How to Create a Home for a Pet Hermit Crab

Providing your pet hermit crab a proper habitat is essential for keeping the crab healthy and happy. You should create a home that has enough space for the crab to satisfy all of its natural instincts, from digging to molting.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Substrate
• Water dishes
• Sponges
• Food Dish
• Under tank heater
• Tank

1. Pick the right size. You need enough room for the hermit crabs, water dishes and climbing toys. A 10-gallon tank is a great starter size and can hold up to five hermit crabs.

2. Use an under tank heater to help regulate the temperature. The tank should remain between 72 and 80 degrees F.

3. Add substrate deep enough for the hermit crab to dig and shallow enough for the under tank heater to provide enough heat. The most popular substrates are sand and coconut fiber bedding.

4. Keep the humidity between 70 and 80 percent. You can do this by placing wet sponges in the tank, misting the cage as needed or by purchasing a habitat mister. Make sure you place a humidity gauge on both sides of the tank.

5. Provide at least one water dish for your pet hermit crab. Since crabs like to crawl into the water and just sit there, you want to choose dishes that are shallow enough for your smallest crab to crawl out of. If the dish is too deep, add a sponge to the dish to make it easier for crabs to get out.

6. Remove the chlorine from water before using it in the hermit crab tank. You can do this with dechlorination drops, available at a pet store, or by leaving the water sitting in a container overnight.

7. Create a playground for your pet hermit crab. You can use driftwood, clamshells, reptile logs or just about any aquarium or reptile accessory. Avoid using any evergreen wood in the tank.

8. Keep your hermit crab's home clean by sifting the substrate weekly. If the substrate becomes smelly or extremely dirty, you should replace it with all new sand or bedding.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are having trouble keeping your tank at the correct temperature, make the substrate shallower. Just make sure it is deep enough for your pet hermit crab to bury itself.

• If your hermit crab appears groggy, check the humidity level, as it may be too low.

• Hermit crabs are very sensitive to metal, so you should never use metal water or food dishes.