Buying a Pet Hermit Crab
Hermit crabs are fun and unique and best of all, well-suited to a wide variety of circumstances. They are the perfect solution for the family looking for a low maintenance pet. They won’t empty your bank account, don’t need to be house trained and require very little cleaning up after. With proper care your hermies will be lots of fun for the whole family for several years.
To start, the little plastic tank your new pet probably came home in is too small. It’s not a complete waste, as it makes a perfect isolation tank for molting crabs or carrying tank to help pick the right size bigger shells at the pet store. But the first thing you need to do is get a bigger tank.
Once you have a tank, you can fill it with substrate, food and water dishes and toys. You will also need a means of keeping the right temperature and humidity. A water misting bottle is a great way to play with your crabs and keep the humidity level in the tank high.
If low cost is a primary concern in finding your perfect pet, then you’re looking in the right direction. Feeding is one of the simplest and economical aspects of hermit crab care! Small pieces of things like fruit, vegetables, meat and nuts are enough to last your crabs for two or three days. After that, simply throw away anything left over and clean out the food dish to prevent spoilage and bacteria.
Hermit crabs are very social creatures! In the wild, they live together in groups of up to 100 crabs. One of the first things you should do when you buy your first hermie is plan to get him at least one other friend, but the more the merrier.
These little guys make fun and very unique pets for children. They are easy to care for, have no known health issues that affect humans, and are even hypoallergenic. Many pet stores even sell shells that are decorated different colors and designs for the kids.
Because they are nocturnal, hermit crabs will happily sleep through the day while children are at school and when they come home they can give their crabs fresh water and mist the tank and their shells. They only need feeding every two or three days and cleaning once a week.
Hermit crabs are not soft and cuddly though, and during the several weeks of the molting process they make for very boring pets as molting crabs must be left alone. Fortunately all of your crabs won’t molt at the exact same time, and molting only takes place once a year or so depending on the size of the crab.
