Howdy!
I've had a bunch of people asking about taking care of hermit crabs. So I decided to do a full post to keep in the archives. I'll just bullet point what I believe is important and if you all have, questions, let me know and I'll be happy to answer more.
1. Proper tank. I recommend a glass aquarium with a lighted hood and a piece of plexiglass with holes drilled in it for proper ventilation (or saran wrap) to cover to hold in the humidity. If the hood is pretty secure and holding in the humidity you may not need the plexiglass.
There used to be the theory that you need 1 gallon of "tank" per crab. Now I look at it more about how much room do they have due to the different size and shapes of tanks. I've had 7 in a 20 gallon and just decided to start another tank because I have 1 very large crab and he is in need of more space.
2. Humidity/Temperature gauge. You can get these at the local pet store for about $10 or sometimes on amazon.com for much cheaper. The best thing you can do for your crabs is to check that gauge and keep the humidity correct to make sure they are "breathing" properly. If the humidity is low, spray the top of the hood with some dechlorinated water.
3. Heater. You can get a small reptile aquarium heater at most pet stores. (Although, amazon can be cheaper.) They are sticky and can be placed on the side or underneath the tank. Mine is on the side as my tank is sitting on a stand and I did not want the heater compressed between the stand and the tank. You probably won't need it in the spring/summer or depending upon where you keep your crabs. (Which should not be in front of a window, because you can't control the amount of heat the tank gets from the sunlight, in my opinion.)
4. Substrate. This amounts to the type of medium you use in your tank. I use a combination playsand and areas of coconut fiber and moss. The playsand I purchase at Wal-Mart or Home Depot for between $3 and $5 dollars. Last week it was a giant bag for $3.42.
Some people use all coconut fiber (called Eco Earth). I like the combination. The all coconut one bothers me because it's the same color as their "droppings" which I think is totally disgusting because I can't fully clean it each day. However, the crabs absolutely love it. So I offer different areas with different substrates.
My main tank is full of playsand which was moistened with dechlorinated water. Like beach sand. On their second or third level I'll use a container of coconut fiber or more likely and cheaper spanish moss (found at the dollar store as long as it's all natural). They love it....especially the moss. It's cheap and after a week or two, I throw it out and put in another handful.
Your playsand should be twice as deep as your largest crab. Mine is actually a little deeper because as I do my daily cleanings, I remove a smidge of sand. So if my hermit crab is 4 inches high, I need at least 8 inches of sand.
5. Water. You must offer 2 types of water. A container of fresh dechlorinated water, a container of OCEAN salt water. You can use any type of water dish, turned over shell, cleaned and sanitized plastic lid for the fresh water. You can buy tap water conditioner/dechlorinator at Walmart or a pet store. Lasts forever. I make up a quart at a time and use it over a week or two.
As for the salt water, I think it's a big waste to buy the hermit crab salt sold in pet stores. The container is too small and it's not good value for money. I recommend OCEAN sea salt. You can purchase it at a pet store, the sales people will swear to you you won't need that much -- and you won't -- the amount will last FOREVER. Just mix it according to the directions. I mix a quart at a time. It is offered in a separate dish. Never ever use table salt, it contains iodine and is not good for them.
This dish should be deep enough for them to get into to moisten themselves and fill their shell. If you have a 1 or 2 inch crab you it should be just deep enough to get in, easy enough to get out, like the depth of a peanut butter lid.
6. Baths. This is a topic that most people have their own opinion on. Here's mine. The crabs need salt water -- if you offer salt water in the tank they shouldn't need a bath. However, I'm a freak about making sure we don't get mites, so every once in a while, perhaps, once every 2 weeks, less in the winter I do give them a bath.
How do you give a hermit crab a bath? Take a plastic container (I designate a specific crab only container) and pour in about 1 inch of salt water. I gently take the crab and put it in the water upside down. Most crabs will immediately flip over. If they don't I give them like 2 seconds and flip them over myself. This is kind of an in the water and immediately out thing. Once out of the water, I put them in a box lined with paper toweling they can crawl around on and dry off. During this time I put in lots of shells because they get real active after a bath and it's a great "shell changing" time.
