What do hermit crabs eat?



Hermit crabs are favorite pets for many around the world. Owners take pride in caring for them and enjoy their lively and curious nature. These crabs are interesting and fun and very easy to care for as compared to other pets.

Most of the hermit crab owners ask the question – what do hermit crabs eat? It is interesting to know that hermit crabs are the most flexible eaters and are not very choosy. Being omnivores, they eat most of the foods we eat apart from fallen fruit, leaf litter, grasses, plants and decaying wood. However, in order to keep them healthy and vibrant throughout their lives, it is recommended to include enough carotene and calcium in their diet.

Lack of carotene will result in fading of colour after molting. Feeding them with organic vegetables and fruits that are free of preservatives will ensure no untoward health problems. Include these few foods and maintain a balanced diet if you want to know what do hermit crabs eat in order to be healthy –

  • Feed them with vegetables that are brightly coloured such as carotene supplement, carrots and corn.
  • After molting, especially, give them plenty of dairy foods such as cheese and other products to increase their calcium intake to help them regain back their strength.
  • Feed them with fruits such as mangoes, papayas, bananas and coconuts.
  • If you want to give them meat, make sure you do not add butter or sauce to it.
  • Hermit crabs love nuts, honey, peanut butter, raisins, popcorn, crackers, cereal and apple sauce.



Besides these foods, if you want to know what do hermit crabs eat, read on. If you go to your local pet stores, you may find them selling hermit crab food such as sun and freeze dried shrimps, frozen fruit and escargot, fish food flake, brine shrimps and seaweeds which are highly nutritious and healthy for your crab.

It is necessary therefore to take time identifying the exact type of foods preferred by your crabs and balance it with enough supply of healthy nutrition to answer the question – what does hermit crabs eat.

You can find various interesting recipes that effectively combine a few ingredients for hermit crabs on the Internet.

For example, in order to provide sufficient calcium ensuring strong exoskeleton and also to satisfy your pet’s preference you can combine –

  • 2 large cuttlebones
  • 1 cup oatmeal unflavored
  • 1 cup dried rice
  • ¼ cup krill, dried plankton or any sealife that is dry
  • 1 tsp uniodized salt
  • 2 tbsp spirulina powder

You can break into small chunks the cuttlebones and powder them with a coffee grinder. Except salt, grind all ingredients to a fine powder. After this, along with salt add in anything else your crab likes such as bread crumbs, cracker meal, cornmeal, seeds, ground nuts or wheat germ. This extremely high calcium recipe is very healthy for your hermit crab and answers your question – what do hermit crabs eat?


How Long Do Hermit Crabs Live?



Hermit crabs are one of the most preferred pets owned by a lot of people today. The main reason for this is the ease of maintenance and the fact that they can practically live on any kind of food you feed them. In other words, they are not fussy and choosy about their food preference.

Hermit crabs have shells that they borrow from other creatures such as sea snails to protect their soft abdomen and maintain the moisture level. How long do hermit crabs live is a most frequently asked question. They live for up to 22 years in the wild. In captivity, they may live for at least 30 years if taken good care of and do not suffer from any untoward illness.

Hermit crabs are named so because they borrow shells and live in them just like hermits who live alone in caves. Contrary to what their name suggests, however, hermit crabs prefer to stay in groups of hundred or more and understandably prefer living in the wild.

If you opt to keep one or more hermit crabs in captivity, it is necessary to keep shells of different sizes preferably larger around them so they can choose the right one to transfer if they outgrow their current shell. It is also highly recommended to have at least two or more of them so they will not die of loneliness as they thrive on socialization.

Ideal living conditions for hermit crabs

If you are wondering how long do hermit crabs live, read on to find out. Hermit crabs are predominantly from tropical climates. They need a lot of moisture to survive. It is important to provide the right amount of water and moisture as too much would tend to drown them. Hermit crabs use their gills present in their huge claws to capture and conserve moisture. Under right conditions and with healthy balanced food, you can ensure optimized life span for your pet hermit crabs.


