Please read the following closely, it is important to the health of your new pet:
· Heat Mats are essential for your hermit crab as they can get sick or die if it is too cold. They should be kept in a warm (ideally between 21 and 27 degrees Celsius) and moist environment, and this can easily be monitored with a thermometer & humidity gauge. They need a warm side and a cool side with a deep sand bed so they can shed properly.
· Plastic or glass fish tanks are recommended for housing, always using the lids to keep the escape artists in. We carry a variety of cage types suitable for hermit crabs.
· Hermit crabs need a variety of options for substrate and flooring. It is ideal to have half of the enclosure floor covered in sand and the other half in cocopeat or bark. Make sure the bark side is sprayed daily with a spray bottle to keep this side moist.
· To breathe crabs need humidity and will suffocate if his environment becomes too dry. So, the crab’s water bowls must always be full.
· When handling crabs, keep them on your flattened palm, but make sure they do not fall off the edge. Keep crabs off carpet, it can be dangerous to their health. If they do happen to “grab on” to you, generally blowing them will make them release, or for more stubborn crabs, a quick rinse under the tap. Try not pull them off as it hurts the crab.
· Hermit Crab Food provides a perfect dry food diet, to which small amounts of most vegetables and vegetables should be added.
· Hermit crabs need fresh water for drinking and salt water to condition their exoskeleton and cleaning inside the shell. Use Water Ager to remove the Chlorine, Fluoride and heavy metals from the tap water.
· Ocean Salt water in one of the bowls is essential for the conditioning of their exoskeleton and cleaning inside the shell. You can make this salt water in a bottle by diluting hermit crab salt crystals in salt water. Kitchen salt should never be used.
· Natural sea sponge is placed wet in the tank and is eaten to provide essential minerals and provides humidity. The sponge should be rinsed thoroughly about once a week. Alternatively, the sponge can be placed in the water bowls.
· A ceramic food bowl is difficult to knock over (resulting in far less food wastage) or chew, more hygienic and easier to clean. Crabs cannot swim, so drinking water bowls must be very shallow, or half filled with gravel or have a sponge inside. The drinking water must be kept fresh.
· You should provide your crabs with rocks, driftwood, or ornaments for climbing.
· Spare shells of a variety of larger sizes should be provided for the crabs to try for size, and eventually move into when necessary. They grow about 4mm each year. When crabs molt (and usually eat) their exoskeleton each summer, they re-grow missing legs.
· Crabs are very susceptible to poisoning, so be very careful of any chemicals used in cleaning. The life expectancy of a crab in the perfect conditions is 40 years, so look after them. Make sure when you clean your tank you use a hermit crab safe cleaner or alternatively just use treated tap water to clean.
The above information is only meant as a guide, and you should not hesitate to contact our helpful staff if you have any problems or concerns. Enjoy and look after your new