I've got Crabs!
Meet (from left to right) Verde, Rouge, and Peewee ( Anna Nicole is not shown becasue at time of pictures she was molting)
Hermit Crabs are my newest project. I have never been able to keep a living thing alive in my care, and when I saw these ugly little crabs in a mall kiosk one afternoon I knew there would be no way I could kill them. They had shells on their backs and one covering their entire body, so there is no way for me to harm them right? Wrong. Turns out, after I did some research, hermit crabs need a particular environment, diet, and exercise in order to live. I got all freaked out until I did more research and now I have things under control and the hermits and I are getting along just fine. Here is some information on crab care that I have collected in my research.
Habitat
Hermits come from the ocean so that is the type of environment they need in order to live. Humidity, warmth, and water are the three most important elements needed in a crabs habitat. So if you were to go out and buy the tools needed to create a good habitat (affectionately called a crabitat in the hermit crab online world), you would need to buy a humidity gauge, a thermometer, and probably a heating pad to start with. The humidity should always be around 75 relative and the temperature should be around 70-80 Fahrenheit. I have included a list of other items needed in order to construct your own perfect crabitat.
- Container- Either a critter carrier (for temporary housing only or as an isolation unit) or preferably a glass 10-20 gallon aquarium, you will also need a lid of some sort to trap humidity in.
- Substrate- This is the stuff at the bottom of the tank that the crabs will be spending all of their time walking, playing, and burrowering under. The most commonly used substrates are gravel and/or sand, dirt should never be used. Gravel can be pretty for you but too ruff on the crabs underside, plus they can not dig in it which is very important for them to do. Sand is the best way to go and can be bought cheaply at a hardware store or you can buy the expensive calci-sand (which is what I have, I could never find play sand) that is pure calcium, something they need a lot of.
- Heating/water- to create the right humidity and temperature level, you will most likely need to buy a tank heater. Under tank heaters are most populare and work wonderful because you can heat just a part of the tank and leave another part cooler in case the crabs get too hot. Also, a heavy water dish that is not too deep to drown the smallest crab but large enough for them to get into it to suck up water is needed. You will also need to buy a sponge because this is how they drink their water and it helps to pump humidity into the tank. You must give them water that is good enough for a tropicl fish to live in, so you might have to buy a decholrinating solution.
- Toys- Hermits need to be able to climb, explore, and hide when they want too. So it is important for you to provide pieces of cholla wood (they can eat this too) or climbing toys for them to run up and down. Also, a hermit hut or some kind of covered area that they can run into and hide is also needed. Extra sea shells are a must, they can play with them and they also may want to switch their shell for a new one so having extra shells in the tank is a good idea.
- Food- Crabs are scavengers so they will eat just about anything you give them. Table salt and too much sugar are big no no's, but besides that, you can feed them anything you like. Experiment with different food combinations but keep in mind that they need calcium and the best food to go with is premade crab food at a pet store. You can give them treats like popcorn or fruits whenever you like.
Behavior
Hermes (as they are also affectionately called by their owners) are very social creatures, despite their misleading names. They live in the wild in packs up to 100 and if you are goign to buy hermits never buy just one. Having a medium sized group of crabs is best, around 3-8, depending on how big each one is. The following are some suggestions on how to make your crabs happy and active, plus some interesting information.- Exercise- crabs walk hundreds of miles each night in the wild looking for food, so handle yours, put them in the tub with a towel to climb on, or get them a gerbil ball to run around in so they get enough exercise.
- Water- crabs must have a bath one to two times a week, dunk them in all the way and give them a few minutes to play around, leave shells in there with them so they have something to climb onto. They are very active after baths and many switch shells at this point.
- Tricks- Hermes can come to their name when trained with treats and patience. They can also learn to eat out of your hand and can recognize you buy your hand and your voice.
- Crabs can get mean with each other, especially over shells, so make sure you keep an eye on how your crabs interact with one another and that you have plenty of shells for everyone in their crabitat.