Lifespan of a hermit crab can be severely shortened due to unfavorable conditions such as -

  • unsanitary living conditions
  • Dehydration
  • Persistent lower temperature
  • Exposure if they escape
  • Lack of food and water
  • Predation

It is essential therefore ensuring absolutely clean and tidy habitat, providing them with adequate water to prevent dehydration, maintaining a stable, high temperature, preventing their escape which may expose them to predators and lack of food and water.

Ways of extending lifespan of hermit crabs

Under the right conditions, hermit crabs can lead a healthy and comfortable life for up to 30 years. Here are a few important aspects you must take care of to extend their lifespan.

  • Being highly social, hermit crabs prefer company. Ensure you have a couple of more in your tank to ensure they do not die of solitary existence.
  • As they molt often, they are always on the lookout for new shells. It is necessary to keep many empty shells of different sizes, preferably larger than their current size to enable them to shift when they grow larger in size. This will also reduce fights among them.
  • It is important to provide both fresh and salt water sources and maintain a constant humidity rate and temperature level for optimum crab health.

Keep the environment clean and tidy using medium grade sand substrate and place and latch the lid of the tank firmly to prevent their escaping.


Hermit Land Crabs



Hermit crabs are named thus because of the fact that they borrow shells from sea snails and live in them just as hermits live alone in caves. They make for wonderful pets as they are not fussy about their diet and are easy to care for. These unusual pets are interesting and fun to own. They are curious and active and spread cheer.

Two types of hermit crabs can be predominantly found in the United States namely the Coenobita Compressus or Ecuadorian Crab and hermit land crabs also known as the Caribbean crab or the soldier crab. In other parts of the world, you can find the strawberry land hermit crab and the Australian land hermit crab popularly kept as pets.

Hermit land crabs can be obtained from the local pet stores. It is however important to check a few vital aspects before purchasing one.

  • Make sure that the pet you choose has all legs intact. They must have three complete pairs of legs.
  • Ensure there is no damage in the shell that covers the thorax and head.
  • Check to see if there are any small bugs or parasites present.
  • See if the crab you choose is lively in nature and not dull and lethargic as this usually indicates illness.
  • If you already own hermit crabs and are choosing one to add to the tank, ensure you pick a crab of similar size to avoid creating a fight among them.

Hermit land crabs require more care and attention that other pets. Their habitat must be well controlled for temperature and humidity. It is a good idea reading through literature on hermit land crabs that tell you all about how they should be cared for before purchasing one. It is also essential preparing their habitat in advance before bringing them home.

Caribbean hermit crabs are popular hermit land crabs owned by many in America. They can live even up to thirty years and must be kept under temperature of 24 degree Celsius and a humidity level of 70% to 78% must be maintained to keep them comfortable.

Here are a few aspects that will ensure comfort and good health for hermit land crabs –

  • Maintain a proper temperature range in their habitat, preferably between 70 and 84 degrees F.
  • It is important to provide them with a complete spectrum of lighting, for at least twelve hours a day.
  • Keep the habitat and surroundings fresh and ensure clean air.
  • Provide them with a balanced diet which includes calcium supplements.
  • Provide them with both salt and fresh water sources.
  • Maintain the humidity range between 73 and 85 percent.

If you want your pet hermit land crabs to survive for a long time to come, it is necessary to provide them with an atmosphere of high relative humidity, keep them in groups for to allow for social interaction and provide an environment that is conducive enough for them to survive a molt or growth cycle.


Hermit Crab Shells



Hermit crabs are kept as pets by many as they are interesting and fun and do not require much effort in maintenance. They are also not very choosy about the food they eat. One of the most unique characteristic features of hermit crabs is that they find and live in a shell from another creature, usually the sea snail. They carry around this borrowed shell to ensure protection for their soft abdomen and also to keep the moisture inside the shell regulated.

In fact, they get their name due to the fact that they borrow shells and live in them just as a hermit lives alone in a cave. The rate at which hermit crabs change their hermit crab shells differs among them. Certain crabs believe in changing shells quite often while others are not too eager to do that, even after it becomes small and uncomfortable.

