hemit crab ?

Question

ok now do hermit crabs have ears and is it possible to train them? is it ok if it eats bananas and wheat bread? how long do they live? i only have 1 hermit crab is she loney? also i dont want 2 cause the last time i put 2 in the same tank they killed each other!!! help i need losts of help!

Answer 1

Individuals who work in pet stores are well known for not knowing how to properly take care of a land hermit crab,, that is why I have a rescue because there are so many out there mis-informed and suffering. We have studied and researched all about land hermit crabs for 15 years. Hermit Crabs are NTO called that because they live alone.. TOTALLY false they live IN LARGE COLONIES OF 100 or more. They are named hermits becasue of the shell home they keep on their backs.

Hermit Crabs Do not have ears they "hear" via vibrations and pressure changes.
I suppose you can train them but not to sit, beg and stuff like that.. you can get them used to you and your life patterns so they are easire to handle and take out.
Bannanas are a wonderful treat but not full time food you need to offer a varied diet...
ood:

Provide a nice selection of fresh and dried foods
daily. Fresh foods can stay for 24 hours or less only
because of mold and spoilage. Dried foods can stay for 2
or 3 days as long as you monitor it carefully.

Rotate food selection so that you crabs do not get
bored and live a more natural scavenger type life.

Whether you have decided to suppliment your crabs diet
with a more natural one.. or have decided to forgo the
use of Commercial foods all together.. here is a quick
and simple list of easy to find Hermit Crab Friendly
foods...
(Make sure everything is of good quality, human grade
where possible, organic and all natural with no added
ingredients, preservatives, fertilizers or pesticides.)

Alfalfa (fresh and dried)

Almonds

Apples (fresh and dried)

Avocado

Banana (fresh and dried)

Barley

Beef

Bell Peppers

Blackberries

Bloodworms

Blue berries

Bok Choy

Broccoli

Brown Rice

Cantelope

Carrots (fresh, cooked and tops too)
Celery leaves

Total, Cheerios or Kashi

Cereal

Calendula Flowers

Chamomlie Flowers

Chicken (cooked and

raw)

Cholla Wood

Cilantro (fresh and dried)

Clams

Clover (flowers and

leaves)

Coconut (fresh and dried)

Collards

Cork Bark

Corn

Crickets

Cucumber

Cuttlefish Bone

Dandelions (all parts)

Dried Kelp and Sea Weed

Dulse and Dulse Flakes

Egg (cooked)

Egg shells

Feeder goldfish

Fish Flakes

Flax seeds and meal

Garbanzos

Grape Leaves and Grape
Vine

Grapes

Grasshoppers

Hibiscus Flowers

Honey (natural and Organic)

Kaytee Healthy Topping

Mango (fresh and dried)

Mealy Worms

Milk Thistle (flowers)

Oak Leaves (dried and

crumbled)

Ocean Plankton

Peanutbutter (unsweetened,

unsalted and organic)

Pears

Popcorn (unsalted and

unbuttered, plain air
popped)

Raisins (unsweetened,

organic)

Rose (petals, buds, hips,dried

or fresh)

Red Raspberry (leaves and

fruit)

Sea weeds Dried

Silversides (smelly fish)

Salmon

Spinach

Sunflower seeds (unsalted)

Shrimp (dried, raw, cooked,

all parts, skins too)

Spirulina (powder, disks etc)

Sweet Potato

Tuna

Wax Worms

Whole oats (rolled, non

instant oatmeal)

They live 30 years plus if you take good care of them.. in the wild they live even longer.
You really do need to get MORE than just one crab.. in the wild they live in colonies of 100 or more and to keep one by it's self is not good. If there were agressions before it could have been a few things.. one.. you may not have had enough extra shells in the tank for them, shell fights can get bad at times. Also they need to be the right size and type selection for everyone to be happy. Also when a crab is about ready to molt they can become agressive OR very lethargic and another crab may decide to attack it.. one this to do is an aggression diet that we have used many times with new rescues who come in with this same problem..
AGGRESSION PREVENTION:

Take all of the high protein items that you have and

offer them in a mix...

Freeze dried Krill, blood worms, crickets, tubifex worms,
plankton and mealy worms, grind to almost powder form.



Take one or two feeder gold fish and cut it up and place on
top of the protein dish.

Any aggresive or crabby crab will thank you for this high protien fresh kill
dinner, it is sure to calm the most angry of Land Hermit Crabs.

Other tips and info...

