Getting a new pet hermit crab and wondering how to take care of it? While hermit crabs may not be as common of a pet as dogs or cats, they make for a unique, fascinating companion.
With their cute appearance and quirky behaviors hermit crabs can be tons of fun to observe and interact with. Best of all they are relatively easy and inexpensive to care for.
This beginner’s guide will teach you everything you need to know about taking care of a hermit crab. We’ll cover ideal tank setup, temperature and humidity needs, proper diet and feeding, handling, molting, health issues to watch for, and more!
Are Hermit Crabs Easy Pets for Beginners?
Yes, hermit crabs make great starter pets! Here’s why they are suitable for beginners:
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They are low maintenance and have simple habitat requirements As long as you set up the tank properly, hermit crabs don’t need much day-to-day care
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They are hypoallergenic and don’t produce odors or require bathing.
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They don’t carry or transmit any diseases to humans.
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They are inexpensive to buy and care for.
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They have friendly, docile personalities and are unlikely to pinch or bite when handled properly.
So if you’re new to pet ownership, a hermit crab is a perfect option as you get the hang of caring for another living creature without too much pressure.
Setting Up the Perfect Hermit Crab Tank
In the wild, hermit crabs are found in tropical coastal regions. To keep them happy and healthy as pets, you need to recreate the warm, humid conditions of their natural habitat.
Here are the key elements to set up an ideal home for your hermit crab:
Tank Size: The minimum tank size for 1-2 small crabs is 10 gallons. Go bigger if you have more/larger crabs.
Substrate: Use a sand/coconut fiber mix, at least 3 inches deep. Keep the substrate moist but not soaked.
Temperature: 75-85°F. Use an under tank heater or heat lamp if needed.
Humidity: 75-85%. Use a hygrometer and mist tank daily if needed.
Fresh and Salt Water: Deep bowls for drinking and bathing. Use dechlorinated fresh water and marine salt mix.
Climbing Decor: Cholla wood, cork, driftwood, etc.
Hides: Coco huts, caves, logs, and plants for hiding.
Lid: Secure, well-ventilated lid to contain humidity.
Lighting: Low wattage bulb for day/night cycles. No special lighting needed.
Ideal Hermit Crab Diet
Hermit crabs are omnivores and scavengers. In the wild they eat decaying plants/animals, insects, eggs, etc.
As pets, they need a varied diet consisting of:
- High-quality commercial hermit crab diet
- Fruits – mango, apple, berries
- Vegetables – carrots, sweet potato, kale
- Unsalted nuts
- Whole grains and cereals
- Clean proteins – cooked meat/fish, insects, egg
- Calcium source – cuttlebone, eggshells
Avoid citrus, avocado, onions, chocolate, and high-fat foods. Remove uneaten fresh foods daily. Provide a constant supply of calcium.
Handling and Interacting With Your Crab
Hermit crabs are fragile and handling should be kept to a minimum. Follow these tips when picking up your crab:
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Always support under the shell, never the legs or body. They can pinch!
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Place them on a flat surface, never heights where they can fall.
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Limit handling to <1 hour at a time. They get stressed if overhandled.
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Never try to pull crabs from shells or objects they cling to.
Let your crab walk around and explore out of the tank. Keep a close eye on them and don’t let them get into danger. Give them toys, tubes, and obstacles to climb on and interact with.
Signs Your Crab is About to Molt
Hermit crabs molt by shedding their exoskeleton as they grow. Molting can take several months.
Signs a molt is coming:
- Lethargic behavior
- Loss of appetite
- Cloudy eyes
- Gray, faded coloring
- Digging/hiding more than usual
Never dig up a molting crab! Provide deep substrate for burrowing and leave molters alone until they resurface.
Common Hermit Crab Health Issues
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Stress: Cause by poor tank conditions, handling, or poor diet.
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Mites: Look like tiny black dots on crab’s body. Clean tank and replace substrate to treat.
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Poisoning: From cleaning chemicals or fumes. Use natural products only around crabs.
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Injuries: Missing legs or cracked shell. Usually regenerate after molting.
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Bacterial infections: Treat with antibiotics if recommended by exotics vet.
Caring for Hermit Crab Babies
Hermit crabs can breed in captivity but raising babies is difficult. Eggs hatch into larvae that require specialized care. Few owners succeed in rearing babies at home.
Enjoy your adult crabs, and breeding can be seen as a sign you’re keeping them very happy! But don’t expect to raise babies yourself.
Tips for a Thriving Hermit Crab Tank
Follow this basic hermit crab care guide and you’ll have happy, healthy crabs for years to come!
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Perform weekly water changes and spot clean as needed.
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Provide a variety of shells so crabs can change as they grow.
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Check temperature and humidity daily at first to find optimal levels.
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Don’t introduce other species – only keep multiple hermit crabs together.
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Watch for signs of stress like buried crabs. Make adjustments as needed.
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Quarantine new crabs before adding to your tank to prevent spreading illness.
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Research safe woods/plants for your crabs. Avoid pesticide/fertilizer exposure.
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Upgrade to a larger tank as your crabs grow bigger.
By mimicking their natural tropical climate, feeding a varied diet, and providing ample climbing enrichment, your hermit crab will thrive under your care. Enjoy getting to know these charming little pets!
Caring for Your Crabs
- 1 Replace the substrate every 6 months or so. Dirty substrate can lead to mold which can be harmful to your hermit crabs. Change it every 6 months or whenever their habitat starts to smell a little questionable. If you see mold or you spot a mite infestation, change the substrate ASAP. In between substrate cycles, spot clean any dung and food the crabs have dragged from the food bowl or buried.[11]
- Never clean the substrate when your hermit crab is molting. You should never disturb or move a molting crab.
