashed?
<I would not.... You can probably get a cheap spritzer in
the plant section in your local discount store, or maybe even a
grocer's or drugstore.> They are a big hot pink shelled one
(Sebastian) and a small pale pink shelled one (Ariel). <Make sure to
offer them more shells of varying sizes.> Sebastian is always
willing to walk on my hands, and never pinches. He is especially active
after bath. Ariel I can see walking but if I am loud she hides, and I
cannot hold her, because she always retreats. She does flip over and
walk around in bath, though. Anyway, they are always together, and seem
to cooperate. But, today at about 9:30 tonight, they were away in their
shells hiding (usual during the day) but one of Sebastian's left
legs was lying on the sand. <Possible result of
stress.... This may be no problem at all, as the leg will
re-grow - but do please let him have some time to rest.> I removed
it, and held him and he still seemed fine, although he was a little off
balance. I bathed them and they were fine. <Again, this may be a
major source of stress for them.... let them keep themselves
clean, it is better for them.> Now, the two are together, not
fighting, just away in their shells. What should I do? Sorry that I
have so many questions! Oh, and tonight I'm going to separate them.
Please respond as soon as possible! <Mostly, I would recommend, as
above, try to get a larger enclosure for them, provide fresh and
saltwater, get that humidity up (pronto! very important!),
and let them chill out a bit to recover from the great ordeal of moving
into a new (and obviously loving) home. Try the following
for more information: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com , and http://www.hermit-crabs.com . Wishing you,
Sebastian, and Ariel well, -Sabrina>
Hermit Crab, Change of Clothes - Good Land Hermit
Owner/Information! - 10/15/2005 Hi, <Hello.> I recently got a
small hermit crab as a birthday present. Well, truth be told, his shell
is really small, but Gerald himself is actually quite a bit bigger than
his shell should be. <This is actually not uncommon with newly
purchased hermits.... Hopefully in your care he will find something
larger/more suitable.> So, after reading in several places that they
need to switch shells, I've offered him a variety of new shells in
different sizes, with different openings, painted, and natural.
<Painted shells are extremely rarely accepted, unless there is
nothing of the right shape/size otherwise. Just a heads-up.> From
what I've read, hermit crabs seem to change shells whenever they
come upon a new one, <Mm, not that often - not by a long shot.>
but this little guy just wont leave the one he has. I'm a little
worried, because I've read that if they don't change into a
shell large enough it could be really harmful for them, and I'm not
quite sure what I can do to help the situation. <A bit of
information regarding this - there are a number of different species of
hermit crabs.... all of genus Coenobita. Of those most commonly offered
for sale in the US, a couple of them (C. compressus and C. rugosus) are
a touch more hesitant to switch shells than others. C. compressus will
hold out a very long time before changing shells, if there is nothing
that they really like around. The only shells that my own C.
compressus will use are Natica/"moon snail" shells.... some
are called "shark's eye" or "whale's eye"
shells. I would urge you to try to find out what species your hermit
is, and if you believe him to be C. compressus, try to seek out these
moon snail shells. C. rugosus will take moon snail shells sometimes, as
well. Other hermits will usually take readily to Turbo snail
shells.> Also, I was wondering if his present living situation is as
it should be. He is in a 1.5-2 gallon plastic aquarium, <Mm, I would
increase this to a 10-gallon tank, minimum.... especially if it is a C.