It is found that crabs do not really change hermit crab shells either during, just before or just after a molt. Molt is the process where the crab sheds the exoskeleton or the hard outer covering of the legs/claws and the body to allow for fresh creation.

As a hermit crab pet owner, it is essential providing them with a variety of hermit crab shells so that they can change them whenever required. A good selection is essential to ensure that the crabs do not get into a dispute over the best shell available in the habitat. It is important not to compromise on the quality as well as quantity of hermit crab shells.


Tips on choosing hermit crab shells

You can find different types and varieties of hermit crab shells in the market. With some effort, you can identify the right kind of shells your pet prefers. It is important to remember to provide your crabs with multiple size shell options to enable them to choose what suits them perfectly.

  • Size of the crab must be taken into consideration. It is necessary to purchase different shells with the same sized opening as well as many shells with slightly larger opening. If your crab looks to be uncomfortable in his oversized shell, provide him with a smaller shell. The trick is in providing a variety of sizes to enable them to pick the right one.
  • Until you exactly identify the preferences of your crab, it is necessary to provide them with openings of different shapes. The variety of openings you can find in hermit crab shells include slit shape, D-shape, oval and round.
  • Provide your hermit crabs with different types of shells. It is vital however to ensure you also include the same type of shells your crab is using currently.
  • Ensure good quality shells that do not have any holes or cracks in them as they will not really hold the small quantity of water that is required to keep their gills moist. Choose from the attractive painted shells range from your local pet shop to add colour to their habitat.

It is important to boil the shells for some time, at least for five minutes, drain them and allow them to cool before placing them in the tank. You can choose from a range of shells either in pet stores, craft stores or online.


Hermit Crab Facts


Hermit crabs are not really related to the true crabs. They get their name due to their habit of living in borrowed shell which is similar to hermits living alone in a cave.

Hermit crabs, though not popularly sought after as pets, are very interesting and fun to own. If you are planning on purchasing hermit crabs, it is essential knowing a few important hermit crab facts.

Appearance

Hermit crabs are invertebrates and can be found in a riot of attractive colors, with predominant colors brown, red and orange. Most of the hermit crabs also have attractive patterns and purple spots on their body.

During the molting period, hermit crabs move to another shell after shedding their exoskeleton. Their twisted, soft bodies can be found within their shells. Hermit crabs have two claws in the front and a total of ten legs with joints.

One of the interesting hermit crab facts is that they live in borrowed shells. They borrow the shell from a sea snail, live in it and when they outgrow it, they move on to another shell. If you own a hermit crab, it is therefore vital keeping a larger shell in his habitat in case he wants to shift to a bigger one.

Interesting Hermit Crab facts

  • There are more than five hundred species of hermit crabs and they can be found in different types.
  • Most of the hermit crabs live in the ocean.
  • Some of them live on land too.
  • Hermit crab facts say that it is not possible to breed hermit crabs in captivity as most of them reproduce and released fertilized eggs in the ocean.
  • Through the molting process, the baby hermit crab grows into an adult from the larval stage.
  • As compared to the adult hermit crabs, younger ones molt frequently. While the adults molt once in eighteen months, the young ones molt every few months.
  • Hermit crabs love to climb as they are good climbers. It is therefore highly recommended to make them comfortable and provide them with a cage that is easy to climb or place drift wood inside their habitat to enable them to climb out of water whenever they want to.


Hermit crab facts on diet

Hermit crabs are not fussy about their food.

They can be fed with almost everything we eat including vegetables, fresh fruits, fish and meat.

With a few trial and errors, it is possible to identify their favorite foods.

You can feed your pet hermit crab with food such as potato chips, crackers, peanut butter, tuna fish, vegetables, fruits and their favorite popcorn, raisins and grapes.

Life time and Habitat

Other hermit crab facts say that they are known to live even up to 15 years in captivity. It is however recommended to keep them away from your bedroom during nights as they are nocturnal and are loud pets.

Contrary to what their name suggests, hermit crabs do not prefer solitude. They enjoy being in crowd and it is not uncommon to find them clustered in groups of hundreds on the beach. This is a major reason why it is necessary to keep more than one hermit crab in the habitat as pets.



