- Written By: J.Gunsch
- Edited By: Niki Foster
- Last Modified Date: 31 January 2012
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2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
The most important thing to remember when caring for a terrestrial hermit crab is that a healthy crab is a happy crab. Properly caring for your hermit crab could result in up to twenty years of enjoyable human-crab companionship. A pet hermit crab requires very little maintenance, but what it does require is very important.
The first thing to do to care for a hermit crab is to set up an appropriate habitat. The small wire or plastic cages provided at boardwalks or pet stores are inadequate for a hermit crab. Hermit crabs need a lot of space to climb and move around, as they travel extensively in the wild. Because hermit crabs are avid climbers, make sure your habitat has a lid to prevent escapes. A glass aquarium of at least ten gallons is sufficient.
The substrate, or the material at the bottom of the habitat, should consist of sand. You can use play sand, available at home improvement stores. Even better is sand purchased from a pet store that contains supplemental calcium. Be sure to provide objects for your hermit crab to climb on, such as drift wood, rocks, or a small piece of chicken wire.
It is also important to provide a large selection of empty shells. The shells should be larger than the one your hermit crab is already in. Be sure to check the opening of the shell rather than the size of the entire shell. Shells that appear to be bigger may have a smaller opening than your crab’s current selection. It is fun to watch your hermit crab try on different shells looking for the perfect fit!
The name hermit crab is a bit of a misnomer. Hermit crabs are actually very social and naturally travel in large groups. It is best to have at least two, but as long as you have the space - the more the merrier!
A pet hermit crab requires a high humidity level in order to breathe. The habitat should be misted with water daily in order to maintain humidity, especially in air conditioned and heated homes. Placing a humidifier near the hermit crab cage is a great idea too. It is also helpful to keep a wet natural sea sponge in the habitat. In air conditioned rooms, you should supply a heat rock as well.
Hermit crabs also require fresh drinking water. Provide your hermit crab with a shallow container of water that contains gravel or rocks to prevent the crab from drowning. Regular kitchen bowls are fine to use for drinking water, but pet supply stores usually carry water bowls made of rock that add aesthetic interest to the terrarium for both you and the hermit crab.
In the wild, hermit crabs are scavengers, so feeding your hermit crab a variety of different foods will keep it healthy. Crackers, vegetables, and fruits are appropriate foods. You can also buy specially formulated hermit crab food at a pet store to guarantee that your hermit crab is getting a balanced diet.
It is very important to provide foods that are high in calcium. Your hermit crab may enjoy snacking on egg shells, which meet this nutritional need. A combination of store-bought food and foods that you provide is the best way to keep your hermit crab healthy. Be sure to remove uneaten food to prevent mold and bugs.
A healthy hermit crab will grow larger and must shed its exoskeleton by molting about every six months. Many people think that their hermit crab is dead when it is simply molting and dispose of the crab while it is still alive. A hermit crab will usually bury itself in the sand or hide under an object for days or weeks when it begins to molt. It must leave its shell to molt, and at that time it will not move and may appear to be dead. You can tell very easily whether your hermit crab is molting or dead by smelling it. A seemingly lifeless hermit crab that is molting will not have an offensive odor.
It is important not to touch or handle a molting crab. Doing so could be life-threatening for the crab, because it takes a while for the new exoskeleton to harden. It is also critical not to remove the skin that is shed, because the crab needs to eat it to regain the calcium lost through molting. Calcium is what causes the exoskeleton to become hard. The best course of action is to leave your hermit crab alone until you see that it has become active again. You will also be able to notice the difference in color between the hardened and unhardened skin.
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Discuss this Article
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anon222126
Post 25 |
our crab has been with us for six weeks. we rarely see him unless we wake in the middle of the night. he changed shells shortly after we got him and now stays buried most of the time. he only seems active for about two hours during the night when he eats and looks at his tank. is this normal. |
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sandythecrab
Post 24 |
Please help. My beloved hermit crab sandy started molting about two weeks ago. I've had her for almost two years. I love her dearly and don't want anything to happen to her. I love animals. I have read everything about animals and am really stumped about this. She is in a separate cage with water and her old exoskeleton away from her brother/husband rocky and was seemingly fine, but recently she's been smelling like sea water like where I got her. I know she's not dead, but please help. I'm crying and don't know what to do. Thank you so much. Please reply soon! |
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anon183641
Post 23 |
I had six hermit crabs, but a couple of days ago I found one completely out of its shell. I've checked all the empty shells around and the shell that he was living in and they're empty. He was in the corner 'naked' and not moving. We picked him up and nothing. Does this mean he is dead? And if so, what did he die from? |
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anon167999
Post 22 |
My name is jared and i have nine hermit crabs and my one hermit crab Gizmo won't set his shell down wen he walks around. is something wrong? and how can i help? |
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anon165673
Post 21 |
I have 23 hermit crabs and I've had seven of them for six years and they are doing very well, but my three new crabs are not moved except when i put them on my bedroom floor to let them walk around. Then they walk like crazy! Whats wrong with them? I got them two months ago. |
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anon162361
Post 20 |
I just got a hermit crab and he's buried himself in his dirt. I am kind of scared he is going to suffocate. Also, I was wondering how long a hermit crab could live out of his shell. Is it dangerous? I'm going to get a new shell soon because Ebony is molting. |
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anon160432
Post 19 |
Ortizm, you can keep the carrier try putting a wet washcloth over the tank which will produce humidity which the hermit crab needs to breathe and buy a hermit crab heater to keep temp a minimum of 75 degrees. I think the crab would get stressed being carried around a lot. Stress causes crabs to loose claws but the claw will grow back next molt! best of luck. |
