Housing, Feeding, and Caring for Hermit Crabs
These Little Crustaceans Make Interesting Pets
Sep 21, 2009
Though not the most cuddly pet in the world, hermit crabs are definitely cute. Their inquisitive eyes looking up at you as they clumsily crawl through the sand is enough to make anyone want to take a hermit crab home as a pet. Before you take one home though, you should be aware of how to properly house and feed hermit crabs.
Housing
The shells that hermit crabs carry on their backs are not their own. Hermit crabs are actually more similar to lobsters, and scavenge their shells from dead snails and other sea life. Hermit crabs use these shells to protect their soft bodies from predators. As a hermit crab grows, it will need a shell of a suitable size in which to hide. An extra shell, one that is a little bigger than the one in which the hermit crab is presently residing, must be placed in the enclosure for when the hermit crab is ready to "move."
Hermit crabs prefer sand as a substrate for their home. In nature they come from beaches, and they enjoy burrowing and hiding in sand. Sand purchased from a pet store is best, as it is free from parasites and of the right grain size. Either reptile or aquarium sand can be used for hermit crabs.
Hermit crabs also need hot, humid environments. Temperatures have to be 72º-80º F, so an under tank heater should be used under half the tank. This way, a warm and cool area is created in the tank, which is a must for hermit crabs. Another option is to use a heat lamp, but only if the hermit crab enclosure is glass - if it is plastic, the heat lamp will melt it.
An enclosure for a hermit crab should be 5 to 10 gallons, and include a cover to hold in moisture. A hermit crab enclosure should include one dish of dechlorinated fresh water, and one filled with salt water (use a mix meant for marine fish, not table or aquarium salt). The sand should be sprayed with a mister several times daily (again with dechlorinated water).
Hermit crabs need humidity levels of 75-80% Too much or too little humidity is harmful to hermit crabs. Purchasing a hygrometer, which measures humidity, a must when setting up a habitat for hermit crabs.
Feeding
Hermit crabs are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both plant matter and meat. Dry hermit crab diets provide a balanced diet, but should not contain ethoxyquin or copper sulfate, as these ingredients are harmful. There are also moist diets in the form of cubes. These diets are good to help entice finicky eaters.
Things like apples, lettuce, peanut butter (with no added salt or sugar), and even unseasoned, cooked meat are great treats for hermit crabs, and excellent nutritional supplements as well. Hermit crabs will eat just about any fruit, vegetable, or meat, as long as it is plain and without the sugar, salt, or spices that humans use to flavor food. These additives can be deadly to hermit crabs.
Always remove any uneaten food from the enclosure. Hermit crabs appreciate a clean living space, and left-over food may cause them to go off their diet completely. The self-imposed starvation that a hermit crab may take on to protest its dirty living conditions can end in death.
Despite their name, hermit crabs are actually quite sociable, and appreciate being kept in groups. A group of 2 or 3 hermit crabs will keep you entertained with their antics, as they are more active when more than one is kept in a tank.
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