I inherited some Hermit Crabs and I am afraid I'm not taking good care of them. They came in a fish tank with some kind of reddish brown fluffy bedding stuff in it, with a shallow dish for water and 2 bottles of food - one hermit crab meat, but it's kind of looks like parmesan cheese and hermit crab treat, it kind of looks like dried fruit. It has a hollow half log the crabs stay in all the time and there are several empty shells laying around in case they want to go for a new look. I was given a squeeze bottle that says its water salinator. SO, I guess they drink salt water? I'm concerned because they never seem to eat what I put out and they rarely ever come out of the log. I've found them sitting in the water bowl a few times. I have to lift them up to be sure they are alive. I've looked online, but there wasnt an easy 1,2, 3 guide. How do I take care of these little buggers? Do they need to be under a heat lamp like they have them in the store? Do they need sand or something to borrow into? Am I feeding them the wrong thing or the wrong way and do they need a pond in the tank to get into, since they like sitting in the drinking water?
I agree with everyone here. We've had several hermit crabs. Each lived about a year, and I swear none of them ate a single thing. We kept giving them fresh food just in case. We used the sponge for water like others mentioned. Have fun!
Mine (Ok--my son's) LOVES to be sprayed (from underneath) with salt water. Mix the salt water & put some in a bottle for spraying and some in a small water bottle lid for drinking. Put fresh water in as well, and food. Ours has never touched the "crab treats" either. He eats very little. I change the food because it gets gross--not gone!
We have no heat lamp.
Mine loves that shredded bark bedding for burrowing under.
They like to climb so maybe prop a log up against the side.
I never see ours sitting in the water. Sometimes I put water in a paper plate & "bathe" him, but he quickly crawls to the side & wants out.
Oh--and let them out to run around a bit--they like that.
MY SIL assures me that the cheesy-looking food is corn meal.
They also allegedly like sweets & cereals, etc. but ours has never really eaten that stuff. Oh! they do like lettuce!
They need both salt and fresh water. Or at least the fresh water. We put some salt water in with our once in a while, butnot that often. They do not eat very much, but you should give them some fresh fruit and veggies once ina while. i just cut a few small pieces off of the apple core when I cut up apples for my son, for example.
Some pet stores will give you a one sheet basic instruciton guide.
They are pretty easy to ake care of. They just need to stay warm and moist. They are often nocturnal, so you may not see them out during the day. I have to small water bowls in my tank, one with fresh water and one salt water. They don't drink salt water, but it is good for them to soak in. Hermit crabs also molt, which you may know, but it will still shock you when it happens. They look like they are dead...seriously. Once you are familiar with them, you may notice them eating or drinking a little more than normal, depending on how often you chagne the food. (I should do it more often, but mine are lucky if I refresh their food once a week.) Then they often will burrow into whatever substrate you have for them. It's best to leave them undisturbed as they are fragile at this time. Hermit crabs will often eat some of their old shell, so you can leave the molted skin in the tank for a day or two. Message me if you have any questions:)
One thing I remember from having a few of them is that they don't really need a water bowl. They need a sponge soaked in water and sitting in a dish. We never used any kind of salt water. Just filtered water. Also, they definitely need sand to burrow in. Sometimes they stay under there for days and we would wonder where they were! My neighbor had some that lasted longer than mine. She always fed them their hermit crab chow, but added shrimp tails (uncooked) occasionally. They like to chew on them I guess.
Take them to a local pet store and ask there -- call first to make sure you go when someone knowledgable is there. There are also videos on www.youtube.com
We have one we got a few months ago. He's doing pretty well. We have him in a small tank that has half the floor covered with sand substrate and half with shredded coconut fibers. There's about 2 inches depth of each in there. My daughter changes his good daily and sometimes he eats and sometimes he doesn't - I think that's normal. He has a water dish for bathing - it has bottled water in it and we change in every few days. We also have a sponge that we wet with a spray bottle twice a day. My daughter also picks him up 2X a day and sprays him from underneath. They have to stay moist or they'll die. We recently got him a half-pipe tunnel made of basket material - they have to have a place to hide to feel safe so you may want to add something - even a tunnel made out of a cracker box will do. The branch to climb on is good and yes, we let him "run around" our living room floor for short periods of time too. Keep an eye on him - they move faster than you think and will look to hide under something. We have a very small reptile heater attached to the outside wall of the tank - it keeps it around 75 degrees inside the tank which I think they like - don't let them get too cold - they're tropical animals I think.
Don't forget lots of extra shells in different sizes so they can move into a new one when needed.
We're still learning about our little guy - youtube was helpful and so was our local pet store.
Ask the science teachers at school. I'll bet they've had them in their room sometime in their careers!
Dawn
