I am thinking about purchasing hermit crabs. Any advice?

Question

What sepcies is best for a first time owner? How many should I buy? How do I set up their tank? What supplies will I need to get? Any other advice or informational links would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Purple pinchers are the hartiest crabs and the most recommended for first time owners. You should have at least 2 but I suggest 3 incase you lose 1 to post purchase stress.
Coenobita clypeatus (purple pincer) care sheet:
ID Characteristics:
Multi-colored limbs in shades of red, purple, tan, orange, and yellow. The body is a shade of tan. The pincers are susally purple, but can also be a variety of other colors (reds, purples, tans, oranges, yellows). The eyes are comma shaped and the eyestalks are slender and narrow.

Housing/Crabitat:
no smaller than a 10 gallon glass tank, is preferable. A glass or plexiglass lid is also preferable, to keep proper temperature and humidity.

Temperature: 74-78 degrees F

Humidity: 70-80% relative

Substrate:

Playsand, Forestbedding (Eco-Earth, Bed-a-Beast, etc). Moss and calcisand may also be added to the tank, however it is not recommended as a main substrate.

Diet:
Commercial crab foods, Vegetables (favorites include-carrots, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and corn), Fruits (favorites include-coconut, mango, apples, grapes, and pears), Meats (seafood, silversides and chicken are favorites), Grains, Peanut butter, eggs, seeds, algae and seaveggies. Please see http://www.epicureanhermit.com for a list of other edible foods.

Purple pinchers need both fresh and salt water (dechlorinated) salt water should be made with oceanic or another aquatic type salt mix.

Shells:
Turbo, pica/magpie, Sharks eye. Shells with circular openings are favorites

Molting:
-Lethargic before and hyper after molting
-Legs tend to be dry and ashy pre-molt
-Will sometimes molt without a molt sac or other pre-molting symptoms
-Are thirsty and hungry pre-molt and post-molt

Other Characteristics:
-Sweet/nice temperament
-Love to climb
-Love to crowd into piles
-Not as active as other species such as the Es
-Like to hide during the day and are most active at night
-More willing to pinch if they feel threatened/scared
-Females seem to have larger eyes than males
-Love to change shells
-Love to eat and climb on wood such as cholla/choya and corkbark

Answer 2

I had a hermit crab! He died. But yeah here is some advice:

you NEED:
sand
a water dish that they can climb in to soak
a spounge to put in their water dish
extra shells for when they get too big for them (dont have just one, have some big and some small)
A glass cage (usually run from 9-15 dollars)
wire that you can make a top for the cage (YES! the CAN escape. hard to believe i know but they can. you MUST have one)

You must clean their cage once a week or else it starts to smell really bad. Change their water once a day and it must be DISILLED WATER. Dont use tap. I suggest boiling water and letting it cool to room temp. (if u must put it in a containor to save for later). You have to also get water in the spounge twice a day.

Yes you can play with your hermit crab. Dont let him fall (obviously) i WOULDNT set him somewhere high or where other pets can get to him. When playing with him just set him on the floor. you MUST watch him AT ALL TIMES on the floor. DONT EVER leave him unattended.

Please note: HERMIT CRABS DO SHED THEIR SKIN. The first time Pookie shed we thought he had died. But they do shed just like snakes or others like them. Their bodies become pink and veryyy soft do NOT touch your hermit crab for at least a week after he sheds. you can hurt him.

If your hermit crab dies then his legs and such will LITERALLY fall off. Dont be freaked. Lol.

Have fun with your little guy.

Kay. and past hermit crab who is now in heaven Pookie

Answer 3

I would recommend a small fish tank over hermit crabs. There's a pic of one of my fish tanks on my profile: http://360.yahoo.com/my_profile-81rpfms1fa8dniedNHsyXeg-?cq=1 (it's a small 10 gal w/ fancy goldfish and a treasure chest cover I've had for 35+ yrs, hard to get good pic due to flash reflecting). We also have an outdoor pond, & a 26 gal w/ tropicals, built into a bookcase in living room area.