compressus, which is a very active animal.> with Calci-sand, fake
plants, dishes, <A comment here, regarding water/water dishes -
contrary to what some might say, all hermits are at least *somewhat*
marine in nature (some more so than others) and require saltwater in
addition to freshwater. I would urge you to use a quality synthetic sea
salt like Instant Ocean for making up saltwater.... you can store a
container of it and use as necessary.> a sponge, and a coconut to
hide under. I've been keeping the temperature between 70-75 degrees
and humidity between 70-80%. I was wondering what % of humidity is too
high, and what will happen if it does get high? <Actually, the
humidity is fine where you've got it. If it gets too high
occasionally, it should not be a major problem. Just don't let it
drop below 70% for an extended period of time, lest he suffocate from
his gills drying up.> Thanks! Kat <One last comment - hermit
crabs are quite social animals. I really urge you to move up to a
larger container and provide a couple of friends (preferably of the
same species, but that's not terribly important). Also, as far as
foods and feeding, be sure to include some foods high in iodine and
calcium content - you can use a calcium supplement manufactured for
reptiles to add to their food. Thawed frozen human-consumption shrimp
tails with the shells still on are an excellent food high in iodine.
Wishing you and your new pal well, -Sabrina>
Hermit terr. crabs FAQ... NNS
4/10/06 hi , i lives in Singapore and i have a few question that
i cant find on the internet and sincerely hope you could
help me with this i would like to know that could it due to my country
temperature ( its about 20+ degree Celsius) that make my hermit crabs
(species : Coenobita rugosus) inactive ? <Possibly, yes> when i
buy them , i was given a tank with the sand lesser than 1cm in height ,
could it due to this that's why my hermit crab does not moult ? do
i need to buy additional sand to add on to it? <Shouldn't be the
sand depth. Likely nutrition, moisture/humidity> i wanted to put
some of the dried leaves that i find along the road inside the fish
thank but if the leavers is poisonous to human , would it kill my crab
too ? <Too likely, yes. There are some "aquarium safe"
terrestrial leaves one can use though> and erm i tried extremely
hard but i couldn't find out the maximum size a Coenobita rugosus
could grow up to , and to my knowledge , there are different type of
shells in terms of their design , so will they switch home even if the
shell design isn't what they use normally ? <Yes> lastly , i
may emailed to the wrong address , sorry if i did =( but please reply
if u can help me =) your sincerely, jimmy =) <Please see here re
size: 67 g.: http://www.crabstreetjournal.info/species/Crugosus/index.html
Bob Fenner>
My pet Hermit crab 1/10/07 Hi I
am Lauren <Hi Lauren!> and I have recently taken in a saltwater
hermit crab as my pet on holidays... <How is he only a pet on
holidays? Is he in a reef tank, salt water tank... what?>
we went on 2 different websites when we got home from our holiday which
was a day after we took the hermit crab in it said to supply shells for
them so we put in one which was not for the hermit crab to change in to
but for it to get to land ..then the next day my dad told me he moved
in to it but the problem is it is to big for it and he struggles to
carry it.. now what should we do we wonder and hope you can tell
us...Thank you <He will not move into anything he cannot
handle. It may have a problem with mobility but will grow
into it. No worries here. Jen S><<RMF
suggests providing more shells... for this Hermits
choosing>>
Freshwater hermit crabs 4/22/07 I can't
seem to find much info on freshwater hermits. I know they do exist, but
how would I go about finding some? Will they live in an African Cichlid
tank? <All so-called "freshwater" hermit crabs are
actually amphibious, and as such, unsuitable for use in an aquarium.
