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| Saike watching the hermies |
| Hermit Crab Supplies |
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| Daffy* |
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| Glory** |
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| My 55 gallon Crabarium |
| Scroll down to see my hermies |
| Housing: I use a 55 gallon glass aquarium, with a lighted hood. The crabarium needs to escape proof. Hermit crabs are known to be extremely clever escape artisits. Substrate: My preference is playground sand that has been sterialized. I bake the sand in the oven on 300 degrees, stirring every ten minutes until the sand is completely dry. I have tried crushed coral, but found my hermits crabs were molting on top of the coral because they couldn't bury themselves. They also seem to walk better on the sand. Some people use aquarium gravel. The substrate needs to be twice as deep as the largest crab so they can bury. I use cacti-sand in "pools", which provide calcium to hermit crabs. Under the tank heater (UTH): I use an under the tank heater used for a 10 gallon aquarium. I have it on half of the tank so the hermit crabs have a preference if they want to stay on the warm or cool side. Water: I keep ponds for fresh (dechlorinated) and saltwater in the crabarium, with a sea sponge in each to keep small crabs from drowning.. Do not use table salt! I use marine salt sold in pet stores. I keep both ponds over the heater to help with the humidity. Stress Coat: I add two drops of stress coat (sold in petstores) to the crabs' bathwater each week. All water should be dechlorinated. . Mister bottle: I spray my crabs once a day in the evening outside the tank. Do not spray inside the tank because this could lead to bacteria inside the tank. |
| Food: My hermies prefer FMR Hermit Crab Food, FMR Hermit Crab Treats, and Jurassi Diet Hermit Crab Food. They also enjoy fresh kelp, spinach, mustard greens, carrots, peanut butter, crackers, chopped apples, bananas, coconut, and popped popcorn. Avoid any acidic or dairy foods. Themometer: The temperture in my crabarium stays at a steady 77 degrees. It can between 72 and 80 degrees. Hygrometer: Humidity is extremely important to hermies. The humidity in my crabarium stays at a steady 82%. The humidity should be between 70% to 90%. Decorations: Hermies love to climb and bury. I have cholla wood to encourage climbing and they like chewing on the wood, and coral for climbing and calcium. I also have avocado trees (they look like palm trees) so they can climb and snack on the avocadoes. I have a pool for cacti-sand, which gives them calicium. Coconut huts for hiding. I do not use real plants in the tanks because they attract bugs, so I use plastic or silk plants. Shells: Hermies change shells from time to time, so it's important to keep extra shells in the crabarium. They should be clean, boiled for five minutes, and cooled off before putting them in the crabarium. I use clam shells for food, treats, and drinking water. Isolation tank: My iso tank is a 5 gallon tank set up like my 55 gallon and 10 gallon tanks. It's for the hermies who are molting or ill. |
| Hermit Crab Links |
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| Clawd** |
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| Glory in his new shell** |
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| Clawd in his new shell** |
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| Clawd in his new shell** |
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| Itzy Bitzy* my smallest hermie |
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| 10 Gallon Crabarium for dime sized hermies |
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| Obi* |
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| My two biggest crabs...top is Glacier* Bottom is Komori* |