Bathing Hermit Crabs

Video Transcript

"The next thing we're going to talk about is bathing hermit crabs. Now, there's a lot of controversy in the hermit crab community as to whether or not you should bathe or shouldn't bathe your hermit crab. Personally, I err on the you shouldn't bathe side. Basically, the argument is, is that, basically hermit crabs carry small pockets of humidity and moisture inside their shells, and they use this to regulate their internal hydration of their body; and when you bathe them it actually can mess up these pockets of water and can actually dehydrate them a lot faster and cause their death. Some people still bathe their hermit crabs, regularly, and never have a problem. So, I will show you how to bathe them. Though, myself, I don't recommend it. Really, all you need is a small container like a deli cup with a small bit of water in there. You want the water to be just room temperature. You don't want it to hot. You don't want it to be cold. Room temperature is good, and then you're going to take your hermit crab, okay, and you're just simply going to put him in there. And he'll pretty much come out of his shell right away, or at least rather quickly and start moving around. You, really it's kind of hard to tell that they like it or dislike it. And, of course, this guy's going to prove me wrong here and just sit there like a rock, but some people thinks it's beneficial. A lot of people think it's not beneficial. So, frankly there's not much to it. You're just putting a hermit crab in a little bowl of water for a little bit, but I recommend not doing it. I think personally it's much better to give your hermit crab an area heave of water he can get into and then he can decide on his own whether or not he wants to bathe. That allows him to take care of it own his own. He's a hermit crab. He's knows more about being a hermit crab than you do. So, let's just give him the option and let him take care of it."