Hermit Crabs

Brendan

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
303
I'm thinking of getting a hermit crab as a pet.

Although my scorpion is my top priority, I have a spare 5 gallon tank, and well, why not put it to use?

I heard that hermit crabs are require low maintenance and are easy to take care of, but I'm not so sure if thats true.

Does anybody here have a hermit crab? Can you tell me experiences? Any difficulties taking care of them?

Also, will a 5 gallon tank work for a hermit crab (or maybe a few)?
 

tigger_my_T.

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
125
I have 3 and there all in a ten gallon but I think 5 would do if you only have 2.
They are pretty low mattinance feed them keep the humidity to around 80% and make sure they have a water dish and a sea sponge in the water dish. Also you should get two they live in groups in the wild. and make sure they have enough sand to dig in they love to dig. Some extra stuff is a hamster ball they like to walk around in them and its fun to watch.
hope i helped
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
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Jul 8, 2007
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994
^ I must disagree with the sponge. A sea sponge is a really bad idea - they hold tons of bacteria and are completely non-essential to hermit crab care.

Here is a basic run down:
- Minimum 10g tank for even a small group of young hermit crabs
- Lifespan can exceed 20 years and some species get HUGE and demand very large enclosures so make sure you want a long term committment.
- High humidity (~80) so a glass/plastic hood is suggested over a screen.
- Temp ~ 75 degrees (70-80). Thermostat reccomended as they are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations
- Plenty of things to climb on, including wood, cork bark, cholla wood, coral or netting. Heavy rocks must be rooted to the floor of the tank not placed atop the sand as they may be crushed burrowing.
- Plenty of hides
- A fresh water pool deep enough to fully submerge the crab, with easy access in and out. NO SPONGE.
- A brackish water pool (USE MARINE SALT), 5tbsp per gallon of water, same size/access as the freshwater pool.
- All water should be dechlorinated with a water conditioner such as Prime.
- 50/50 coconut fiber and sand (NOT calci-sand as it clumps), damp but not sopping wet. Needs to be twice as deep as the biggest crab's shell, so a good 4" or more is likely needed. Crabs need to burrow to shed properly, and if the substrate is dry or shallow a troubled shed is almost inevitable.
- You can put a small amount of gravel around the bowls so that sand is rubbed off of their legs before they enter, but gravel is NEVER an appropriate substrate overall.
- Offer a wide variety of appropriate shells in many sizes and shapes. DO NOT use painted shells as these can be toxic.
- Pelletted diets have been linked with health issues and are not considered nutritionally complete. It is best to provide a varied organic diet including fruits, veggies, greens, grains, meats, seaweeds, algaes, egg yolk (important to proper nutrition) etc. Food should be changed every day.

Helpful links:
Crab Street Journal < best hermit crab forum, tons of great info.
Epicurean Hermit < detailed diet info.
AMAZING care sheet on UltimateBettas.com, but you may need to join to read it unfortunately.

Good luck. They are a big commitment and there is a LOT of misinformation floating around about them. Most make it barely a year of their 20+ lifespan. So please research carefully before buying!
 
Last edited:

Profkrakatoa

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
177
I'm thinking of getting a hermit crab as a pet.

Although my scorpion is my top priority, I have a spare 5 gallon tank, and well, why not put it to use?

I heard that hermit crabs are require low maintenance and are easy to take care of, but I'm not so sure if thats true.

Does anybody here have a hermit crab? Can you tell me experiences? Any difficulties taking care of them?

Also, will a 5 gallon tank work for a hermit crab (or maybe a few)?
I had hermit crabs for a while, until I moved. I gave them to another teacher friend, and she didn't take proper care of them! :(

I had 11 of them in a 20 gallon tank. You need to keep the humidity in the right range. There is a great website (the longest running I think) that is a wonderful source info and nice people - just like here!

www.landhermitcrabs.com

They were great fun, and I loved watching them climb around.
 

tigger_my_T.

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
125
I think if you get the sea sponge at a pet store there fine but i cant even remember if mine are a sea sponge or not:confused: :wall:
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
994
Pet store sourced or not does not change the bacteria-hoarding properties that sponges inherently possess. It doesn't have to do with the source of the sponge, but with the fact that they are nearly impossible to fully clean, which paired with their large surface area as a pourus substance and constant dampness is a perfect recipie for harmful bacteria.
 

REAL

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
402
I'm thinking of getting a hermit crab as a pet.

Although my scorpion is my top priority, I have a spare 5 gallon tank, and well, why not put it to use?

I heard that hermit crabs are require low maintenance and are easy to take care of, but I'm not so sure if thats true.

Does anybody here have a hermit crab? Can you tell me experiences? Any difficulties taking care of them?

Also, will a 5 gallon tank work for a hermit crab (or maybe a few)?
There was a person that posted a few really good information about hermit crabs awhile back after Andrew (casco) said something negative about them. Sorry thats like the only thing that sort of tied me with that memory.

Hermit crabs are indeed low maintenance, they are very hardy (actually, thats why many of my friends got them for their daughters/sons)

5 gallon would work great for one hermit crab. You should see my mom's friend. She doesn't keep it in a tank and how she kept it sort of amazed me even to this day.

She keeps it on her kitchen top and she fenced a small 12"ish diameter near the corner and she just let it free roam around that area. What amazes me is that, the fence seems to be easily climbable, however, it never tries to go over it for some weird reason. She said she had it for years.

A few things that I heard is that you should keep the humidity moderate/slightly high and that you should feed them fresh fruits/vegetables and not much of those food that comes in the can for hermit crabs. This is what I got from that same post that I told you.

Oh yeah, good temperatures are around room temperature. High 60s, mid 70s.

Good luck!
 

edie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
225
i've never kept hermit crabs, but i know more than an handful of people who killed them! not on purpose, of course, but they just bought them wihtout thinking they actually required care.

i remember reading this thread a while back..
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=86389&highlight=hermit+crabs

starmaiden, who posted the thread gave out a lot of good information to people.. she had great pictures of her colony and even some pictures of her set ups. looks like the people who posted on that thread kept their crabs in large terrariums (15-20 gal), but i don't know anything about these crabs besides what i leared from that post..
just thought that would be a good resource for you!
 

edie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
225
Here go to this web site it helps alot
http://www.hermit-crabs.com
just read on that site.. "The very first thing your new pet will need is a 'crabitat.' A crabitat is where your hermit crab will spend most of its time, so choose a home that is clean and roomy. A 10-gallon glass aquarium can be purchased at a reasonable price and makes an ideal 'starter home' for your crab"

according to that site, a 10 gal is a good starter for one crab
 

tigger_my_T.

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
125
actually its good for 2 I have been keeping my three crabs that i have had for at least 3 years in a 10 gallon they are doing fine.
 
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