Can cleaner hermit crabs be eaten? A detailed explanation of why they live in shells, their lifespan and how to keep them
The hermit crab, also known as the hermit shrimp, white house dweller, dry house dweller, mainly uses snail shells as its dwelling; the crab is mostly found along the coasts of the Yellow Sea and the southern seas, and is an omnivorous animal known as the “cleaner.” So can hermit crabs be eaten? Why do they live in shells? How long can they live? How do you keep them?
Can hermit crabs be eaten?
Hermit crabs can be braised in soy sauce or made into soup. However, eating them is not recommended.
After being cooked, hermit crabs often give off a very strong, foul, rotting smell. Sometimes when a hermit crab is mistakenly cooked in soup together with a sea snail, the broth often gives off a faint rotting stench; the more hermit crabs there are, the stronger the rotting stench.
Why do hermit crabs live in shells?
Because the hermit crab has no hard shell, its abdomen is soft and curled, so it is extremely vulnerable to harm from other animals. Therefore, the hermit crab can only live in the empty shells left behind after some snail species die, in order to protect its soft body.
The abdominal legs of the hermit crab have degenerated until only a single hook remains; this hook allows it to grip the snail shell more easily, while the two large claws on the left and right happen to block the opening of the snail shell to resist outside enemies. However, as its body grows, the hermit crab must change to a larger shell every so often. If the shell it has its eye on already has an occupant, then the two sides must fight a life-or-death battle, and the winner takes possession of the snail shell.
How long can hermit crabs live?
The lifespan of a hermit crab is generally 2 to 5 years, but in a good rearing environment it can often live to 20 to 30 years, and there are records of the longest one living over 70 years. The lifespan of a hermit crab has a great deal to do with its environment; if the water composition cannot be prepared well, then living a few months already counts as very long.
How do you keep hermit crabs?
1. Temperature: The rearing temperature for hermit crabs should not be lower than 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and not higher than 78 degrees.
2. Humidity: Relative humidity 70%, absolute humidity about 50%, but most hygrometers measure relative humidity. Hermit crabs like moisture, but moisture does not mean stuffy heat; be sure to pay attention to ventilation, and remember that the rearing box must not be sealed shut.
3. Substrate: The substrate is usually something like stones or sand. Hermit crabs are creatures that hide by day and come out at night; during the day they generally hide in the sand or in crevices between stones, so the hermit crab must be made to feel safe, otherwise it may very likely commit suicide or self-mutilate in an excited state! The substrate chosen should be clean and environmentally friendly, and should be disinfected and left for a few days to let the parasites and some toxic substances inside evaporate and be killed off.
4. Seawater: The water used to keep hermit crabs cannot be tap water; the chemical substances in it will kill the hermit crab. Seawater is best; if there is no seawater, remember that you must not add table salt to the water, because the salt we eat contains iodine, and iodine is poison to hermit crabs. The water must also be changed frequently.