Hermit Crab Care



You may be astonished to find that many people around the world simply enjoy owning hermit crabs and watch with delight as they move around the tank in their colourful shell active and curious. Hermit crabs are exotic creatures that live in the ocean. These creatures can also be kept under captivity in tanks. These friendly and clean creatures are usually very intelligent and odor free. A hermit crab lives for several years with good hermit crab care and by effectively taking care of its specific requirements.

Hermit crabs do not have an internal skeleton and are therefore classified under invertebrates. They grow by shedding their existing skeleton to give way to a larger skeleton. This process is known as molting. They usually leave their gills behind and take with them their legs, antennae and eyes during this process.

Hermit crabs are predominantly of two types namely the aquatic and land. The crabs that are kept as pets include the land hermit crabs also known as the purpled clawed crab, soldier crab or the tree crab.

Hermit Crab Care tips

Bathing – In order to bathe your pet hermit crab all you have to do is to provide them with fresh water dechlorinated and watch them wash themselves. It is highly recommended washing them at least twice a month to keep them clean. You can just allow them to air dry after submerging them in water under room temperature.


Feeding – Apart from the regular pellets you can get from the pet stores, you can feed your pet hermit crabs with fresh fruits such as grape halves, banana bits, diced apples, figs and raisins, vegetables such as natural peanut butter, potatoes, squash, shavings, carrot and lettuce, meats such as dog food, cat food, ham, turkey and chicken and other items such as calcium, tree leaves, choya wood and honey. This ensures good hermit crab care and healthy crabs. It is important keeping sources of both salt and fresh water in their habitat.

Shells – It is important to supply many different sizes of shells in the tank to enable hermit crabs to choose and shift to. You can find shells in different pet care shops as well as on websites online. Keep in mind the size, condition and type of shells as you choose them. There are many attractive shells in different designs and colours available. It is essential choosing shells that are larger in size than their current size.

Humidity and temperature – Hermit crab care states that, according to the climate of the place you live in, it is essential fine tuning and maintaining the perfect temperature and humidity level in the hermit crab tank. Hermit crabs are cold blooded and therefore the temperature in the cage or tank must be maintained to below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. So, the ideal temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees. Humidity level must be maintained to around 70%.

Hermit crab care tips and information must be followed with diligence in order to ensure your pet leads a healthy, happy and optimized life.


Hermit Crab Cage



Hermit crabs are wonderful pets that are fun to own. They are lively and curious creatures that live in borrowed shells. Their supply of shells usually comes from dead creatures such as sea snails. They grow through the process of molting and can live an optimized life if properly taken care of. It is very easy maintaining hermit crabs as they are not choosy about their food. They eat almost everything humans do. However it is important to keep them in a proper cage for enhanced safety.

Hermit crab cage is the home for your hermit crab pets for years. It is therefore vital ensuring that everything your crab requires is provided in it.

  • Choose a tank that is large enough to provide them with enough moving space.
  • Provide substrates in the cage to make it convenient for them to dig in while molting.
  • Add fun to their life by placing climbing accessories and play toys in the tank.
  • Place extra shells in different sizes for them to choose for shifting base.

It is very important maintaining a clean and tidy hermit crab cage. Here are a few tips to ensure a sparkling cage –

  • Never use soap to wash the cage to avoid exposure to harmful and dangerous chemicals present in them.
  • Use just vinegar and water to clean the cage and other accessories in it.
  • It is recommended to boil the shells for five minutes after cleaning them to ensure they are contamination free.
  • Strain the substrate to remove any debris and waste before putting it back.
  • Remember to use water that is dechlorinated to clean the shells and accessories as this will be ensure health for the hermits.

Hermit crab cage is very important for them because it offers them shelter. Keep the cage clean and tidy and provide them with all necessary requirements to ensure they lead a happy life. Maintain the temperature to the ideal level in the habitat. It is important to maintain a temperature of between 72 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit as hermit crabs are cold blooded. Fall in the temperature below the required level makes them weak and ill.