7. Food. There are two ways to do on this. You can either use pellets from the pet store ground up -- or just feed them what you would eat less any salt or seasonings. There are some great resources out there if you just google hermit crab safe foods. Mainly I steer away from garlic, onions, seasonings and any salt. They need carotene and calcium. Here is a site with some great easy reading information: http://hermit-crabs.com/
I give them fresh food daily -- although some people feed their crabs only every other day. The theory behind feeding them every other day is that on the second day they are to forridge and "clean" the tank of any bits they've hidden. I try to always offer a veggie, protein and fruit. Whatever's around. Although I keep shrimp and scrambled eggs in the freezer to make it fast. For example, last night they had shrimp, blackberries and lettuce. Some people grind everything up. My opinion is if a hermit crab were on a beach, would the food be ground up? No, it would just be laying there.
I also mix up my own dry food a batch at a time and keep it in the freezer. I use organic coconut, flax seed, wheat germ, brown rice, oatmeal, cooked and cleaned egg shells. This I grind into a powder and keep in the freezer. Then I place it on top of their fresh food. I make a cupful at a time and it lasts a while in the freezer. Once I make their food, which really take only a couple seconds, I put it in the tank at night, out in the morning.
8. Lighting. The crabs need a good night and day cycle to molt properly. I use the tank light. Turn it on the in morning, off at night. Although, check your tempurature gauge to make sure it's not TOO hot.
9. Shells. Crabs need lots of shells to shop with. LOL You can get some great deals at the dollar stores or even the Christmas Tree Shoppe. Offer a variety. When you get new ones, boil them to clean them out. I designate an old "pot" for use with crabby stuff. They'll prefer ones with a nice curve or twist like a Turbo. And please, for the love of God don't use painted shells. Imagine yourself with a raincoat you had to wear all the time. Someone taking it and painting it with sticky, smelly paint and you weren't allowed to take it off. Horrible. Cute -- but horrible. My opinion of course.
10. Crabitat decorations. You should always offer hiding spots. Coconut shells, reptile rocks, terra cotta pots, things like that. There should be things they can climb on like grapevine or cholla wood. I've found my crabs love oak or maple branches. I just make sure they are well dryed and free of pests.
I like using a shower container with suction cups on it to make second or third levels. These can be found at the dollar store. Then I link them using branches or plastic greenery. I also rearrange my tank every week or so to make it interesting. You have to remember they are a captive audience and you have to keep them thinking and motivated.
11. Daily maintenance. Morning I take out their food, check the humidity, give them a couple sprays if they need it and clean up their mess. The best for doing that is a little paint brush to brush everything into a pile and you can just lift it up with a little kids sand shovel.
Evening, I put in their food, check the humidity and refill water. Weekly, I rearrange, wash out the plastic toys and shells. And that's it. Once you get your tank up and going it's really a five minute routine to keep them going each day.
12. Other stuff. I'll just put some miscellaneous things here, if you have any questions, please ask. Molting, sometimes take a long time, as long as your tank doesn't smell "fishy" leave them alone.
New crabs sometimes will just chill for weeks and barely move, your best bet is to let them chill and eventually they will get moving around.
Crabs need friends. They are called hermits because they retract into their shells, but are really found in colonies so your best bet is to have at least 2 or 3. You will even find them sleeping together or on top of each other.
Crabs have personalities. Trust me. Some are spunky, some sweet, some daredevils, some escape artists. Some, like one of mine likes to tip over all the water dishes immediately after I redo the tank.
It is possible to tell if you have a female or a male. There are little dots on the under belly of a female.
All crabs are nocturnal. Not necessarily true. I have some that are always out in the day -- playing climbing and doing their own thing. I have other that will be out only at night. I think it just depends upon their personality.
You can train a hermit crab. I am not kidding. Generally between 9 and 10 at night I go down and do some laundry and feed the crabs, shut down the computer and etc. After a few weeks of this routine, I had a crab waiting for me right where I put the food dish. This happens almost 5 out of 7 nights. When I'm coming down to feed them, someone is always sitting in the spot waiting for me. Like come on mom, I'm hungry. So funny.
If you have proper humidity, good food and some places to hide and play -- your crabs will be happy and be moving around. I'll try to get some better pictures, my camera's batteries are dead and they picture below were taken yesterday on my phone LOL.
Write if you have any questions.
Hugggz,
Kristy~!
My large crabitat, below Kelsey holding spiderman (large) and harmony the small one.
