hermit crabs

[Herpetologist69]

hi my kids want to get hermit crabs does anyone know any thing about them.

 

[lil_ben]

you need like a bowl of salt water for them to bath in. And prob sand as substrate and just pellets u buy to feed them, they are very easy the people at the pet shop should be able to explain.

 

[norris]

I assume you mean land hermit crabs.
I wouldn't have a clue how to look after them.
Normally they're in sand and have access to salt and fresh water and bigger shells.

 

[Herpetologist69]

thanx for the help

 

[Bonustokin]

Yea i dont know much about them either, but i see our local petshop has 1/4 of the tank on a heatmat. A bowl of fresh water AND a bowl of salt water... dunno what the go is there.... :lol:

Surely the petshop will fill you in though mate

 

[serenaphoenix]

my little brother just got one for his birthday - he's pretty cute.. rob (my brother - is 9) dropped him on the first day or so - so we called him lazarus.

We were told at the pet store they're solitary animals, he's in a fish tank with sand, some heat, water, a larger shell to grow into, sultanas and oats.

Although heard recently they're actually quite social - but that's always the way - when do you ever get two people who give you the same answer huh?

 

[Khagan]

They are cute... Till they grab onto your hand and wont let go =(.

 

[Viridae]

Salt water, fresh water, sand heat = 25-27C humidity 60-70% They are colony crweatures, so 3 or more at a time is best. Like climbing, like digging (make sure you have deep sand), can climb the silicon in the corner of aquariums (ie tight fitting lid)

 

[pythonmum]

Good advice from Viridae. I kept them in a science classrom this year. You can have a full-time salt water container OR give them a weekly bath in salt water (my option). They need fresh water all of the time and love climbing. They really enjoyed a coconut shell and hollow log for climbing over and hiding underneath/in. They also burrow into the sand a lot. A selection of shells is important, but change these regularly, because they seem to ignore shells which have been in the tank too long. I used a heat lamp in cold weather, making sure there was temperature gradient so the crabs don't cook.

 

[expansa1]

My son has 4 Hermit Crabs. Have a small freshwater bowl that they can climb in every day and once a week change it to saltwater for them to bathe in. I'll take a pic of his setup and put it up this arvo. They love climbing. He has small twisted vines in their aquarium for them to climb. They pretty much eat any veges or plants a Bearded Dragon would. Dry sand and as mentioned befor , a few inches thick for them to bury in. A heat mat over 1/4 to 1/3 of the tank is good too. They love sultana's ,other dried fruits, crab pellets etc etc.
Important too to have slightly larger empty shells in their aquarium to move into when they need to do so.

 

[tadpoles]

Easy pets.
I had a few for a good couple of years, The last one passed away only recently.
I got the hermie crab book, and that was a fantasic reference, as pet stores can give you the wrong info, leading to hermie death

I'm selling the book atm, on the for sale threads with a batch of hermit crab stuff. Have a look.

 

[Viridae]

Just to note that mine prefer to drink their salt water, I rarely see them drinking the fresh so you should have both at all times. You must use hermit crab salt not table salt, I suggest a sea sponge in the water bowl (make sure they can get out of them btw) to increase the surface area expose to the air, and therefore the humidity.

 

[jungle_mike]

when they shed their skin and move into a new shell they prefer to burrow till their new shell hardens up so a thick layer of substrate is a plus. they will shed in a hide if they cant burrow but it stresses them a lot more..

 

[lil_ben]

the dont really hurt when they bite.

 

[Viridae]

the dont really hurt when they bite.

Rather depends on the size of the crab and where they get you. had a larger one get my in the palm of the hand and that hurt like the bejesus.