What do hermit crabs eat? Teaching you the correct keeping method
Just from the name hermit crab, you can tell that this kind of crab lives in the shells of other animals. The hermit crab's appearance is quite special: it usually carries another animal's shell on its back, while its own legs stick out to crawl. Nowadays many people have started keeping them as pets, so before raising them, what everyone is surely most concerned about is how to keep them, right!
What do hermit crabs eat
Hermit crabs are scavengers, meaning they will accept almost anything edible; they are not picky about any feed, vegetables, fruit, rice, or dead fish and shrimp. However, what makes strawberry hermit crabs different from ordinary hermit crabs is that they need frequent supplements of carotene to maintain their bright body color. Otherwise the red color will gradually fade. The best source of carotene is shrimp or color-enhancing feed specially made for red tropical fish. In addition, they also have a social habit, so individuals kept alone will not adapt as well as those kept in groups.
How to keep hermit crabs
1. Temperature and humidity. Because hermit crabs live in subtropical regions, the temperature should be kept at 20-30°C; at 15°C they begin to move slowly, and below 10°C they will die. You can use a heat mat or UV lamp to keep the tank at 26-30°C. Because hermit crabs breathe with gills, they cannot breathe when humidity is low, so please maintain humidity at 60-80%, and mist manually with water containing calcium salt (do not use tap water containing chlorine) 2-3 times every morning and evening.
2. Choosing drinking water. For drinking water you can use mineral water, distilled water or cooled boiled water; do not give tap water containing chlorine, because land hermit crabs breathe through gills, and water containing chlorine will harm their health. You need two water bowls, one for fresh water (for drinking) and one for salt water (for bathing); the salt water ratio is 100ml:3g (about one 500ml empty bottle of Tao Ti green tea: 2 teaspoons).
3. Keep individuals of different sizes separately. If individuals of different sizes are kept in the same tank, and both large and small individuals are kept together, carefully watch whether the large individual attacks the small one; if this happens, please keep them separately.
4. Preparing a backup tank. If you keep too many land hermit crabs (more than 6 in a 1-foot tank), you should prepare 1-2 backup tanks as shelters for land hermit crabs that are molting. For example, when you notice an individual showing signs of molting, you can put them in another tank. In addition, the backup tank can also be used as a treatment room for individuals that are sick or that have dropped limbs due to stress.
Notes on cleaning hermit crabs
1. Cleaning agents are extremely toxic to land hermit crabs, so when cleaning the tank, absolutely do not use dish soap, lye or similar cleaning agents. Bacteria grow easily in summer, so you can clean more frequently; in winter you do not need to clean as often. On average, clean once every 2-3 months.
2. If you notice a strange odor or insects, clean the tank as soon as possible. Before cleaning, pay attention to whether any land hermit crab individual is missing from the tank. If an individual is missing, it means an individual is hiding in the sand and may be about to molt, so the tank cleaning should be stopped.
3. Prepare a plastic container and let the hermit crab bathe in warm water with added calcium salt, with the water depth equal to the height of the shell. During the bath, we place the shell opening facing upward, put them into the water, let them walk in the water for 1-2 minutes, then pick them up.
Feeding time for hermit crabs
Hermit crabs are nocturnal animals, so it is best to feed them after 10 p.m. Do not give them onions, foods containing mustard, spicy foods, processed foods with preservatives or additives, sugars, foods containing a lot of oil, foods with insect-repellent effects, or vegetables and plants with insecticidal effects.
The things hermit crabs eat are relatively varied, but they must be given a moderate amount of carrots to maintain their color. When keeping hermit crabs, be sure to pay attention to temperature and water quality, and clean them at the right time, so that they can grow more healthily.