- 2 Handle your hermies with extreme care and patience. Hermit crabs normally get kind of twitchy when you touch them, so go slow. When you get your hermit crabs, leave them in the tank for a few days. Once your crabs don’t shy away from you, try putting your hand down near them to see if they’re interested. Let your hermit crab explore your hand and get used to you.[12]
- Once you get them home, they go through a “de-stressing” period that can take as little as a few days and as long as two months. During this time, change out their food and water regularly and do not disturb them.
- Your crabs probably won’t like being held, but many hermit crabs will learn to tolerate handling if you go slow and you don’t make a lot of sudden movements.
- 3 Let your hermit crabs molt in undisturbed peace. If a crab digs under the substrate for a couple of weeks, dont worry. It’s molting! Do not disturb your crab during this time. They need to be alone and if they are bothered, the stress could kill them. A crabs exoskeleton gets tight as they grow, and molting is how they solve this problem. They shed their exoskeleton and grow a new one, so let them be.[13]
- Dont take the exoskeleton away from the crab! They will need to eat it in order to harden their new exoskeleton when they’re done.
- If your crab behaves like they’re sick, dont panic. Keep an isolation tank in a closet with enough substrate to dig under completely and ample food and water. Crabs often act sick when they’re about to molt, so the odds are good they’re fine.
- 4 Set out multiple extra shells to give your crabs options. When hermit crabs grow, they look for bigger shells. Keep plenty of extra hermit crab shells similar to your crabs sizes in the tank at all times; they’ll go around and look for new housing as they see fit. Once a month or so, rotate a few undisturbed shells out with different styles of shells.[14]
- Purple Pincher Hermit Crabs prefer the shells with round, circular openings. They will choose circular openings over the oval openings. Ecuadorian Hermit Crabs will prefer an oval opening, because they have flatter abdomens.
- Only buy natural, sterilized shells—never buy painted shells! Although companies may claim the paint is safe, the paint can chip off, and if the crabs eat it, it can be toxic.[15]
- 5 Feed your crabs a varied and healthy diet of hermit crab food. Hermit crabs are scavengers by nature and will eat almost anything. Provide a base diet of commercial hermit crab food. Any high-quality product will work so long as it’s designed for hermit crabs.[16]
- Hermit crabs love fresh shrimp, freeze-dried krill, blood worms, and other seafood. You can normally buy these fishy foods at your local grocery store.
- If you cook, set aside a piece of steak or chicken, non-marinated to grill lightly for the crabs. They enjoy raw meat!
- If you have more than 20 crabs or so, get a fish head from a local fish market as an occasional treat.
- 6 Offer fruits and veggies to your hermit crabs to keep them healthy. Aside from eating meat, hermit crabs also love different fruits and vegetables. Remember to change their food almost every day or night. Hermit crabs love to bury their uneaten food, and this can cause molding and is messy.[17]
- Hermit crabs love fresh fruit like pineapple, apple, pears, grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, papaya, strawberries, bananas, etc. Wash your fruit thoroughly before you cut it, to avoid pesticides.
- Crabs will go crazy for coconut shavings!
- Hermit crabs will also eat natural peanut butter on whole wheat toast, hard boiled eggs, egg shells (boiled), and popcorn (plain, unsalted and unbuttered).
- Avoid anything from the Allium species of plants (onion, garlic, etc.).
- 7 Be aware that hermit crabs may pinch. While they generally pinch only when they are afraid or feel cornered, they may pinch for no reason, so don’t take it personally if your hermie gets a little snappy from time to time. If they pinch, just gently turn your hand over in the tank and let gravity gently drop the crab off of your hand.[18]
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Things You Should Know
- Hermit crabs are social and thrive in environments with multiple other crabs.
- Keep the humidity at least 75% and the temperature 75–85 °F (24–29 °C) at all times to ensure your crabs stay healthy.
- Fill your crab’s habitat with children’s playsand, cocofiber, moss, empty shells, freshwater, saltwater, and climbing toys.
Basic Hermit Crab Care – How to Have a Happy Hermit Crab | By Crab Central Station
FAQ
Are hermit crabs easy to take care of?
What does a hermit crab need in its tank?
A hermit crab tank needs a few essential components to thrive, including a suitable enclosure, proper temperature and humidity, fresh and saltwater bowls, a deep substrate for burrowing, shells of various sizes, climbing structures, and food.
Do hermit crabs need water or sand?
The MAIN key to keeping land hermit crabs alive in captivity is to fill your crabitat uniformly with sand deep enough (3-4X their shell size) and moist enough (packs well) that your largest crab is able to bury into complete darkness to molt successfully.
What not to do with a hermit crab?
Chlorine is harmful to land hermit crabs. Repeated exposure to it causes blisters to form on the crabs’ gills, resulting in suffocation and death. You can remove this harmful chemical by purchasing from your pet store a general dechlorinator (or tap water conditioner).
How do you take care of a hermit crab?
Place it on the cool side of your hermit crab’s enclosure. Change it daily, or as needed. All water given to your pet for drinking, as well as water used for misting, soaking or bathing must be 100% free of chlorine and heavy metals. (Not all home water filtration systems remove 100% of the chlorine and heavy metals from tap water).
Are hermit crabs low maintenance?
Hermit crabs, affectionately called hermies, are phenomenal low maintenance pets. But low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance! These cute little crabs need an adequate habitat and plenty of supplies, and we’re here to cover everything you need to know to keep these critters happy and healthy. Read on to learn how to care for hermit crabs.
How often should a pet hermit crab be cleaned?
There is no need to worry about cleaning your pet hermit crab, but you do need to make habitat cleaning a priority as time goes on. Your pet’s tank should be cleaned at least once every 2 weeks to ensure their good health and high quality of life. Remove the crab, and place it in a temporary shelter with substrate and snacks in it.