2007-12-08 14:08:04 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
They are probably mites.
To get rid of the mites, you have to bathe the crab-yes it may sound silly, but it works.
Get a small bucket/container and put room temperature, chlorine-free water in it, and put the crab in the water, at the bottom. You may have to turn the crab around so the air inside the shell can escape. This will stress the crab out a little and it may start to come out of the shell quite a bit.
The water will wash the mites off the crab.
After the first bath drain the water, and you may want to do a second bath if there were a lot of mites.
Clean the entire tank and its accessories--throw the substrate out and put in some new substrate. If you have wood objects in the tank, you will have to sterilize them.
2007-12-09 00:18:42 · answer #1 · answered by Akatsuki 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your hermit crab sounds like it has mites but I've never seen a hermit crab with mites in the 13 years I've been selling them.
Curious to know if the hermit crabs are wild caught.
You can remove the mites with some tweezers if it doesn't do any damage.
The mites also might have come from the substrate or, another animal.
Red mites are common on imported reptiles but also common outside in yards too.
The only parts on the crab to be affected would be the soft parts such as eyes, and the rear of the body-which the crab attaches to the shell.
Do not try to remove the crab from its shell.
Hermit crabs are supposed to be kept in sand.
Do not put any chemicals or additives in the crab's cage except for some Aquarium salt or some sea salt. When the crabs soak in either of those, the mites may die off. Otherwise see a vet. They can give the best advice.
2007-12-08 19:02:50 · answer #2 · answered by kriend 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing that you would be able to use similar spray on hermit crabs as used to treat mites on reptiles. Contact the pet shop where you bought them to find out for sure, or if that fails, see if you can get some advice from a vet over the phone.
Best of luck.
2007-12-08 20:59:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Take him to a Petco.the ppl there are educated and will help u
2007-12-08 14:15:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