How to Care for Hermit Crab

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Hermit crabs (also known as hermit crabs) are wonderful pets. Although not cuddly like a puppy, entering the exciting world of hermit crabs, children will learn how to care for a living creature. This article will help you know more about the living conditions and care of this parasitic crab.

Table of Contents

Prepare ‘Crabitat’

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Choose a glass tank of the right size to make “crabitat”. “Crabitat” is the term used to refer to the artificial captivity of parasitic crabs. Tanks with a capacity of 40 or 80 liters are suitable for two to four small crabs. The hermit crab is a social species, so there must be at least one more to interact with it. A suitable home is one that can both retain moisture and circulate air. Aquarium, reptile tank or you can use the old broken water tank on the terrace. In addition, mica lakes or clear plastic containers are also suitable because they retain moisture and heat very well.

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Ensure the necessary humidity for the aquarium. It is recommended to equip hygrometer and thermometer for the tank. They will help you monitor and maintain the best temperature (24-28°C and relative humidity 75-85%). Hermit crabs have scales and breathe through these scales when moistened, if the scales dry out, they will not be able to breathe so the habitat must have a certain humidity of at least 75%. If the humidity is too low, below 70% snails will suffocate and die over weeks and months.

Adding more algae to the tank is a way to increase natural humidity. Moss both helps to retain moisture and serves as food for crabs. You can buy foam sponges because they help retain moisture quite well. But sponges get dirty very quickly, so you should change them every two or three weeks.

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Make sure the temperature is right for the aquarium. Hermit crabs are tropical animals, so they adapt very well in warm environments. Their standard thermal limit is 24-29°C. Heat damage to pets is irreversible, too low a temperature will slow down their metabolism. You should install a heater at the back of the tank to maintain temperature and humidity. If the tank is not designed properly, it can cause the crabs to become lethargic and passive, lose their legs, lose their claws and eventually die.

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Prepare the substrate. Substrate is the layer of material you spread on the tank floor. You should only use sugar pellet size sand because finer sand can get inside the shells as they move and cause unpredictable consequences. Use dechlorinated brine to wet the substrate and form a consistent “sand castle”. You can also use compressed coir (available at aquatic stores). Coir is tilled until it is loose and then sprinkled with salt water to both provide moisture and prevent fungus and mold. Do not use decorative gravel for the aquarium (crabs can’t burrow) and calcium sand (can form hard blocks and cause bad odors). The base layer of the tank should be 3-5 times thicker than the height of the hermit crab and must be an appropriate material so that the crabs can easily burrow and build caves to reduce stress, hide and molt.

Many hermit crabs like to get into the wet moss, even molting in it. ( not Spanish moss or plastic moss – decorative ones!)

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Keep the base layer clean. Dirty substrates can breed harmful molds. You should change the tank floor every 6 months. However, every month we need to check to see if the substrate is infested with mold, ants or mites. If you find something abnormal, you must change the background immediately. You can do “spot cleaning”, that is, simply remove the droppings or leftovers the crab has left on the floor of the tank. The tank should not be cleaned when hermit crabs are in the process of molting (at this time they will burrow into the sand and emerge after completing the “house”). When hermit crabs molt, they become very weak, so do not move them during this stage.

If you want even more perfection, you can sterilize the base sand in the oven. Place the sand in a large skillet (use separate from the cooking pan for hygiene!) and bake in the oven at 120°C for about 2 hours.
Every two to three weeks, boil all shells and shells in the tank with dechlorinated brine to ensure that bacteria and mold do not breed and harm the crabs. Let them cool down before placing them back in the aquarium.

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Buy toys for the crabs. Hermit crabs are “professional mountain climbers”. In fact, in the wild, they often have to climb large rocks that rise up at low tide to find food. Hermit crabs are sometimes called “tree crabs” because on land they can climb trees to eat insects and plants. Do not buy toys that are painted to avoid the case of peeling paint and accidental ingestion by crabs, which will cause damage to the intestines. Some toys you can buy:

Climbing toys are indispensable. Things like apricot logs and stumps are popular, as the apricot wood is non-toxic and has plenty of holes for hermit crabs to cling to. You can place it in the base of the tank, just make sure the crabs can’t climb out that way. In addition to apricot wood there are lego blocks and hemp nets, all of which are available at pet stores.
Natural toys: Rocks and shells. Spreading these easily found things off the beach around the tank will help make your crabitat extremely lively. In addition, hermit crabs can also eat shells. Don’t forget to boil them all to disinfect them before placing them in the crab tank.
Plastic toys: Reptile plants are also suitable for crabs to climb or hide in, but do not forget to close the lid or the crabs will run away and die. Make sure they don’t ingest plastic, if any, remove it as soon as possible.
Never use “split pine” – the kind intended for reptiles because pine contains stimulants that can poison crabs.