Land Hermit Crabs, breathe through modified gills therfore they must have the proper humidty in order to breathe as well as the proper temperatre in order to thrive.
You need to monitor all of the tank conditions. One for the temp and one for the humidity will get you started. Keep them as close to substrate level as possible since that is where the crabs are most of the time.
76 - 80 degrees and everyone will be fine. Do not allow the Hermit Crabs to get cold for long periods or they can die. Humidity ranges should be around 76-80% relative, sustained.
With in these levels your crabs and their home will be a happy and active one. If it gets too warm, you can always prop up the lid, same if the humidity gets too high, prop the lid up.To add moisture/humidity add an extra moist sponge or even a bubbler in their water
Water basics:
Use only de-chlorinated or bottled water for everything Hermit Crabs related. The chemicals in tap water (chlorine and heavy metals are toxic to Hermit Crabs also will burn their modified gills.)
You can treat tap water by using a water conditioner for fish, make sure their drinking water doesn't have stress-coat in it though.
Land Hermit Crabs must have both fresh and salt water for drinking. The salt should be obtained from a good aquarium store or pet department, reading the directions carefully.
The fresh water should be de-chlorinated as well. Both dishes should be deep enough for your largest Hermit Crab to fully submerse it's self, while at the same time provide items like shells, smooth stones for your smaller crabs to use to get in and out of the water. One or both water sources can have bubblers or sponges, it is up to you.
Housing:
Glass tank with lid (aquarium with glass lid is best) Can use a quality Kritter Keeper with saran wrap over the lid.
Substrate:
Options include... Calci-Sand, Sterilized playsand, Aragonite Sand, Moist coco-fiber bedding, Crushed coral.
You can mix and match, have seperate areas and containers, it is up to you. Remember there needs to be enough substrate to fully cover the "floor" or the tank. Deep enough for your largest crab to fully submerse or cover it's self. The substrate also needs to be pretty smooth, meaning little to no jaged edges to scrape or injure the Hermit Crabs Exoskeleton prior to, during and after molting.
It also must be insect and chemical free. Human or animal grade not the kind that is used for construction or masonry.


I envite you to brouse our rescue site which is full of all of the info you will need to get started I have posted a link to our rescue forums as well.
OUR RESCUE SITE AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES>> www.geocities.com/hermitcrab_rescue/
OUR FORUMS>>http://crabrescue.proboards102.com/index.cgi

Answer 2

Hermit crabs are not very trainable, if you could train them then you would have to handle them to much because it would cause too much stress. Bananas are ok, but I don't think wheat bread is ok. They live about 30 years in captivity when given teh proper care. YES your hermit crabs will get lonely, she may die of it. The reason they killed each other is either because there was not enough space in the cage or because there were not enough extra shells offered (there needs to be at least 3 extra shells per crab).

Some more info about hermit crabs:
They breathe through modified gills & will DIE if not given humidity 70-85%! The temperatures should be 70-80 degrees F. If temp gets too high or too low, it could lead to a slow & painful death. If you have your pet in a wire cage, or a small plastic box with a plastic lid, or anythin other thatn a glass aquarium w/ a lid that hold in humidity, you need to get an aquarium. Hermit crabs need to have at least 3-4 inches of substrate to bury themselves in & molt (shed their exo skeleton).

For more hermit crab info check out: www.hermit-crabs.com. For more info about what to feed your hermit crab go to www.epicureanhermit.com.

Answer 3

I used to work in a pet store, and this is what I know about your questions.

I do not believe that hermit crabs have ears like we do. I am fairly sure they sense sound by the vibration similar to other invertebrates. I have never heard of anyone training one.

As far as food, they are scavengers, so they eat most anything, but I would try and get some protein in their diet. Most pet stores that sell hermit crabs also sell food for them.

Hermit crabs are solitary creatures (hence the hermit). I've seen multiple crabs kept together successfully before, but I don't believe it is required.

Answer 4

Hermit crabs are humorous creatures. I easily have 11 of them and theyve been alive for years. at the same time as they molt it ought to look as if their useless at the same time as u %. him up because a "body" will fall out. i became rather wondered at the same time as one in each of ours malted because it became in simple terms his dermis. the most proper element to do at the same time as they molt is to depart them on my own, because their new dermis will be rather uncooked. they prefer to pop out at evening and its very generic to be buried contained in the sand. He ought to no longer be molting in any respect today. in simple terms verify he has shells somewhat larger than the single he's utilising, because they do advance, and if he doesnt bypass shells he would die if he receives too small for that one. So good success!! be careful because they'll pinch!!

Answer 5

There's only one thing to do to find these questons out... GET NAKED!!!