Welcome to my page on Hermit Crabs!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hello, welcome to my page on hermit crabs! I am dedicating this page to my dead hermit crab, Shawn (1991-1998). If you've never had a hermit crab before, and are planning on getting one, you should read this page to help you along. 1.Your hermit crab's home A home for your hermit crab is simple. Get a 5-10 gallon fish aquarium and fill it up with 2-4 inches of sand or little fish tank rocks. Make sure that the rocks are nice and clean. You should change the crabarium 2-4 weeks. When you clean the tank, wash the rocks in a strainer, or if you have sand, dispose and replace it with new sand. I preferre the fish rocks because it is cheaper, and the crabs enjoy it more. It is also a good idea to put a piece of driftwood or a fake stick in the crabarium, crabs love to climb. 2. Food and water In the crabarium, there should always be a fresh supply of food and water. Put the water in a clam shell, this helps with calcium for the crab. Never use a metal piece! It is also a good idea to kind of bury the clam shell so it is level with the rocks. Make sure that the water isn't too deep because the crab will drown if he/she can't get out (remember- they are LAND CRABS!). Find a smaller clam shell to put the food in. There are many things you can feed a hermit crab, but the most common thing are crab cakes you would buy at the pet store. You can also feed them treats such as sliced apples, pears, oranges, and bananas. You could even feed it crackers, or peanut butter. Change their food everyday so they don't end up eating spoiled food. You might have to look through the rocks for spilled food. Crabs will often tip their food and water dish over when crawling around. I would also preferre to use fresh bottled water than tap water. 3. Molting When your hermit crab grows, it goes through a process of molting. Molting is when a hermit crab sheds its exo-skeleton. When your crab molts, you will notice because it will dig itself into the sand or rocks and become VERY inactive. It will just sit there for about 2-4 weeks. Now I have never made this mistake, but I know many people who have. When your crab molts, don't make the mistake of thinking it is dead. If it was dead, it would just fall right out of it's shell. Plus, it would smell VERY bad if it was dead. Make sure you can tell the difference. A hermit crab can molt as often as every other month when it is little, or every 18 months when it is big, it all depends on its age. It is a very good idea to keep empty shells in the tank because a crab will sometimes want to switch shells either because it has gotten too big for the one it's in, or because it just wants to. Crabs will even switch shells at times if one wants the other's shell. That will happen more likely of the two crabs are about the same size. Never try to pull a crab out of it's shell because it will more likely let itself be torn to shreds before giving up it's shell. The purpose of the shell is for protection and keeping the tail moist. Crabs even sneak food in their shell sometimes. 4. Spending time with your hermit crab When you are bored and you think there is nothing to do, take your crab out of it's tank and let him crawl around on your floor a little bit. Hold him (always hold your crab by the top of it's shell so it doesn't pinch you.) and watch him try to grab hold of something. The more you spend time with your crab, the more active it will be, and the more it will tolerate you. You just gotta watch him so he doesn't pinch you, or run off somewhere you can't find him; I've had awful experiences about run-away crabs. If your crab happens to pinch you, simply run the claw under luke warm water and it will let go. Even the very small crabs can give a painful nip, so you can never be too careful. If your crab runs away, leave a little food and water out by where you let him crawl around. It will probably come back to that if it scences it. One thing I'm going to add about keeping your crab happy, is to get more than one hermit crab because in the wild, hermit crabs travel in groups. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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