Similarly, the humidity level has to be maintained between 75 and 85 percent. Humidity level can be adjusted by adding in sea sponges in the hermit crab cage. As you place enough shells for the crabs to choose from, ensure picking up colourful and vibrant shells to make the cage look cheerful.

Cleaning the hermit crab cage

Cleaning the hermit crab cage is an easy process. All you have to do is remove the crabs from the cage and place them in a heavy container with a heavy lid. Take out all the toys and other accessories from the cage. Remove the sand substrate from the bottom with the help of a shovel.

Clean the tank thoroughly with vinegar and water spraying with the help of a water hose. Dry the cage with the help of towels or rags and deodorize and disinfect using hermit crab wipes. Leave it for an hour before reassembling the hermit crab cage.


Hermit Crab Breeding



Even though hermit crabs are quite friendly, easy to maintain and are not really fussy about the choice if foods, hermit crab breeding is not an easy task, especially in captivity. Certain experts in fact say that it is practically impossible breeding them in captivity and others say it is difficult but can be done.

One of the first things to logically ensure is that you must have a male and a female crab in the cage. As you venture into hermit crab breeding, you may find it rather difficult choosing a male and a female crab as they are always inside their shells. In order to avoid doing this, you can buy a pair, one male and one female from the pet shop at the onset.

Stimulating their natural breeding habitat environment may pose a few challenges. In their natural habitat, female hermit crabs lay their eggs in the depth of the sands under the ocean bed. The baby hermit crabs resulting from hermit crab breeding just hatch out from the eggs and walk away to the ocean. Replicating this condition at home is not easy.

Female hermit crabs lay a huge number of eggs. The number depends on the size of the crab and the environment and conditions under which they breed.


Hermit crab breeding requires you to prepare a few things which are given in the checklist below –

  • Set up a tank with salt water in it. It is highly preferable to do this outdoors if you have enough space by maybe creating a garden pond.
  • You must create waves in the water with the help of a suitable device as hermit crabs love wave like motion. Moreover, the waves can even motivate them to breed according to zoologists. There are different wave machines available in the local pet store or internet. One of the best brands which is also affordable is the Sea Swirl Aquarium Wave Makers.
  • It is essential setting up optimum lighting for the tank. You can install moonlight bulbs around the tank or garden pool. As hermit crabs are nocturnal in nature, they also breed during night time and lighting certainly helps them with the process. Moonlight bulbs can also be found in local pet stores or on the Internet for around fifteen dollars.
  • Keep the temperature of the tank or pond to between seventy two and eighty degrees. Even a slightly lowered temperature can make them weak.
  • Keep the environment clean and tidy and feed them with a balanced diet of calcium and carotene. Hermit crab breeding is more effective with healthy crabs.
  • It is vital storing large quantity of brine shrimp as this is highly essential for the hermit crab larvae.

After taking care of all the above aspects, you must now leave the pair in solitude for about three weeks and leave the rest to nature. A lot of patience is now required by you as you will have to wait at least for a month to see the little ones. Do not forget to get small shells in large numbers for the babies to live in.


Feeding Hermit Crabs



Healthy Hermit Crab Food

If you have hermit crabs as pets, you must be wondering whether you are feeding hermit crabs the right food. Contrary to popular belief, hermit crabs do have a large appetite. It is very easy feeding them as they are not very choosy about the food. They eat almost anything a human being eats. Apart from this, they necessarily require decayed wood for tannin and leaf litter for optimum growth.

In captivity, hermit crabs diet requirements are entirely different as compared to when they are left in the wild. One of the main reasons for this is we are not able to really recreate the natural environment and the food that occurs there. In the wild, hermit crabs usually survive on decaying meat, rotting wood, rotting fruits and washed up plants.

Feeding hermit crabs requires you to pay a lot of attention to the nutrients that are necessary for their healthy growth. They need a lot of calcium and carotene in their diet.

You will realize that left to themselves, they choose only the healthiest of food to eat. There are ingredients present in certain hermit crab foods that are not healthy for them according to vets and experts. It is essential going through the labels of commercial hermit crab foods to see if they contain these ingredients and refrain from buying them. Common pesticide ingredients such as ethoxyquin and copper sulfate are a couple of such ingredients to keep away from.

