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Aurora_Bell · Jul 5, 2011, 05:38 PM

So, I have recently lost 90% of my tropical fish and now have a half empty 30 gallon with a completley empty 10 gallon. My pet store is selling Hermit Crabs. Does any one have any info they would care to share? Is 10 gallon tank enough? Special foods/diets? Bedding or tank bottom covering? Any help would be great. Would they be best in pairs or alone?

Lyra123 · Jul 5, 2011, 05:49 PM

A 10 gallon tank is enough for a few hermit crabs. They need fresh water often and fed hermit crab cookies or pellets. You should "shower" them with a spray bottle of clean, cool or room temperature water once a day and bathe them by allowing them to sit in shallow, clean, room temperature water for 1 minute and then allow them to dry off before placing them back in their tank. Just like people, they each have their own personality. If given toys, yes they have hermit crab toys available, they will play. They like to climb and roam around. A nice treat for them is lettuce. They are social creatures, so have at least two. They like to bury their unfinished food, so you have to clean the bedding often. Good beddings are sand or fine pebbles. Have various sized shells available to them for as they grow.

Have fun!

Aurora_Bell · Jul 5, 2011, 05:58 PM

Awesome info!! Thanks a bunch! I have an old turtle slide which is about the size of a hand which hold water and then has a slide with bumps for easy access in and out, do you think this would be sufficient for a bathing area for them to bathe as they wish?

Also I spend many week ends camping in the summer, if there was an adequate water dish, would they be okay to leave for 2-3 days? Also do they eat live food?

Aurora_Bell · Jul 5, 2011, 05:59 PM

Oh, and should the water they are being sprayed with and fed be treated with water conditioners? I have high iron counts and well water.

Lyra123 · Jul 6, 2011, 10:30 AM

With adequate food and water, they should be fine. That's a good idea for a bathing station, just be sure to change the water often! (Those little guys can make quite a mess)

I've never had a crab eat live food for me, but I've heard suggestions of meal-worms for live food. One thing I forgot to mention, they are omnivores, so they will eat a variety of foods including anything from freeze dried plankton to fruit to meat.

shazamataz · Jul 8, 2011, 11:53 AM

I LOVE hermit crabs, had them when I was younger.

We just had fine gravel and sand in the bottom of the tank.
Take-out lids are great for water dishes, the ones with a wide lip around them, they are only about a quarter of an inch deep, but it's enough for them to have some fun in the water.

You can buy glass shells for them too, they were never around when I had mine but they look so freakin' cool.

Lyra123 · Jul 8, 2011, 01:32 PM

Shazamataz, Those do work great. So do old containers you can't find the lid for!

In reference to the picture: They look like little aliens sort of!

Brianna01hermy · Aug 19, 2012, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Aurora_Bell

Awesome info! Thanks a bunch! I have an old turtle slide which is about the size of a hand which hold water and then has a slide with bumps for easy access in and out, do you think this would be sufficient for a bathing area for them to bathe as they wish?

Also I spend many week ends camping in the summer, if there was an adequate water dish, would they be okay to leave for 2-3 days? Also do they eat live food?

Yes if you give them pinkys (mice or baby rats who haven't opened their eyes) they can eat those. I know why because I also have a snake and he wouldn't eat the pinkys so I gave'em to the hermies and they ate them

Brianna01hermy · Aug 19, 2012, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Lyra123

Shazamataz, Those do work great. So do old containers you can't find the lid for!

In reference to the picture: They look like little aliens sort of!

Also with these shells they're easier to tell if they're a male or a female!