hermit crabs?
- Thread starter mrose_s
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The only things I know about hermit crabs is they don't need much room so a 5or 10 gallon tank should be sufficient. I also know that they do not drink standing water. They will suck water out of a spounge. They have special spounges in the pet shops or you can use any one that does not have any soap or chemicals in it. Oh yea, and they're very quiet. 
I used to have them all the time when I was little. Really no bedding and they had their sponges. Also you want to provide a bunch of different size shells because when they grow they obviousely need bigger shells. I don't remember what I fed them...Hermit Crab food. They are really boring lol but pretty if you get cool shells. And of course it hurts like a bitch when they pinch you.
Yep, had plenty of hermit crabs as a kid. Very easy to keep--most pet shops sell a hermit crab flake type food--they don't each much---If you don't by the prepared food I think they will also pick at cereal, bit of fruit and veggies, lettuce etc. A small plastic or glass tank is fine, --of course depends on the sized of the crab---they can vary a lot with shells the size of a large coin to crabs as big as tennis balls. As mentioned above, you defintely need to have slightly larger shells for the crab to change into.
They pretty much have no smell and just occasionally wipe out the cage and accessories. We use to get theses plastic bottomed wire mesh cages they sold at the store because some crabs love to climb up and down the wire. Word of advice---pick the crab that is very active and does not hide in its shell when you approach---they can be a bit "boring" and its much worse if you get one that is so shy you never even get to see it move LOL!
They, in my opinion are one of the easy pets to keep and some live quite a few years--but like fish, some can die pretty quickly. Good luck!
They pretty much have no smell and just occasionally wipe out the cage and accessories. We use to get theses plastic bottomed wire mesh cages they sold at the store because some crabs love to climb up and down the wire. Word of advice---pick the crab that is very active and does not hide in its shell when you approach---they can be a bit "boring" and its much worse if you get one that is so shy you never even get to see it move LOL!
They, in my opinion are one of the easy pets to keep and some live quite a few years--but like fish, some can die pretty quickly. Good luck!
awesome. yeah kase, i got fish about 2 months ago. i'm not "bored" of them. i'm in love with them. and i'm not talking about using their fish.
i dunno if i'll even get any, just something i've been thinking about since ebfore i got my fih so though ti'd ask around to see what they're like as pets, thanks
and i'm not talking about using their fish.i dunno if i'll even get any, just something i've been thinking about since ebfore i got my fih so though ti'd ask around to see what they're like as pets, thanks
I owned them for a while....unsuccessfully. I thought there was a lot to it but that's just me. Once a week they got a bath in dechlorinated water. They ate FMR hermit crab food. They need a shallow water bowl with a sponge in it. the bedding should be sand though you can use gravel i find the sand much more natural and easier for them to burrow in. I'd say get at least two since they live in groups in the wild. For two a ten gallon will be fine.
Shells are VERY important! My first crab died because the other one did not like his shell selection and thought the other crabs shell was nice so she ripped her in half to get her shell, it was VERY, VERY sad So get two or three shells per crab to switch into (unless the crabs are the same size, then just get like four for them to choose from).
When you first get them a bath is in order, especially if they are from a pet store. Put them in the luke warm water, completely submerged and on their back. When the crab comes out to flip him self over a surge of water will go into his shell and wash out every thing in it. He might have mites from the store. He will also have never had a bath so will probably have food in his shell. Don't make the bathes too long, just enough to get the shell's inside nice and clean.
The most stressful thing of crab owning is molting. If you get multiple crabs you will need a small ISO (isolation) tank. The molting crab will bury himself, if he does not emerge in a couple of days you need to very GENTLY dig him up. Don't be alarmed if it appears he falls out of his shell. As long as the long twisted body does not fall out it means that it is just the exoskeleton. Place it in the ISO with him so he can eat it for Calcium. Place him in the ISO tank (which should have deep, moist sand) and he will bury himself again. The ISO tank should be simple with just some water and a small amount of food and LOTS of new shells, slightly larger than what he is in now. Spray where he buries himself daily. the ISO tank is needed so that the other crabs so not eat him (the smell of a molting crab is yummy I guess). After they emerge after molting their exoskeleton they will be a light pink and will be VERY delicate. DO NOT pick them up and make sure they stay in the ISO tank. At this time they will need Calcium to rebuild the exoskeleton. I liked to crush up egg shells and add it to the food, but you should probably buy a supplement for them. Once they regain their color and seem to have hard skin again you can put them back in their normal tank. if he did not change shells in the ISO then you should expect him to soon unless his shell was a bit large in the first place. Molting is the only way they can grow. The smaller the crab the more they molt. This is when most crabs die (especially smaller ones).
The tank needs a heating pad as well and should be misted daily to keep the moisture up. you should have a humidity gauge and thermometer.
