About getting a friend for my hermit crab?
hermit crabs need to be kept in groups ... when i bring any new ones home, i let them wander in some shallow water (i mix fresh and salt water) and you can even put your original hermit crab in the bath after fifteen minutes so when you put them back in the tank they smell the same which can help to avoid any problems ... i have never had any problems introducing new crabs and i have large, medium and small in my tank currently ... your crab is stressed being on his own ... they travel in large colonies in the wild (all hermit crabs are harvested from the wild) so friends is a good idea ... variety bites are on the toxic list and should not be used - http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/databa... ... the majority of commercial hermit crab food contains toxic preservatives taht will kill hermit crabs over time ... hermit crabs need fresh food, protein, then veggies, then fruit and the occasional treat ... here is how they should be fed - http://www.hermitcrabworld.com/hermit-cr... ... they should not be fed commercial hermit crab food, but you can buy a quality staple food from a place like the hermit crab patch or hermit crab addiction websites ... there is a seller on ebay who sells home-made organic food that is inexpensive and the variety is quite diverse ... and hermit crabs can not be fed the same food day in and day out, a study was done on hermit crabs in captivity and they stopped eating but continued to look for food even if there was the same food in the tank ... in the wild they are scavengers and would have something different every day to eat ... and to be honest you should get two more crabs as there should be 3 cuz if one goes down to molt, there are still two to keep each other company ... and make sure your tank has at least four inches of the proper substrate that is always kept damp ... the heat and humidity should be pushing 80 and should not fluctuate and should be maintained with proper gauges ... and all hermit crabs require two pools of water, one fresh and one salt (made with marine salt) ... not providing salt water can make it hard for some crabs to survive molting ... and when picking out your new ones, take them out of the enclosure they are housed in, set down, and if it immediately comes out and starts to motor about, that most likely is a healthy crab ... don't buy any that won't come out or seem lethargic when they move ...
I can't find my hermit crab?
Did you lift your tank? Rex my hermit crab molted for his first time with me a couple months ago. He was deep in the corner. I couldn't find him even if I had took out the moss. I lifted my tank though and there was a little hole at the very bottom. And i could see a sleeping hermit crab right there.
Okay....A Hermit Crab....are they hard to take care of?
well if you only want 2 you'll just need a medium cage.(a fish bowl would work great as the cage),something like fish bowl rocks to but on the bottom of the cage,extra hermit crab shells that are a little bit bigger then the shells that they are in at the time that you get them,(you need extra shells because hermit crabs slowely grow and so when the shells that they are in get too small for them they move into a different shell) , you will also need 2 small dishes 1 for water and 1 for hermit crab food,which you can buy at the local pet store. Hermit crabs love places other than rocks to sleep on,so something good to get them would be a small hollow log with holes all over it.If you want them to have a play time a fantastic thing for them to play in is a medium wicker basket.make sure you watch them when they are in the wicker basket because they can climb very well.the only thyings you have to do to take care for them is make sure they always have food and water and clean out their cage every so often so they wont get smelly.It should be able to stay in your room at ALL TIMES!!! Good Luck
Can i use hamster bedding for a hermit crab cage?
Absolutely not. They need clean, treated sand from a petstore. Hermit Crabs require attention to detail to care for properly (and thus let them live long lives). Please do research BEFORE getting one. You have to maintain the temperature and humidity of their habitat, have a seperate tank for molting, provide them with calcium, clean their tank regularly, change their food and water daily, ect. ect. ect. They look simple to care for, but there is much more to their care than one would think. Check out: www.hermitcrabassociation.com
My hermit crab has mites/fleas ( i just cleaned his cage out) are these bugs harmful to my household & 3yr kid
I wouldn't use stress coat. The product stresscoat is made for fish which hermit crabs are not. Mites are a huge issue for crabs and is very stressful. Having to isolate and give your crabs three days worth of baths is bad enough as is. You don't want to make things worse on them by adding unnessasary chemicals to the water. chlorine free safe salt water is fine for bathing. Everything you use to clean should be natural. Mites don't like high amounts of salt, oil, or sunlight You will need two or three containers to isolate your crabs in. Line the bottom with a towl or paper towel. Anything that goes in the tank must be disposible. Boil all shells and scrub all other things. Throw out the substrate and if you can take your tank outside and hose it down. Once that is done scrub it out in hot salt water. baking soda and vinigar are natural cleaners you can use. I used a little vegetable oil along the corrners to smother any eggs. let it sit for an hour or so outside then wash it out again. Leave it in the sun to dry out. Bathe the crabs for three days and put them in a new isolation unit each time. Check each day for any adult mites. Mites have a three day cycle. On the fourth day bathe them again. Bake all the new substrate ( 400f for 10-15 minutes seems to work for me) wash over everything again re set up the tank and once the sand is dry return the crabs. I'm sorry you have mites. It's really hard to get rid of them. I lost a crab to mites and it was a pain to rid the tank of them best of luck As far as I know they will not harm anyone but there are many sprays you can buy commercially to clean the house and destory them if you are worried. Just make sure you don't spray anywhere near the crabs. Hermit crabs and mites are distant genetic relations. Any product that will kill a mite will kill a crab. Forest bark is nortorious for carrying mites.
Hermit crab help pleasee?
Well, i had my hermit crabs for a while now, i do not know much about them either. Their cage is a metal one so they can climb filled with a little bit of sand, am i suppose to put a bowl of water in their cage? Dont call me stupid, i never owned one before xD, so tell me how to take proper care. I dont want a link to a website. Just answers for you please.
How do i gain the trust of my new Hermit Crabs.?
I want to know how i can make it so i can safely handle them, without any pincer incidents. I just got new ones, passed on from a friend and i think they hate me. Every time i near their cage they hide in there shells for 2-5 minutes. I have 2, don't know much about them. From what i heard from my friend they love there habitat. I read the more you handle them the more trust you gain. But what i want to know is: What's best time to handle them? What's they best way to handle them? When do I know i can handle them without a glove?(I really don't want to get pinched) Also i have this bowl with a sponge in it, I'm guessing thats for their drinking water, how to i put the water so they can access it easiest. If you know any other important details due tell. Thank You