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With proper care, hermit crabs can live 15 to 25 years, and some have reached 40 years or more. That is far longer than most people expect – these are decades-long companions, not short-term pets. Sadly, many hermit crabs die within months of being bought, but that is almost always due to poor care, not…
Hermit crabs do not sip or lap water like a dog or cat. Instead, they scoop it up with their small claws and pass it to tiny hair-like parts near their mouth that soak the water in. From there, the water travels to their gills, which must stay wet at all times so the crab…
Most purple pincher hermit crabs grow to about 2 to 3 inches in body length, though older, well-cared-for crabs can reach 4 to 5 inches – roughly the size of a baseball including the shell. Purple pinchers (Coenobita clypeatus) start out marble-sized and grow slowly over many years through repeated molts. With good humidity, nutrition,…
To make salt water for hermit crabs, mix about half a cup of marine-grade aquarium salt into 1 gallon of dechlorinated water, stir until dissolved, and let it sit for 10 minutes. That is all it takes. Hermit crabs need both salt water and fresh water in their tank at all times – salt water…
To clean a hermit crab tank, spot-clean waste and old food daily, wash the dishes and stir the substrate weekly, and do a full deep clean every few months or whenever mold appears. The key is to clean regularly so you rarely need a big teardown. A clean tank keeps your crabs healthy, prevents mold…
What Affects How Fast They Grow? Five main factors decide how quickly a hermit crab grows: Growth Happens Through Molting Hermit crabs do not grow gradually like we do. They grow in jumps, each time they molt. During a molt, the crab sheds its hard outer skin, emerges slightly bigger and soft, then hardens into…
Hermit crabs need at least 5 gallons of space per crab, but a 10-gallon tank is the realistic minimum to start, even for one or two small crabs. The reason is simple: bigger tanks hold humidity better, allow the deep substrate crabs need for molting, and give them room to climb, dig, and explore. A…
Yes, hermit crabs poop – and they do it in a surprisingly tidy way. A hermit crab extends its abdomen slightly out of its shell and releases small, dark, dry pellets that look like grains of rice or sand. They are clean animals that avoid soiling the inside of their shell. Watching your crab’s poop…
No, hermit crabs cannot really swim – and land hermit crabs can drown if they are left in deep water. They can paddle and wade for short bursts, but their legs are not built for swimming. The most important thing to know is this: the land hermit crabs kept as pets need water to soak…
There are over 800 species of hermit crabs in the world, but only a handful are kept as pets. The 6 most common pet types are the Caribbean (Purple Pincher), Ecuadorian, Strawberry, Indonesian, Ruggie, and Australian Land hermit crab. The two you will almost always find in pet stores are the Caribbean and Ecuadorian. This…
A hermit crab itself costs about $3 to $25 depending on its size. But the crab is the cheap part. The real cost is the tank setup, which runs about $120 to $300 for everything done right. After that, monthly costs drop to about $5 to $15. So the total first-year cost of owning hermit…
Yes, hermit crabs are good pets – but only if you set them up properly from the start. They are quiet, affordable, fascinating to watch, and can live 15 to 25 years with the right care. But they are not the simple throwaway pet that pet stores make them out to be. They need the…