I take my hermit crab keeping seriously and I loved giving bathes to them. I wish I had kept with it, they were much more fun than my Leopard Gecko.
i have only been pinched once (by Cleo ). i try to get friendly ones at the store. I pick him up and place him in the palm of my hand. He should come out soon or I blow gently on him until he comes out. He should walk on my hand and if he gets spooked and goes back into his shell he should recover and come back out quickly.
Mine loved raisins as a treat and also the egg shell regularly.
Remember they LOVE to climb and should have lots of stuff to climb on (be careful they are escape artists. mine got away once, we found him in the kitchen up on a shelf).
I have no idea why mine all died so fast. maybe the Brita did not dechlorinate their water or something.
also boil their spare shells when you get some so that their is nothing dangerous in them.
and just so you know a dead crab smells like a dead fish. I would always stick a piece of paper in the big pincher and see if he grabbed. if not it usually means they are dead.
FYI they use the smaller pincher to eat, it's very cute to watch (especially the raisins).
I think they are awesome fun if you do more then just put it in the cage and watch. they are nocturnal though and benefit from a red light at night, plus that means you can watch them get active right before bed. they may talk to each other at night with a high pitched chirp, mine usually do it when we first get them.
here is my favorite website on them. read through everything! (go to the bottom where is says behavior and aggression, food and feeding and all that other stuff). I hope you get some!
Shells are VERY important! My first crab died because the other one did not like his shell selection and thought the other crabs shell was nice so she ripped her in half to get her shell, it was VERY, VERY sad
So get two or three shells per crab to switch into (unless the crabs are the same size, then just get like four for them to choose from). When you first get them a bath is in order, especially if they are from a pet store. Put them in the luke warm water, completely submerged and on their back. When the crab comes out to flip him self over a surge of water will go into his shell and wash out every thing in it. He might have mites from the store. He will also have never had a bath so will probably have food in his shell. Don't make the bathes too long, just enough to get the shell's inside nice and clean.
The most stressful thing of crab owning is molting. If you get multiple crabs you will need a small ISO (isolation) tank. The molting crab will bury himself, if he does not emerge in a couple of days you need to very GENTLY dig him up. Don't be alarmed if it appears he falls out of his shell. As long as the long twisted body does not fall out it means that it is just the exoskeleton. Place it in the ISO with him so he can eat it for Calcium. Place him in the ISO tank (which should have deep, moist sand) and he will bury himself again. The ISO tank should be simple with just some water and a small amount of food and LOTS of new shells, slightly larger than what he is in now. Spray where he buries himself daily. the ISO tank is needed so that the other crabs so not eat him (the smell of a molting crab is yummy I guess). After they emerge after molting their exoskeleton they will be a light pink and will be VERY delicate. DO NOT pick them up and make sure they stay in the ISO tank. At this time they will need Calcium to rebuild the exoskeleton. I liked to crush up egg shells and add it to the food, but you should probably buy a supplement for them. Once they regain their color and seem to have hard skin again you can put them back in their normal tank. if he did not change shells in the ISO then you should expect him to soon unless his shell was a bit large in the first place. Molting is the only way they can grow. The smaller the crab the more they molt. This is when most crabs die (especially smaller ones).
The tank needs a heating pad as well and should be misted daily to keep the moisture up. you should have a humidity gauge and thermometer.
I take my hermit crab keeping seriously and I loved giving bathes to them. I wish I had kept with it, they were much more fun than my Leopard Gecko.
i have only been pinched once (by Cleo
). i try to get friendly ones at the store. I pick him up and place him in the palm of my hand. He should come out soon or I blow gently on him until he comes out. He should walk on my hand and if he gets spooked and goes back into his shell he should recover and come back out quickly.Mine loved raisins as a treat and also the egg shell regularly.
Remember they LOVE to climb and should have lots of stuff to climb on (be careful they are escape artists. mine got away once, we found him in the kitchen up on a shelf).
I have no idea why mine all died so fast. maybe the Brita did not dechlorinate their water or something.
also boil their spare shells when you get some so that their is nothing dangerous in them.
and just so you know a dead crab smells like a dead fish. I would always stick a piece of paper in the big pincher and see if he grabbed. if not it usually means they are dead.
FYI they use the smaller pincher to eat, it's very cute to watch (especially the raisins).
I think they are awesome fun if you do more then just put it in the cage and watch. they are nocturnal though and benefit from a red light at night, plus that means you can watch them get active right before bed. they may talk to each other at night with a high pitched chirp, mine usually do it when we first get them.
here is my favorite website on them. read through everything! (go to the bottom where is says behavior and aggression, food and feeding and all that other stuff). I hope you get some!
