Hermit crab

[galeogirl]

An acquaintance just offered me two hermit crabs that her daughter has lost interest in. I've never actually kept them. I'm assuming that they're not difficult, but does anyone have any experience with them? Are they opportunistic omnivores like shore crabs?

 

[Windchaser]

A recent ATS forum magazine had a good article about hermit crabs. If you wanted, I could send it to you. Off the top of my head, it stated that you need a fairly deep substrate which helps to maintain the humidity level. The author recommended sand. You also need a large water dish, which allows the crabs to submerge at least half their shell in. This allows them to fill their shells with water, which they require. It did sound like they are omnivours.

The interesting piece of information in the article was that hermit crabs can live quite long when properly housed. Unfortunately, all those mall kiosks are poor examples for how they should be maintained.

 

[galeogirl]

Sounds simple enough. Looks like there are some new inverts coming my way then.

 

[Mister Internet]

They're actually pretty tolerant of bad husbandry as well... we had some as kids that, in retrospect, we kept horribly... albeit on the bad advice of a petstore owner. We were kids, and we didn't have the Internet then, what can I say...

Anyway, we kept ours on dry aquarium gravel with a heating pad under it! The only water was a water dish, and we had no lid on it... about as un-humid an enclosure as you can get, but they still lived for four or five years for us, and they were quite large when we got them, so they may have been old anyway... who knows... they're a ton of fun for kids though.

 

[Darwinsdad]

They can be very interesting in thier behavior as well...but as my father learned in a very sad lesson they do not tolerate falling into a cup of hot coffee.

 

[fantasticp]

I too killed a hemit crab as a kid. I think it only lived a year. I read recently they can live to 35. That is a pretty long commitment to think about before you take them.

Try www.crabstreetjournal.com

 

[galeogirl]

I have a two year-old human and female Brachypelmas, I'm used to long-term commitment.

 

[Wade]

Hermit crabs can survive awhile in a dry cage if they have a water source, but they will likley not survive a molt in such an environment. Yes, they may survive a few years that way, but compare that with the potential of livingfor decades. As crustaceans, they breath with gills and these must be kept wet to fuction, which they can manage if they keep water in their shell.

Since I wrote the ATS article, I could email you a copy if you like.

Wade

 

[galeogirl]

Hi Wade, long time no see. I'm supposed to be getting the article in pdf format probably today, but thank you for the offer. Note to self: re-subscribe to ATS Forum.

I e-mailed the person who wants to get rid of them saying that I'd take them but haven't heard back from her yet. I think they'll make a nice addition to my desk at home and I'll get them all set up so they're happy.

 

[Windchaser]

Hi Wade, long time no see. I'm supposed to be getting the article in pdf format probably today, but thank you for the offer. Note to self: re-subscribe to ATS Forum.

I e-mailed the person who wants to get rid of them saying that I'd take them but haven't heard back from her yet. I think they'll make a nice addition to my desk at home and I'll get them all set up so they're happy.

Have you received the e-mail with the PDF yet? I sent it last night. I didn't receive any errors, so I assumed that you have already received it.

 

[galeogirl]

I haven't received it yet, did you send it to my comcast addy? If not, I have another email that's much more stable.

 

[Windchaser]

I haven't received it yet, did you send it to my comcast addy? If not, I have another email that's much more stable.

Yep, I sent it to your Comcast address. It went out shortly after you sent your reply to me last night. Shoot me an e-mail with your other address and I will send it again.

 

[Kaulback]

I too killed a hemit crab as a kid. I think it only lived a year. I read recently they can live to 35. That is a pretty long commitment to think about before you take them.

Try www.crabstreetjournal.com

They CAN live to 35, in the wild. The problem is that they adapt poorly to captivity and even experts can't seem to keep them longer than 5 years before death. That's the reason I don't keep them anymore, it just doesn't seem right, considering they are all wild-caught. Captive breeding can only happen if you can manage to simulate the ocean shore, including waves
For care, www.hermit-crabs.com is excellent.

 

[galeogirl]

Oh, that's sad that they don't live so long in captivity. Of course, the first thing my brain does with that info is start trying to work out ocean simulation.

 

[NoS]

A local pet shop around me sells them.
I forget the price but its a little more if you want one that has a shell that has been painted. Thats right... they paint the shells of them pretty little colors with what looks like fingernail polish.
You can also reguest a custom painted design.
I dont know if this would be bad for them or not, considering they dont breath through the shell itself. If it doesnt hurt them then I guess its a pretty neat idea.

I had a very large one when I was a kid. I didnt know any better and just let the poor little critter run around my basement, where my room was. I lost it for a bit and then came across the empty shell... soon after I came across the dead crab, which obviously couldnt find a larger shell to make its home.
I feel so bad now.

 

[galeogirl]

So, building a shoreline terrarium would probably make for happy little hermies, right? But how to create a simulated tide without quickly washing away all of the sand? Maybe a plexi lip glued into place with some spillover? And what kind of salinity? Brackish or salt water?

*thinking, thinking*

 

[Kaulback]

Lol, like I said, pretty impossible...I don't know the details of what the setup would need, only that natural breeding occurs when they all make a yearly migration to the ocean...the males deposit their sperm into the ocean and somehow the females are impregnated...I suppose if you could trick the crabs into thinking they were migrating to the ocean, it would work. But since people can't really get crabs to live for more than 5 years, all the babies wouldn't live to be very big. Buying a crab of a certain size is practically like buying a different species, which is the same species, only bigger, since your 'small crab' won't live long enough to ever reach 'large crab' size.

 

[Kaulback]

Also, for anybody paticularily fascinated by hermit crabs, I suggest you Google Coconut Crabs, a near relative of the tree hermit crab (non-aquatic hermit crab)...they're AFAIK the largest land invertebrates in the world. Adult coconut crabs can grow about 40" from head to tail and weigh about 37 lbs. Beautiful creatures. Not in the pet trade though, since they (again, AFAIK, could be mistaken) are on CITES. The natives of their natural habitat have traditionally eaten them though, so they are legally allowed to kill a certain amount to eat per year.

 

[Wade]

Some keepers have kept hermit crabs 10, 15 years and beyond. Might not be common, but it does occur. Captive breeding is pretty much impossible though.

Ideally, hermit crabs should be offered both fresh and salt water. While a shoreline aquarium would be cool, keeping it clean would be next to impossible. Also, getting the ideal salinity would be difficult, if not impossible. While they do need some salt, they also rely on fresh water sources as well. I offer two dishes, one with fresh, de-chlorinated tap water and the other with a brackish mix. I use Live bearer brackish salt (sold at aquarium stores) and mix in one two tablespoons of it into a gallon jug of water. This allows the crabs to choose which they prefer. The water should be changed frequently, dirty water is likley a factor in the high mortality rate among captive hermit crabs.

Wade

 

[galeogirl]

I don't foresee any problem with offering them two types of water and, seeing as I give everyone fresh water every day, it's just a few extra minutes in the routine.

I might try setting up the shoreline aquarium for fun if I could get my hands on the right tank. We'll see.