Here's a website for hermit crab info: http://www.hermit-crabs.com/
This site is more of a blog, but might be helpful for you: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php

The first site shows a pic of someone holding a hermit crab to their face ... I don't recommend doing that, my daughter held one close to her face once and it clamped on to her lip and would NOT let go. They are VERY ugly & creepy looking when they crawl out of their shells ... once you see that sight, you might not want them in your house anymore ;-) As they grow, you need to provide bigger shells for them to "move into". They don't do much, and most of the time just look like shells sitting in an aquarium. A terrarium of plants has a prettier look (in my opinion).

Personally, for an "easy" pet, I prefer fish ... they add life, gentle motion and color to a room. We've had all kinds of pets & fish. Some of my favorite are goldfish ... they tend to show interest in you and have personalities. Fish are easy, inexpensive, if you go out of town they can be left unattended a couple days - but also easy to find petsitters for. There are small gallon size tanks w/ filters that are nice (used to always have that size on my desk when I had office jobs). Or go bigger. I'd recommend starting with a 10 gallon fish tank, undergravel filter, and some fancy goldfish (only cost about $2-4). I think walmart might even have an inexpensive starter tank. Email me if you want any more info about starting up a fish tank - or about any other types pet prospects :-)

Another good pet if you want to consider going with reptiles is a bearded dragon lizard ... we've had 2 of those in the past and they are pretty neat.

Just remember, most pets require a certain amount of time/commitment.

Answer 4

They bite...or pinch. You know what I mean.

Oh, and paint their shells. They are much cuter. lol

Also keep some extra shells around of different sizes and keep them in his aquarium or wherever he lives. As he grows he will have to switch "homes".

Other than that...they are no-brainer pets. They do die easily, but if you handle them gently and don't drop them (which you will do when you get pinched) they'll be fine.

All they need is a simple aquarium with some sand and water and extra shells lying around.

Anything extra, is for you...not the crab.

Answer 5

ew dont get a hermit crab.

heres my story:

so i was in LBI (long beach island) and i passed a hermit crab store. i bought one hermit crab named sheneequah.

at first i loveeeed sheneequah but then she started to smell. i had a tank she could crawl up the sides in so it was like impossible to clean.

pretty soon her claws started falling off. first a few legs and then her big pincher.

i got reaaaaalllllly freaked out.

the next day i took her out of her cage holding her by her shell....and all of a sudden sheneequah FALLS completely out of her shell.

like with the back part that you arent even supposed to see.EW

i freaked out and ran into the other room.

i realized i couldnt leave it there forever so i scooped it up and flushed it down the toilet.

i will never ever ever ever ever get a hermit crab again i am soooooooo scarred its crazy.

dont gte a hermit crab!!!

oh yeah they are a waste of money because they dont eat their food but you still have to change the food every day.

Answer 6

They sell them in vacation spots like they are the easiest pet to keep in the world. And then unsuspecting parents (like me) say "sure". Do a LOT of reading. There are a lot of websites that offer great information (hermitcrabs.com). They aren't as "care-free" as they appear. We did pretty well with a lot of information-gathering. But when they do start to wither, it's not fun to watch. They begin to lose limbs and then can't eat obviously. That all being said, they are a fascinating pet. And changing shells is amazing to watch. Good luck!!

Answer 7

I had some as a teenager and they were great pets. Get some of those gravel rocks that you put in goldfish tanks and make sure u get sponges and dip them in water because that's how they drink. I can't remember what kid of food they ate but I think it was some kind of pebble but research that first. Mine last for a couple of years and they were fun. U have to clean their tanks and it smells but its no different from cleaning goldfish poop. Goodluck and don't let them snap your fingers because it HURTS!

Answer 8

They're the easiest pets in the world. All you need to do is make sure sure they have food, water (with a sponge in it), and are away from cold drafty areas. They only pinch you if they think you're going to drop them (they like holding on if they think they might fall). And make sure there are a bunch of empty shells in the tank that are a little bigger than their current one in case they molt and need to trade up.

Answer 9

Well they smell pretty bad. Don't buy them from the mall! You can find them for A LOT cheaper. Just buy one or two, I would suggest.

Answer 10

ya, DON'T, they smell and you'll have trouble finding new shells for them once they out grow the old one, what a pain.