Wow Maxy24--I had no idea! I live in a seashore resort area and they are popular thing to sell in novelty and gift shops. I mostly had them as a kid and read the basic info provided by the store---but I never had any idea about the details you mention! How long did your crabs live? I'm having a hard time remembering how long mine did....thank goodness I never had one crab tear apart another--that would have been awful! And I agree--one of my favorite things to watch them do was eat and drink. Well, if I ever get them again I will have to do lots of research! Thanks for all the info
Yup, I really got into it. I think doing all that stuff makes it much more fun!
My longest living one almost made it to a year. I don't get why I could not keep them going. My first two were sandy and penny. Penny killed sandy for he bright pink shell while I was sleeping at my friends house. Then I got Clay who must have been sick when I got him. He started circling the tank borders for all day and night and was dead when I came home from school the next day. I don't remember how Penny died. Cleo I think was my longest living one, she was also the largest (not that large though maybe golf ball size). I was giving her a bath and she went naked in the bowl. I put her in a plastic container with all the shells I could find and she did choose one. The next day she was not in it any more and I could not get her back in. She eventually died. I did have some others who's names I can't remember. My cousin's crab ended up with me, this one was Jackie. She lived a while but was dead one day. Another crab died during a molt.
I did a lot of things wrong though. I used pebbles instead of sand, I did not have a thermometer, the cage was too small (just a plastic thing less than two gallons), I had no humidity guage, There were not enough things to climb on and I used the Brita (I don't know if that dechlornates water I just assumed it did). Chlorine causes blisters to form on their gills so they cannot breath. Bathes keep the gills moist so they can breath but the blisters kill them. I should use bottled water or should boil it and wait for it to cool.
If I got them again I would make sure I did everything right. I could have some in College too. Once I get a job I will get some.
I hate when i see them being sold in gift shops in little metal cages. they don't hold substrate or humidity. It's great for a crab toy to climb but they should not live in them.
The tearing apart was horrible!! I came home and there were legs every where. I saw Pennies empty shell and was looking around for her in the tank. I saw the legs and then lifted up Sandy to find Penny inside. Sand was ripped apart in the corner. I cried simply because it was so bruttle. That is why you should NEVER try to pull a hermit out of his shell, they will hold on until you rip them in half.
I hope I can get some I really like them, I hope you get some too!
My longest living one almost made it to a year. I don't get why I could not keep them going. My first two were sandy and penny. Penny killed sandy for he bright pink shell while I was sleeping at my friends house. Then I got Clay who must have been sick when I got him. He started circling the tank borders for all day and night and was dead when I came home from school the next day. I don't remember how Penny died. Cleo I think was my longest living one, she was also the largest (not that large though maybe golf ball size). I was giving her a bath and she went naked in the bowl. I put her in a plastic container with all the shells I could find and she did choose one. The next day she was not in it any more and I could not get her back in. She eventually died. I did have some others who's names I can't remember. My cousin's crab ended up with me, this one was Jackie. She lived a while but was dead one day. Another crab died during a molt.
I did a lot of things wrong though. I used pebbles instead of sand, I did not have a thermometer, the cage was too small (just a plastic thing less than two gallons), I had no humidity guage, There were not enough things to climb on and I used the Brita (I don't know if that dechlornates water I just assumed it did). Chlorine causes blisters to form on their gills so they cannot breath. Bathes keep the gills moist so they can breath but the blisters kill them. I should use bottled water or should boil it and wait for it to cool.
If I got them again I would make sure I did everything right. I could have some in College too. Once I get a job I will get some.
I hate when i see them being sold in gift shops in little metal cages. they don't hold substrate or humidity. It's great for a crab toy to climb but they should not live in them.
The tearing apart was horrible!! I came home and there were legs every where. I saw Pennies empty shell and was looking around for her in the tank. I saw the legs and then lifted up Sandy to find Penny inside. Sand was ripped apart in the corner. I cried simply because it was so bruttle. That is why you should NEVER try to pull a hermit out of his shell, they will hold on until you rip them in half.
I hope I can get some I really like them, I hope you get some too!
Hmm---I think my crabs lived at least a year--maybe a bit more---the longest lived crab was also my biggest-- he was huge--a little smaller than a tennis ball. I had him in college. He lived in a plastic tank. I never knew about the humidity stuff or bathing--very interesting. Now I'd be curious to get some just to see how long I could keep them alive if I researched all the proper conditions etc--I'd be curious if it would make a difference from the ones when I was younger...Also could you post that link you mentioned again--I can't find it in your post for some reason. Thanks!
Yeah, I think the bigger ones are much easier to care for and have live. I always wanted the smallest one I could find so that I got a baby, i will never do that again.