The only truly non-marine, fully aquatic hermit crab in the trade
I'm aware of is Clibanarius tricolor, the blue-leg hermit crab. It
does very well in brackish water aquaria at SG 1.010+. It cannot be
adapted to freshwater. Cheers, Neale.>
Hermit crab & Sand
7/25/07 Hi My name is CJ, I am 12 and have my first hermit crabs
(3). Is it okay to use regular beach sand for them to crawl on or do I
need a special type of sand? Also is it okay to have different types of
hermit crabs living together. For example I have a large strawberry
living with 2 regular pet store hermit crabs. I am not sure what type
they are, but they are night bright red like my strawberry, more of
brownish/grey color. Presently I have them living on aquarium gravel
and marbles. Thanks, CJ <Hello CJ. When keeping hermit crabs, the
optimal sand is calcium carbonate enriched sand, sold for crabs as well
as reptiles. Crabs use the calcium carbonate as a dietary supplement
for their skeleton. You can buy this stuff from any pet store. Some
crab-keepers like to mix sand with coconut fibre ("coir") at
a 50/50 ratio. The point to the coconut fibre is it stores moisture,
which is essential for the hermit crabs. The crabs need the humidity in
the air for their "lungs" to work properly, and when they
feel the need, they will dig into the sand/fibre mixture to cool down
or sleep. So, much happier crabs! Coconut fibre can be purchased in big
blocks for a couple of dollars and after soaking in water you end up
with gallons of the stuff. It doesn't change the pH of the
substrate (unlike peat or soil) which is a major plus, and being so
cheap you can easily change it every couple of months or whenever it
starts to get dirty. Being nice and dark it also highlights the colours
of the crabs, and you get a much more natural looking environment than
just using plain sand or God forbid one of those hideous coloured
gravels. Cheers, Neale>
Terrestrial Hermit Crab Habitat: How much
weight in a terrarium? Sys. 11/8/07 Hey all, <Hello,>
First to say, love the site, I keep up with it on a regular basis
to make sure that my fish are well taken care of. You guys do a
marvelous job! <Thanks.> Next, explaining a bit about my
actual question, lol. I recently decided to get into terrestrial
hermit crab keeping since I work in a biology lab at my college
and they keep one or two little crabs... They're so fun and
cute, I started looking into what it takes to keep some of my
own. <Ah, yes, they are nice pets. Crustaceans generally make
very entertaining pets but they do have specific needs. In the
case of a hermit crab, it needs warmth from under the vivarium, a
certain amount of humidity, water for bathing in, a varied
(mostly plant-based) diet, and (often overlooked) the company of
at least two other hermit crabs. The "bath" is one
tricky aspect: different species need freshwater, brackish water
or salt water baths. Make sure you identify the crabs on sale,
and clear this aspect up before purchase. To be fair, the
standard species is Coenobita clypeatus and that one is fine with
freshwater; but oddball species are also sold, and may be
particularly attractive because of their unusual colours and
shapes.> For starters, I do have an empty terrarium, which is
why I was looking for a new sort of pet to keep, it has
ventilation holes with small screen covers, so there is no
converting it to a fish tank of any sort, it was meant to be
strictly a terrarium. (Originally it was bought to house some
Jackson Chameleons, which was many, many years ago and
they've hence passed on, unfortunately.) It's made by
Oceanic and seems to have fairly thick glass, thicker than my ten
gallon at least (roughly twice as much), from what I can tell
from general observations. It's also fairly large, roughly
three feet by two and another two and a half tall. <Sounds
ideal.> Now, onto asking the question. I want to make sure the
crabs would have plenty of digging/molting depth, so I was
looking at how much sand I'd have to put into this thing...
And a site was brilliant enough to bring up the point that some
terrariums really aren't meant to handle heavy loads. So I
was wondering if it was actually safe to put as much sand as
I'd need into it and not risk the tank. Now there's a few
things I was thinking of doing... For the record, this terrarium
currently sits on a pretty sturdy metal frame work that it came
with, but there is no underneath/middle support, it's
strictly the frame work that it rests on (I'm not sure how
crucial that is, so thought I'd mention it). <You actually
don't need masses of sand, and in fact a mix of sand and
coconut fibre (available in reptile shops) is the ideal. In the
wild they burrow into leaf litter, and this mix replicates this
perfectly. The coconut fibre holds moisture well, which is
critical to hermit crab health in the long term. Anyway, the mix
of fibre with a bit of sand for stability will add very little to
the weight of the vivarium.> Now, I can take the tank off the
current stand and sit it on the floor (it's tall enough that
viewing is still fine like this), so that I don't have to
worry much about the weight at all, but I have tile floors and
I'm a little worried about the tile lowering the overall
temperature of the tank. I could also buy some scrap carpet or
material to sit it on so that it won't be directly on the
cool tile, if that would make a difference. <The ideal here
would be to place polystyrene tiles on the table, put the heating
mat on that, and then the vivarium on top. The heating mat should
have instructions about this. The loss of heat by conduction
through the base of a vivarium is pretty trivial compared with,
for example, warm air rising out the top of the tank.> I can
also buy a piece of plywood or something and use it as a brace
for the bottom of the tank, placing it between the framework and
the bottom of the terrarium, but I'm not entirely sure what
exactly to use or how well that would work. <Sounds overkill
to me.> I could also leave the tank where it is and trust
it's sturdy enough to handle the weight of the sand...
