And that doesn’t just include cleaning, other factors as well will play in on how your hermit crabs will live longer, happy, and active.
- Space is Essential – Having a tank or a bowl is not enough for taking care of hermit crabs, especially if you’re going to care for more than one. As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to have one gallon of tank size if you’re taking care of two hermit crabs. On that note, if you’re going to care for six hermit crabs, then they should be placed in a tank that is at least 3 gallons big.
“But why?” you might ask, it’s because to prevent them from overcrowding and overcrowding might resort them to fight each other for space on the tank. And do note that they will grow in size and space is essential especially if they are in molting phase.
- Give them ‘Toys’ – Hermit crabs are active creatures, they like to explore their environment. So provide them with something they can climb on, be it driftwood, coral, or rocks, anything that can simulate their natural environment. This will make them more
- Humidity & Temperature – Temperature plays a huge role in your hermit crab’s health. So providing them with a properly positioned heat lamp will be beneficial for them since it will give them the right temperature of not too cold or too hot. So what is the ideal temperature for your hermit crabs? The ideal is usually between 70 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit (21.1 degrees – 23.8 degrees Celsius). As a best practice as well is to avoid them on air conditioned rooms as well out of direct sunlight since it will likely cost overheating.
It is also important to keep a thermometer inside their tank so you can ensure that their temperature is at bay.
- A Variety of Shells – Hermit crabs tend to fight other hermit crabs for their shells so you might want to avoid this especially if you’re caring for multiple hermit crabs. And yes, that fighting may end up injuring a hermit crab and as a hermit crab owner you want to avoid that. So it’s better to provide them with a variety of shells with different sizes and openings.
If you can find them old snail shells the better, but if not, you can always buy shells in pet stores. Just be sure to do the necessary steps to sterilize the shells first before you give them to your hermit crabs.
- Healthy options for Food – If you’re a hands-on hermit crab owner, it would be best as well to prepare their own food instead of resorting to the ones you can buy from pet stores. Since by preparing their food, you know that it’s natural and not full of chemicals and extenders.
So what food can you feed them? Well, to name a few, you can feed them veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, carrot, and spinach. As for fruits, you can feed them Banana, apple, grapes, orange, and mangoes. You can feed them nuts and grains as well, such as almonds, oats, bran, and rice.
So you have plenty of food options to feed them and there’s no excuse to not feed them healthy food.