Crab Care

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There are many species of hermit crabs you can buy. In the US there are six types of hermit crabs for sale. Most belong to the genus Coenobita. Purple Pinchers are the easiest to keep for beginners because they don’t require too much detail and meticulous care.

The most common variety available is the Caribbean (Coenobita clypeatus) aka “PP”, which stands for “purple pincher”. The reason for this name is because they have purple patches on their bodies and were first found on the Caribbean islands. If you go to a store, chances are the first hermit crab you see is one of these guys. There are also some other varieties such as Rugosus called “Rug” or “Ruggy” (rugosus), Strawberry (perlatus), Ecuadorian or “E” (compressus), Cavipe or “Cav” (cavipes), Komurasaki “Vipa” ” (vipascens), Indonesian or “Indo” (brevimanus).

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Handle them carefully. As a beginner you should be patient with your first hermit crab as it takes a while to adjust to a new home. Leave the crabs in the tank for a few days. When you pass by and the crab is no longer snuggled in its shell, it’s time to pick a nice day and get used to it. Hold the crab in your hand, let it explore on its own and feel comfortable in your hand.

Once hermit crabs are brought home, they will go through a “stressful” period of several days, sometimes even months. During this time you need to change their food and water regularly and avoid disturbing them. Even experienced hermit crab players sometimes can’t help their crabs through that stage, having to watch them fight Post Purchase Stress syndrome (Not used to new places), and die.

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Hermit crabs need to undergo molting and shelling. If your crabs stay in the ground for a few weeks, don’t worry. As long as it doesn’t smell like dead fish… everything is fine. You should not disturb them at this time because they need to be left alone or they will die from stress. Usually after a while when the crab’s body begins to grow, the exoskeleton begins to cramped, hermit crabs need to molt just like a snake sheds its skin. However, do not throw away the old skeleton! They need to eat it again to harden their new exoskeleton.

If one of your hermit crabs is sick, don’t panic. Keep it in an isolated tank with adequate substrate, water and food. If the crab is acting like it’s sick, it may be about to molt. This isolation tank also needs to be designed with the appropriate temperature and humidity as mentioned above.

READ More: How to Grow a Kiwi Tree

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Prepare new shells for crabs. When they get big, there must be a big enough shell. Always have plenty of shells the same size as your crabs scattered throughout the tank. This is very important. Once in a month or so, change other cases with different styles and colors.

Purple Pincher crabs prefer shells with round holes rather than oval holes. As for Ecuadorian hermit crabs, they prefer shells with oval holes because they have a slightly flat belly.
Never buy colored paint shells! Even if the manufacturer says they are safe, the paint can still come off and the crabs will be poisoned if swallowed. Many crabs prefer to choose “natural” shells over artificial ones, even though the natural ones don’t fit them. See the ‘Warnings’ section for more shells to avoid in the aquarium.

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Provide a regular and varied diet. Hermit crabs are called “nature’s laborers” because they eat almost anything. Be careful as some foods contain preservatives and copper sulphate which can harm your crabs. Don’t feed them anything spicy, hot, or with preservatives in it.

Hermit crabs love loin, shrimp, dried shrimp, bloodworms, seafood, etc. You can buy them at your local grocery store or fishing tackle.
If you cook, save them a piece of beef or chicken, not marinated but lightly grilled. Otherwise, hermit crabs can also eat raw meat.
If you have more than twenty crabs, feed them fish heads. Usually, the fishmongers in the market will happily give you some fish heads because they will eventually leave (except for the big fish heads like salmon). Place the hermit crabs in a large tank or plastic container (clean, no lid or lid with HUGE holes), fill with fish heads, add a bowl of water and let sit for a few hours for them to enjoy. You probably don’t want to do this often because the fish smell is very fishy, but on the contrary, the crabs are very interested and they will love you more for it.

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Know what fruits and vegetables the hermit crab likes. Besides meat, hermit crabs also love to eat vegetables, tubers, fruits and other organic waste (because they are the characters who clean up the mess). Remember to change their food every day or at the end of the day because crabs love to bury their leftovers and this will create a mess and cause mold.

Hermit crabs like fresh fruits like pineapple, apple, pear, grape, watermelon, mango, papaya, strawberry, banana, etc. You should wash the fruit before cutting to avoid pesticides.
Especially hermit crabs will go crazy when they see grated coconut rice.
Hermit snails also eat natural peanut butter on toast, hard-boiled eggs, egg shells (boiled), popcorn (plain, no salt, no butter).
Avoid any plants in the Onion family (onions, garlic, etc.)

