Does anyone know what is a fool proof way to look after hermit crabs?

Question

I had a shocking discovery today, one of my hermit crabs Gypsy was belly up in her food bowl, out of her shell and quite er, dead. These lil things are quite hard to look afta! Does anyone out there actually own any hermit crabs and can tell me some good tips, such as food they will actually eat, best way to kep their tank, and what water should i have in there? fresh or salt or both? Poor Nomad is all alone in the tank, and I dont want him to be the next one to go!

Answer 1

We have had hermit crabs for over 15 years now, our eldest guy has been with us for those 15 years. THey are quite easy to take care of once you know the basics. Let me begin by dispelling some bad advice gien here and then I will conclue with 2 sites that will help you out emensly.

First do not ever give your hermit crabs tap water! The chemicals and chlorine in most tap waters and heavy metals that can be found in well water is toxic to your crabs.

They do not drink from a sponge, that is the biggest myth around. The sponges are used to disperse the humidtiy into the tank air, land hermit crabs drink the water by scooping it up on their small pincher and by subsering themselves into the water.

Deep water is fine and in fact reccomended! You must provide both fresh de-chlorinated water and oceanic or marine salt de-chlorinated waters in pools deep enough that your largest crab can fully submerse it;s self into the water. They need this to flush their shells from waste, sand and other debris and to replenish and refresh their shell water for breathing. Plus the larger pools eliminate the need to mist therefor ending the risk of mold, mildew and bacterial infections or what we call shell infections.


Do not give them baths, with large pools there is no need. Baths give them stress and does more harm then good.

Commercial crab food is terrible for them, it is filled with chemicals and pesticides. Feed them fresh fruits, veggies, meats and fish.

Do not feed them junk food like sweetened cereals or salty snacks!!!

Table salt will kill them and sugar will as well, there are anti-caking agents in our processed pourable dry goods that are toxic to land hermit crabs.

You must provide at least 4 shells per crab extra of the correct type, shape, size and opening shape and size. Measuring the big pincher against the shell opening is key.

They must have the salt water in their tank.

One crab by it's self will not thrive, become lethargic and eventually die before it's time. Ours are over 5 years old except for our newest rescues.

You can mix the size of crabs in one tank, and the more the merrier because in the wild (they are still wild by the way) they live in coloonies of 100 and more, so keeping one is cruel.

I invite you to contact us anytime at [e-mail]

Also please check the links below for everything you need to know! It is all up to date and updated daily. Our book in the only updated care book out there and our site even compared to the bigger sites is still updated much more often. We never stop researching and studying these wonderful creatures.

Answer 2

i had a hermit crab for a LONG time before it finally died, but that was because i forgot to add water (normal tap water) to the sponge in it's tank. i got my hermit crab from the beach ( i bought it) along with some hermit crab food that they sold too. you can easily find it in pet stores.

Answer 3

yes, i own 2. i don't know wats wrong, mine are very easy to take care of.
*i think the problem was that you didn't have a new shell for them, so he went out of his old shell, couldn't go into a new one, and died. my sammy has been out of his shell walking around before.
*they suprisingly don't eat their hermit crab food that much, it's like a seasoning to them. i always put cheerios and french toast crunch in it, too.
*for drinking water, put our drinking water in. and about 2 times a week, give them a bath. fill a large bowl with our drinking water in it, microwave it until it's not warm but not chilly, better a eensy cold than warm, and let them play for about 30 minutes. this will slean out their shells.
always have hermit crabs about the same size. *sometimes they will tip another hermit crab over and dig them out of their shell just to steal it. (my jackie tried to on sammy!)
*i've never used saltwater for anything on them. only our drinking water.
*don't put any deep water in their tank exect for their drinking water. they don't exactly go into their waterbowl, well, mine don't, so i squirt a little around, and that's also good, cuz their tank needs to be moist.

i might've missed something, but it's easy when you get used to it. hope i helped.

Answer 4

Mine ended up dying after about a week and a half. All I can really suggest is looking up "Hermit Crab Care" on Yahoo Search or Ask Jeeves. That's what I did AFTER mine died to see what I did wrong, lol. I got it thinking it was really easy to take care and boy was I wrong!

Answer 5

I don't actually own them but a friend does. They aren't so easy.

1) GET A LID!!! Also a hydrometer and thermometer.

2) Her crabs like crab cakes

3) She uses both salt and fresh water...

4) she has 3 but i'm sure one would be ok by itself.

KEEP SHELLS AROUND YOUR TANK!!! Random shells look nice but also crabs may be picky and switch. Picking them up makes them stress so don't do it often.

you might want to look it up b4 you lose your other one

Answer 6

In ur search browser type.... Pet Hermit Crabs this will give u a lot of good information including temperature, feeding etc

Answer 7

this would be certainly one of two issues neither of that have something to do with shell changing. a million) The animal would have fallen aside as a results of rigidity. whilst an animal is amazingly unwell or in a annoying atmosphere they'll loose their limbs. 2) the animal would have moulted wherein case the limbs would be hollow and the animal would be total interior of in the shell. do no longer run your crab below faucet water. Chlorine in faucet water burns the gills of crabs. If the animal is under pressure it ought to kill it. If the animal is moulting it ought to reason loads of issues as a results of fact the tissue continues to be comfortable. Moulting animals should not be soaked or sprayed with water.

Answer 8

I didn't know you could keep them as pets! maybe it's getting too hot for them

Answer 9

Ours died right away, too.