To keep feeding hermit crabs with a balanced diet, it is recommended to change the food they eat in rotation. Be sure to include water dishes too. Once in a while you can feed them with food you eat as a treat.


Food you can give them

  • Grapes peeled
  • Shredded spinach
  • Potatoes, cooked and cooled
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Peanut butter
  • Coconut, apples and diced pears
  • Crackers, dried cereals and bread

It is recommended to cut food into sizes that your pet crab can pick up and eat.

Treat them with sweet food

Did you know that hermit crabs can have sweet tooth? Well, yes. They simply love to eat food that is less savoury. Foods they enjoy eating include fruit flavoured baby food such as –

  • Fruit Medley
  • Apples and Pears
  • Sweet potato and Apples
  • Apple sauce
  • Mango, Kiwi and Apples
  • Apples and Bananas
  • Mango fruit dessert
  • Guava fruit dessert
  • Papaya fruit dessert
  • Sweet corn casserole
  • Chiquita bananas

How to feed hermit crabs?

You can use shallow and small seashells to give them water and food. This way you ensure them of extra nutrient in the form of calcium that is absorbed by the water and food from the shell. It is essential choosing shells that can be easily entered and exited by your pet. Before you provide them with water, ensure the water is dechlorinated.

Hermit crabs as pets make a lot of difference in people’s lives by providing fun, entertainment and cheer. Caring for them in a proper manner, ensuring hygienic conditions and feeding hermit crabs food that is healthy for them ensures that you enjoy your pets for a long time to come by maximizing their life span.


Hermit Crabs Info



Hermit crabs are exciting and fun to have as pets. They live inside shells borrowed from other creatures such as sea snails, which is the reason they are named thus. However, contrary to what they are called, hermit crabs are highly sociable creatures and prefer living in groups of 100 or more.

Owning a hermit crab is not the same as owning other pets and you have to go through a lot of hermit crab info to learn all about them and their living and eating preferences.

Essential hermit crab info

Before choosing any pet, it is highly essential knowing all about them.

  • Land hermit crabs belong to the family of coenobitidae and make for ideal pets being easy on maintenance.
  • They have hard external skeletons and five pairs of legs.
  • They live in their shell borrowed from other creatures such as sea snails that have died. According to hermit crab info, they are from the ocean but can survive on land for months together outside water. In order to cool off by replenishing moisture, hermit crabs go back to water periodically.
  • According to hermit crab info, they sleep by tunnelling into the sand in order to avoid the harsh sunlight which may kill them.
  • Hermit crabs are very happy and contented if they live in large groups. They are adorable and it is a pleasure watching these lively and curious creatures.
  • A number of hermit crabs placed tightly close together look wonderful in nature. This is the reason why a lot of hermit crab owners place them all in one place.
  • Hermit crabs require very few food items that you have to actually purchase. They are least fussy and thrive on almost anything you feed them with.
  • You can actually hold the hermit crab in the palm of your hand as they are pretty inactive and do not twitch.
  • They are nocturnal creatures and very active at night.



Signs of molting in hermit crabs

Hermit crab info states that you may not be able to identify signs of molting in certain hermit crabs. However, some crabs may actually look different and act strange. Some of the symptoms that tell you that a hermit crab is going to molt include –

  • The eyes of the crab may become cloudy
  • They may drink and eat more food than they normally do
  • They start digging a lot

As soon as you come across these symptoms, it is necessary placing them in a humid and warm tank and supply water and food dishes.

Hermit crab info on diet

Hermit crabs require to be fed a balanced and nutritious diet that includes a variety of antioxidants, carotene and calcium. After the molting process, crabs deficient in carotene usually fade in colour and look dull and greyish. In order to keep him vibrant, bright and cheerful, remember to feed him with carrots, corn and coloured vegetables.

According to hermit crab info, it is best to avoid feeding them with cheese, potato chips and boxed macaroni. Just stick to fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and fish. Ensure you provide them with a constant supply of food rich in tannin such as oak leaves and tree bark.

Be well informed about your hermit crabs by going through hermit crab info available before you buy one.