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Play with them. Most hermit crabs love attention. When they wake up, carefully remove them from the tank. How to play? It’s climbing! Let them crawl all over your shirt while watching TV or have them crawl on both hands (like a treadmill for crabs). It is important that you be careful not to let the hermit crabs fall, and do not leave them out of the tank for too long because the humidity is not suitable. Falling from a height of 1 m can be fatal, it is because of the fear of falling that they may react by clamping you. Keep hermit crabs in a safe position and you won’t get caught.

Remember that crabs really need moisture. Typical indoor humidity is only about 40% and even lower when using air conditioning. When holding a crab in low humidity, it will feel similar to what we feel when we hold our breath for too long.

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Be careful as hermit crabs can clamp. Aside from defending themselves, they can clamp for no reason, so be on the defensive. When clamped, do not try to release them by misting them or placing them under running water as this will make the grip stronger. Always be careful when handling the hermit crab. You can reduce clamping by extending your hand straight and taut so that the crab doesn’t have (much) skin to grip.

Advice

Do not make noise or make loud noises when holding the crab as that can stress it out.
Adopting or buying crabs looks lively, not sluggish. Such animals can often get sick. However, some crabs are just stressed or shy at first, not necessarily sick.
If you smell a strange smell like dead fish, it could be a dead crab. But before you search, think about the cause. Have you been feeding them raw seafood lately? Sometimes up to a month later the food is still somewhere in the tank. Hermit crabs love to bury their food. That’s why you need to change the tank bed once a month or so (unless it’s around the time the crabs are molting).
If a hermit crab grabs you, it doesn’t mean it hates you, it simply is afraid of falling or is hungry. Put it back and wait for a while then pick it up and remember not to shake your hand or it will scare the crab and clamp it harder. Make sure it has plenty of food in the tank. Don’t punish these little guys if they get caught because they just follow their instincts and don’t understand what they’re doing.
Hermit crabs cannot breed in captivity. They need a tropical and oceanic climate to breed. So unless you have a giant tank designed specifically for this purpose, don’t expect to see a baby hermit crab.
Don’t feed your hermit crabs if you’re about to get in the car for a long ride. Motion sickness can kill them.
If your child has a hermit crab, instruct them to wear gloves if they are afraid of being caught.
If you hold a crab, keep your hand above the table, this will help the crab friend to be less afraid and not pinch you.
Dip the crab in water for 1 minute then drain it for 5 minutes if you want it to be cleaner.
If you see that the crab is starting to become less active and its eyes turn white, it means that it is about to molt. Put it in a separate tank but in a good location and you need to mist it with distilled water. Wait about a day or two and our pet will be fine… But remember to absolutely not blow or touch it. New skin is very sensitive so don’t mess with it until its color is back to normal. This process takes about a month.

Warning

If you’re considering decorating your tank with rotting wood, “furniture” or wooden items, consider carefully. Quite a few types of wood and plants are poisonous to crabs, such as Lucky Bamboo and evergreens.
Hermit crab. Because they are crabs, they can make a powerful, painful grip. Always keep an eye on the kids when they hold a crab!
Do not drop the crab as it may get injured or die.
If the local pest control team comes to your home periodically to spray, don’t let the crabs get sprayed. Take them to another room for a few days and insert towels under the door to block out the scent. Although they are not bugs or insects, they are also close enough relatives to be affected more or less so be careful.
Do not use soap to clean the tank and toys! After removing all the crabs and sand, you can use white vinegar to both spray and scrub. Boil toys, shells (empty) and apricot wood in salted water (to prevent mildew) and place them on a towel to drain.

Things you need

Glass or plastic tanks.
Tank cover (glass or plastic).
Two plates of water.
Spring water and salt water (don’t “mix” salt water with table salt and tap water as the chlorine can be harmful to hermit crabs so if you can, add a few drops of water neutralizing solution.
The water dish is big enough for the crabs to be submerged in, but not too deep because small crabs can drown (you can use seashells to hold water for small crabs).
Shelter for crabs to have space to be alone (you can cut a door shape on a coconut shell and then turn it upside down or bury half a flower pot in the sand and make a bridge for the crabs to climb in).
Spare shells, at least 3 (one smaller, one almost equal and one slightly larger than the used crab shell). Do not use paint pods as, as mentioned, it will be harmful to crabs if the paint chips are swallowed.
Substrate (at least 5 cm thick).
White vinegar (for tank cleaning) (optional).
Fresh food (canned food can harm the resistance of crabs).
Something to climb (like apricot wood or some small bridge).
Manure shovel (plastic spoon can be used).
Toys (purchased at a veterinarian or pet store).
Gloves (just in case they clamp! Be careful with their claws).
Thermometer and hygrometer (used to measure temperature and humidity).
Tank heater (if the temperature in your home is lower than 23°C).

Steps

Prepare ‘Crabitat’

Crab Care

Advice

Warning

Things you need

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