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anon158273
Post 18 |
My hermit crab was moving one night, and the next day, it was out of its shell lying limp, with her eyes hanging down. It hasn't moved, but she has lost a claw. We thought she was alive, and we took her out to give her a bath. But she sat in the water, not moving like normal. She has been like this all day. Is she dead? |
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anon157838
Post 17 |
we have a hermit crab that is a little red guy. His name's ashton. My son got him for christmas. I have started noticing that his feet and claw "ends" have been turning white. I believe he molted last month but what does the white tips of his feet and claws mean. Please help me with my worry. |
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Jordan12
Post 16 |
My name is Jordan and I'm a ten year old boy in victoria. i have had four hermits and six counting my brother's. Three days ago i bought two to replace the ones that died and i was happy, but every day the humidity goes down by 5 in the tank and i don't know how to raise it from 35 to about 50? Anyway, when a hermit crab loses legs, claws and other parts it's a sigh of stress, not molting. Molting is when they go under the ground from about 4-40 days and shed their skin and then after that they eat the skin to regain from the loss of calcium. Also spray it well with water and if he still doesn't move, try putting him in to a bowl of the bath water. By the way, if he smells like rotten dead fish he is dead. Anyway, please reply to my question. |
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anon131602
Post 15 |
By the strong "death smell" I am assuming the crab is dead. It has smelled like death for several days. We have not had time to bury him. Today, he is out of his shell. Do molting crabs sometimes smell very strongly of death? Very confused! |
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anon131052
Post 14 |
dear anon118848: he is under stress,most likely. to make sure it is not mites, turn him on his back and spray him so he stretches out, if you see specks crawling around, he has mites. yet he could be molting, but i doubt it. thank you-ariel paige |
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anon123892
Post 13 |
We have a medium size crab that has been in the molting stage for a week or so - exoskeleton off - as of two days ago he has left his shell - he has spent much of time by the water bowl and now is in the corner of his cage - we gently misted him and he is alive. Do we need to rinse the sand off and try the cup method to get him back in his shell or should we just leave him alone in the dark and let him gather energy/finish molting? |
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anon120749
Post 12 |
When your tank smells, the Hermit Crab is dead. It's a strong fishy odor. Other than that, there is no odor whatsoever. |
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anon118848
Post 11 |
Please help! I bought two hermit crabs for my two older children. one sponge bob the other mr. crab. Mr. crab is always on the move and sponge bob only really moves around when you take him out of the tank. We have had them for a little over a month and for the past five days sponge bob hasn't moved at all away from his water dish. I picked him up and put him on the floor to see if he would start walking around, but no luck. After about 10 minutes of waiting for him to walk around I picked him up to put back in his tank, and as I picked him up one of his legs fell off. Some people tell me he's molting and to leave him alone. Also there's a musty smell coming from the tank and I don't know when, but Mr.crab flipped over spongebob and I then noticed that he's turning white. I blocked off Mr.crab so he can't get at Sponge bob anymore. And on that note he lost a claw. I'm not sure if he's dead or molting. Please someone help me I really don't know what to do with Sponge bob. |
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anon109709
Post 10 |
My hermit crab's tank smelled awful so i washed it. I then smelled my hermit crab and he smelled really disgusting. he lost a leg last weekend and i haven't seen him move like at all. how do i know if he is dead? |
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Adil
Post 8 |
I am a hermit crab expert.First of all, wire cages do not help maintain humidity --an essential thing! |
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anon78710
Post 7 |
Dearest alexissierra and ortizm, I have had a hermit crab who died while molting. The only way to check is to take a spray bottle with water in it and squirt some lightly on him. if he doesn't move i am afraid he's gone to crabby heaven! |
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anon76882
Post 6 |
i have three hermit crabs. i love them a lot. |
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anon63291
Post 5 |
I'm 14 and i own an hermit crab. I've had him over five months now and I'm a little worried about him molting. what do i do? i know to leave him alone, but hes a very shy fella and i love him dearly! his name is Hermy and he's awesome! |
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anon19458
Post 4 |
ok, if you see the crab's torso twitch then it may be alive but you ave to act NOW!!! to check pace the crab in a shallow dish of warm water, but not hot. If it starts to move then it may well be alive. Try not to carry him around for at least a few days so he can settle in . get him a bigger cage and make sure he is not too cold and the air is humid. Bext of luck!!! Xx.NayNay.xX |
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anon15906
Post 3 |
when do you put a new shell in the habitat for a molting crab? |
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alexissierra
Post 2 |
I bought my daughters three hermit crabs two weeks ago. For the past week, the crab that seemed the most active and alert has not moved. It is laying on the surface, but is for the most part in it's shell. It lost a leg last week just before. I'm not sure if molting or dead. The tank smells and I just cleaned it a week ago. Do all molting crabs come out of their shell? I don't want to dispose of it if it is not dead. I'm not sure what to do. |
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ortizm
Post 1 |
My daughter has had her hermit crab for about a week. We put him in a crab carrier we got from a pet store. She has been carrying him around a lot, so I think he has been under some stress. He lost a claw a couple of days ago. We found him out of his shell this morning. He is not moving. One little leg on his back torso twitches every once in a while. Is he dead? I have had a variety of pets-cats, dogs, ferrets, rats, fish, birds-but I am out of my element with this one. I have heard that they are easy to care for, but maybe we did something wrong. Any suggestions? I know now that the "tank" is too small, but the pet store person told me it would be okay. If "Nemo" is gone, we want to try again, but how should we go about it the right way? |
