hermit crabs????????????

Question

I am thinking abot getting a hermit crab.I dont know diddley squat about them.I have did research but I dont understand it.Some one plaese give info about them and tell me what kind of enviroment,food,water,bathing,molting,and what kind of stuff I will need.Also about traveling with them.I want to know everything and any thing. Please help.If you really want to help tell me good toys and stuff to get. thnx

Answer 1

If you haven't come across these site yet, I'd recommend these for reading:
http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com/
http://www.hermit-crabs.com/
http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/articles/

First, hermits, despite their name are social animals and should be in a small group at least - so rather than one, it would be better to get three (or more at a later time). They're small when you get them, but as you can see from the photos in the websites, they can grow quite large when they're cared for properly and should live for 20+ years.

The size of the tank will depend on how many you intend to keep, but a 20 gallon long is a good size to start. They need to have something on the bottom they can dig in, and it has to be deep enough they can completely bury themselves. Sand is one option, I've always like coconut fiber (sold as Eco-Earth or Bed-A-Beast). They need two water bowls, one for freshwater, one for saltwater (mix this by using 5 tablespoons to a gallon of water). Water must be dechlorinated before using, just like for fish. Both bowls should be around 1/2-1 inches deep depending on the size of the crab and easy for them to climb in and out of so they don't drown. They also need a dish or flat rock for their food. There are hermit crab foods you can buy, but they can also eat a lot of the same things you do - just leave out the sauses and spices. They can have cooked meat, fish, seafood, veggies, and fruit (especially tropical fruit). They're mostly active at night, so a place that's dark during the day where they can sleep is appreciated (overtuned flowerpot or coconut shell with a hole in the side, plastic cave, 1/2 hollow log). They also need a heater under their tank to keep warm, and a spray bottle with water or some live potted plants to provide humidity. A hygrometer is used to measure the humidity, so you'll need one of these too. Hermit crabs have gills that they use for breathing so if the gills aren't kept moist (from humidity and soaking in the water) they'll die.

The decorations aren't that important to them, so get whatever you like, but make sure you provide things for them to climb. That's what they like to do. It can be rocks, wood, cholla wood, or wire screen.

As far as travelling with them, they still need all the things they do when they're at your house.

Answer 2

I'm currently researching hermit crabs as well ... I think it's fantastic that you're doing your research before buying because that really is the smartest way to own any pet: prepare before you buy ... anyway ...
I found out alot of useful information from the people here on Y!A
here's a couple links to the questions that I asked and the answers people gave me : I hope they help you as much as they helped me!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aig0RNojfqyFzzyExi0EapDty6IX?qid=20070513145409AAB4HM9
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ah6nIfZITnIzJUHDCUyf9cDty6IX?qid=20070513232056AAz4GQ9
basically you need a ten gallon glass tank...like a fish tank...and a heater (they have them for $15 at petco)...about two inches of substrate at the bottom of the tank...two water dishes: one salt water and one fresh water...they love variety in their diet and get bored with the same old food day in and day out...they love to climb...they wreck any tank set up you make so don't put any live cactus in their cage or anything that can't be replaced or that would hurt them if they chewed on it...they like to be with other hermit crabs so get 2 or 3 of them...and they sometimes need to change shells so keep several different sized shells in the habitat so that they can pick the one that fits them and change when they need to...honestly: here's a link to the most basic website for beginners when it comes to hermit crabs...besides our buddies on Y!A, this website helped me the most in the beginning so here it is:
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/invertebrates/HermitCrab.pdf
good luck: they are great pets but require more work then most people realize...but are still manageable as long as you do your research

Answer 3

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 (thermometer)
Humidity: 70-80% relative (hygrometer)
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. Needs to be at least 1 1/2 times deep as your tallest crab is tall so a 3" tall crab would need a minimum of 4 1/2" of 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 made with a good marine salt like Oceanic).

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 4

ok hermit crabs are actully really easy to take care of. first of all they a social creatures, so to prevent it form getting stressed out you need to buy more than one. you also need a large tank, they like space to move around. as a substrate sand is the best in my opinion but you could use gravel and DONT use dirt from outside. you also need the substrate to be deep enough for your largest crab to bury himself to molt. molting is when the crab sheds his exoskelton, you cannot disturb him during this process. another thing you need are lots of extra shells so that when they outgrow there current ones they will have a good seletion. food isnt really that complicated, petstores sell food dor them and its fairly cheap. they are nocturnal but they will come out during the day. when you buy them buy the ones that look most entergetic and social. they like to climb so get them something that they could climb on.you should have to different water dishes, one regular water and on salt water. if you have any other questions feel free to ask! good luck!

Answer 5

Definitely go to your local pet store (Petco is good for me) and ask them for help. Usually, there is a hermit crab area.

-You're going to need a hermit crab aquarium like thing-- A plastic one is fine.
- You'll also need sand, food, shelter, something it can climb over/on, sponge or watering area, and extra shells of different sizes.
- You'll need to bathe him/her once a month or so by placing him/her in a bowl of some sort of decholrinated water.

Good luck!

Answer 6

well you need to go to petco to get the best supplies you may want to pick out a small crab to start with. buy it a fairly large cage. also hermit crabs love to climb stuff so get them a small climbing log for in their cage also get a small water dish and food. you will also need dirt, you can purchase it at petco. also buy shells slightly smaller than it has.

Answer 7

Hermit crabs are bottom feeders.They live in salt water.

Answer 8

they are nasty they die like every 5 days they never come out of there shell and they pinch sometimes they can cling for a hour.