|
|
 |
|
|
 |
November 2008:
"Flower Paradise" |
| View details |
| If you are a member of Hermit Crab Paradise, visit the link above to enter the competition. If not, please register first. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Survey #023:
What is your second storey made of? |
| View survey |
| If you are a member of Hermit Crab Paradise, visit the link above to vote. If not, please register first. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Say NO to Crabinacup sold at Walmart! Such humiliation and animal cruelty against hermit crabs must not be tolerated. |
| Say NO to the painted shells sold in many pet stores! Hermit crabs are not toys, nor are their shells. |
| You can help our protest by signing the petitions and joining many other crabbers in the battle for the respect of hermit crabs. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| If Hermit Crab Paradise has proven helpful to you, please link back to us! You may use the 90×90 icon above if you wish, but please upload it to your own server. We appreciate your support! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The species of hermit crabs that will be discussed here are land hermit crabs. Unlike their marine counterparts, land hermit crabs will drown if they remain submerged underwater for too long. However, land hermit crabs are neither fully terrestrial nor aquatic. Their modified gills rely on moisture to breathe; such moisture can be obtained in the form of humidity in the air or the water stored inside the seashells that they wear. If a hermit crab is subject to a bone-dry environment for extended periods of time, they will eventually suffocate. |
| Replicating the warm and humid environment of the tropics that wild hermit crabs thrive in is not an easy task and requires frequent moderation. Hermit crabs are crustaceans, not mammals. Dogs and cats, being "warm-blooded" creatures, can sustain living in a wide range of temperatures as the the heat generated by their bodies helps insulate them from the cold. On the other hand, "cold-blooded" creatures such as hermit crabs are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. They rely on an external heat source to survive, such as the Sun. |
| Hermit crabs are well-known for the seashells that they wear. These are not part of the bodies of hermit crabs. Rather, they are akin to the clothes of people; we wear clothes, but they do not grow from our skin. In the wild, hermit crabs may obtain empty seashells on the beach or by stealing them from others. More aggressive hermit crabs may attempt to force the occupant out of its shell through attacking or killing. Unlike most other crustaceans, the abdomen of hermit crabs is not protected by a layer of exoskeleton. Consequently, hermit crabs wear seashells to shield their soft abdomen from dehydration and damage. |
| Hermit crabs are omnivores; they eat both vegetables and meat. Unfortunately, hermit crabs in captivity often do not have access to the latter as their ill-informed owners do not provide it. In the wild, they are scavengers and eat a wide variety of food from rotting fruit to dead birds. Finding food is not always an easy task for hermit crabs in the wild, thus they either eat what they get or go hungry. Experienced hermit crab owners have noted that their hermit crabs prefer to eat something different each day. Wouldn't you loathe eating plain white bread for the rest of your life? No commercial product can summarise all the nutrients that hermit crabs need to maintain a healthy state. This is why hermit crabs must be fed a wide variety of food to ensure that all essential nutrients have been included in adequate amounts in their diet. |
| Like snakes, hermit crabs grow in body size through the process known as moulting. Since exoskeletons do not grow with the hermit crab's soft interior, it must be shed off to provide room for the hermit crab to swell and grow. Once the hermit crab has swollen larger, a new layer of exoskeleton hardens and the hermit crab will appear to have grown larger. The concept of moulting is poorly understood, if not known, by many inexperienced hermit crab owners. Once the exoskeleton has been shed, the hermit crab will appear to have died to people who interpret the hollow body hanging outside the shell as a corpse. As a result, many freshly-moulted hermit crabs continue to be disposed of by their owners, thinking that they have died. |
| « Back • Next » |
|
|
|
|
