Set Up The Proper Hermit Crab Habitat
Hermit crabs are increasingly becoming popular pet options. Today you can find a lot of people enjoying having them as pets and taking good care of them. These crabs belong to the family of crustaceans. In contrast to the normal crabs, hermit crabs have a vulnerable and soft abdomen. As a protective measure, they live in abandoned marine animal shells.
Hermit crabs take their house wherever they go to. If they outgrow the shell they are living in, they venture out looking for new homes. There is sometimes fierce competition among them for shells. If you have a hermit crab as a pet, it is important to ensure that you provide them with a good hermit crab habitat.
There are five hundred different species of hermit crabs. Some of them are terrestrial and some aquatic. Terrestrial crabs are predominantly found in the tropics and the aquatic crabs live in shallow waters.
When the popular myth that hermit crabs will not survive for long in captivity was broken, they were popularly sought after by people as pets. It is found that under proper hermit crab habitat conditions these crabs can live for even up to thirty years as pets.
As you purchase your pet hermit crabs and are looking to create an ideal habitat for them, there are a few aspects to be considered.
• Hermit crabs indulge in a lot of climbing and moving around and therefore need a lot of space.
• Avoid plastic enclosures and use aquarium tanks. Ideally a ten gallon aquarium tank is enough for two medium sized crabs.
• Make sure to keep the lid of the enclosure tightly sealed as these creatures are famed for their adventurous escapes.
• Maintain a warm temperature in the enclosure. It is highly recommended not to place the tank close to a window or under direct sunlight to avoid getting the enclosure too hot for them to handle.
Create the ideal substrate
Ideally, the substrate in the hermit crab habitat must be made of coconut fiber and sand. Remember to grind the fiber to a fine powder before filling the tank. This substrate enables your pets to burrow with ease and is also very easy to clean and maintain.
Alternately, you can also use crushed coral. Take care not to use wood chips or gravel as this could hurt the crabs.
Maintain the right levels of humidity
The hermit crab habitat must have the right humidity level at all times. Even on land, hermit crabs breathe with the help of modified gills. In order to ensure that they do not suffocate due to extra dry gills, it is essential to provide enough moisture for them to breathe comfortably. The most preferred relative humidity level is between 70 and 80 percent.
Temperature level in the hermit crab habitat
To ensure that your crab is healthy and happy, the temperature of its habitat must be maintained between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Very high temperatures could damage your crab forever and continuous exposure to low temperatures will slow their metabolism rate making them weak and sluggish.
Taking care of the above aspects, create the ideal hermit crab habitat and ensure you provide a safe and comfortable home for your pets.
