How to Care for Hermit Crabs

Fun to play with and watch, inexpensive and easy to care for, hermit crabs make great pets! Take good care of them, and they can live for years--even far removed from their natural beach habitat. Hermit crabs don't need much to survive, but there are a few things they must have in order to live and grow in their new aquarium home.

Things You'll Need

• Aquarium (10 gallons or larger)
• Spiral shells (assortment of different sizes)
• Clam-style shells (1 to 2 palm-size); or shallow dish
• Natural sponge (fist-size)
• Hermit crab food
• Sand (1 bag)
• Filtered water
• Water treatment drops for dechlorination

Instructions

1. Give the crab a nice new home! Based on the number of hermit crabs you're bringing into the family, find an aquarium of appropriate size--10 gallons for one crab is a good place to start. Oh, and they do like friends; back home on the beach, your pet crab strolled with hordes of other little "hermits."

2. Line the bottom of the aquarium with about 2 to 3 inches of sand. You can buy hermit crab-friendly sand from a pet or hardware store. In the latter case, use playground sand.

3. Maintain a wet area in the aquarium--a hermit crab swimming pool! A large overturned shell does the trick, while also providing the crab with much-needed calcium. Or try a shallow dish sunk into the sand. The crab will be able to drink from the pool and stay moist--even far from his old ocean-side home.

4. Place a small natural sponge--about the size of a fist--into the water to aid in evaporation. This will keep the air in the tank humid, just how your hermit likes it!

5. Feed your new friend a pinch of pet store hermit crab food once a day-perhaps in an overturned seashell. Fruit, vegetables or cereal can be a nice supplement to the crabby diet.

6. Provide your new hermit crab with room to grow. Perhaps the most important step for long-term care, offering your pet crab a wide range of spiral shells, similar to but larger than his own, will allow him to choose a series of new homes as his body outgrows its current shell.

Tips & Warnings

• Place the aquarium in a warm environment of 65 to 85 degrees.

• Choose a pool shallow enough that the crab can get out. Place small rocks, sticks or shells inside the pool to serve as stepping stones.

• Keep the crab's pool full of fresh, filtered water. If possible, dechlorinate the water using special drops from a pet food store.

• Clean the sponge every week or two to prevent bacteria by rinsing it in hot water; or, when dry, give the sponge a quick one- or two-minute blast in the microwave.

• Provide a dozen or more shells per crab to make sure each finds the right fit when he molts. Hermit crabs can be picky about their new homes!

• Don't mistake a molting crab for a dead pet! As she grows, your hermit will molt--shed her exoskeleton--and leave the old armor behind. She's probably hiding out, tucked deep inside a shell.