I'm fairly certain a tank this size was meant to handle
fairly heavy reptiles and it's possible I'm worrying over
this for no reason whatsoever, but I thought, better safe than
sorry, and I should ask some people that might know more about
how much weight a terrarium could take. :) <Should be fine.
Test it out before adding the animals, and if all seems well,
press on!> Alright, think that was all I needed to pester you
with. Thank you soooo much for your time and consideration!
It's extremely appreciated. ~Caitie <Hope this helps,
Neale>
Re: Terrestrial Hermit Crab Habitat: How much
weight in a terrarium? 11/8/07 Thanks for the response,
I'll pick up some coconut fiber substrate tomorrow to mix in
with the sand. That should take some of the weight out of it, I
think, not a lot, but still... I was just worried because I know
they need a lot of burrowing room so that they'll molt
properly, and I do intend to have some jumbos at some point,
either from the littles I'll get growing up or just starting
with some jumbos. Everything I've read thus far suggests
having at least double the crab's height in sand. So yes, I
was a little worried that much sand would be fairly heavy.
<Mix the sand in with the coconut fibre, with the coconut
fibre being 90% by volume. The sand is really there just for
stability, though they may also use sand during moulting
(crustaceans have structures called statocysts into which grains
are sand are placed during moulting; these act as balance
organs).> The only thing I have a further question on is the
heating pad for underneath the terrarium, wouldn't that be
just fine attached to the bottom of the tank, since I'll just
leave the tank where it is on the metal framework? (i.e., there
would be nothing underneath the heating pad, it would just stick
to the exposed bottom.) <Sounds fine. But do check with the
specific heater: all are different, and the manufacturer will
state best practise for that particular model.> And do I
really need an under tank heater if the overall temperature stays
around 80? <If you live in Caribbean where these crabs come
from, or somewhere else in the tropics, then no, you don't
need a heater. But if you live in the continental United States
or Europe, then yes, a heater is important. The danger with
keeping tropical animals at room temperature is that we don't
appreciate the variations across the year. Even in, say,
California or Italy, the summertime temperatures might be fine,
but in winter once the air temperature drops below 25 C//77 F the
poor crabs become stressed. They are adapted to warm, humid
conditions. Under tank heaters don't cost very much and cost
very little to run. If your home is warm most of the year, then
the heater will be off much of the time anyway. But it'll be
there as a back-up for when it *does* get cold, producing warmth
and humidity, and keeping your crab cozy and active. After all,
these crabs are fun when they're scooting about climbing
stuff and checking out shells. They are incredibly boring when
they are cold, morose, lethargic or sick.> That way the top of
the sand would be warm and the under sand would be cool, like in
nature? (Least it is if I'm remembering my last trip to the
beach correctly, lol.) <In the wild, the soil is actually a
"buffer" used to escape extremes in temperature. When
it gets too hot (e.g., at midday) these crabs will burrow into
the cooler, moist sand. But at other times, for example during
storms or cold snaps, the sand will be a relatively warm and dry
place they can wait out the bad times. Your job is to provide
something as close as possible to the tropics: warm humid air,
substrate for digging into, water for bathing, and a glass lid
over the tank to keep the humidity inside the vivarium.>
Again, thanks for your input. :) <Good luck, Neale.>
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