I must have forgotten to post the link I hate when i do that. here it is http://hermit-crabs.com/
I must have forgotten to post the link
I hate when i do that. here it is http://hermit-crabs.com/
who maxy thankyou!
thats great info. i think i'll put it off for a while and slowly collect things over time and make up the tank before i get any crabs.
a couple of questions
where do you get a heating mat? and where do you put it?
how deep shoudl the sand be?
where do you find the thermometres and humidity monitors?
can you buy new shells?
...what can i use as a red light that won't be too bringht to sleep?
thats great info. i think i'll put it off for a while and slowly collect things over time and make up the tank before i get any crabs.
a couple of questions
where do you get a heating mat? and where do you put it?
how deep shoudl the sand be?
where do you find the thermometres and humidity monitors?
can you buy new shells?
...what can i use as a red light that won't be too bringht to sleep?
where do you get a heating mat? and where do you put it?
They sell them at pet stores. You put them on the underside of the tank, in the center. Like this one http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=2740&Nav=1&Ntt=heating+pad&N=30+27&sku=95281&familyID=6353&
how deep shoudl the sand be?
about 1 1/2 to 2 times deeper than your largest crab, so basically enough so he can cover himself completely.
where do you find the thermometres and humidity monitors?
I found it all at petco, just go to your local pet store. here is a thermometer
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...heating+pad&N=30+27&sku=690490&familyID=9425&
and humidity guage
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=5940&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=humidity+guage&sku=690503&familyID=9424&
can you buy new shells?
yup I get mine at pet stores. You can also get ones from the beach but make sure to wash them very well! Rinse well then boil for a while. and make sure no one is living inside before you bring the shell home. Also make sure the inside is not oddly shaped or has cuts in it. Any shell (even from the store) with a hole in it cannot be used. They do not hold moisture properly.the ones at the stores are painted most of the time. They have natural looking ones too
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...shell&In=Reptile&previousText=shell&N=2023694
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...shell&In=Reptile&previousText=shell&N=2023694
...what can i use as a red light that won't be too bringht to sleep?
My lights were zoo med like this except in red http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...N=30+27&cp=2&Nao=12&sku=474576&familyID=4969&
there are also these
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...ing+pad&cp=2&Nao=12&sku=542822&familyID=7140&
They were not bright at all!
I noticed you are in Australia. Just look for this stuff in any store that sells reptiles.
They sell them at pet stores. You put them on the underside of the tank, in the center. Like this one http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=2740&Nav=1&Ntt=heating+pad&N=30+27&sku=95281&familyID=6353&
how deep shoudl the sand be?
about 1 1/2 to 2 times deeper than your largest crab, so basically enough so he can cover himself completely.
where do you find the thermometres and humidity monitors?
I found it all at petco, just go to your local pet store. here is a thermometer
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...heating+pad&N=30+27&sku=690490&familyID=9425&
and humidity guage
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=5940&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=humidity+guage&sku=690503&familyID=9424&
can you buy new shells?
yup I get mine at pet stores. You can also get ones from the beach but make sure to wash them very well! Rinse well then boil for a while. and make sure no one is living inside before you bring the shell home. Also make sure the inside is not oddly shaped or has cuts in it. Any shell (even from the store) with a hole in it cannot be used. They do not hold moisture properly.the ones at the stores are painted most of the time. They have natural looking ones too
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...shell&In=Reptile&previousText=shell&N=2023694
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...shell&In=Reptile&previousText=shell&N=2023694
...what can i use as a red light that won't be too bringht to sleep?
My lights were zoo med like this except in red http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...N=30+27&cp=2&Nao=12&sku=474576&familyID=4969&
there are also these
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.a...ing+pad&cp=2&Nao=12&sku=542822&familyID=7140&
They were not bright at all!
I noticed you are in Australia. Just look for this stuff in any store that sells reptiles.
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Excellent advice. I should post a pic of my hermies .
Just wanted to add that not all are compatible. Ecuadorion are from the seaside and prefer to live in big groups. Infact, they need to live in big groups or else they get depressed and less active. Whereas the Caribean crab is the one on the inland. This crab can be more aggressive and needs a bigger enclosure so as to minimize levels of aggression.
Remember to provide a LOT of shells as well. This will decrease the chances of getting a crab who rips another for his shell.
And a 5g is out of the question! These guys can get softball sized! 10g, SMALLEST, preferably larger when older as they are active little things.
Best of luck,
~Tucker
.Just wanted to add that not all are compatible. Ecuadorion are from the seaside and prefer to live in big groups. Infact, they need to live in big groups or else they get depressed and less active. Whereas the Caribean crab is the one on the inland. This crab can be more aggressive and needs a bigger enclosure so as to minimize levels of aggression.
Remember to provide a LOT of shells as well. This will decrease the chances of getting a crab who rips another for his shell.
And a 5g is out of the question! These guys can get softball sized! 10g, SMALLEST, preferably larger when older as they are active little things.
Best of luck,
~Tucker