|
|
 |
|
|
 |
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! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| If a hermit crab cannot climb out a water dish and the water is too deep, the hermit crab will drown. Rock pool dishes are one of the best choices for hermit crabs, because they look natural and are easy to climb out of. Generally, if a hermit crab can hook a leg over the side of a dish, they will be able to climb out. If you have both small and jumbo hermit crabs, add rocks to the bottom of deeper water dishes to help the smaller ones climb out and let the larger hermit crabs submerge themselves in a deeper pool of water for a bath. |
| The water bowls below are an example of dishes to avoid. It's very displeasing to see them in some of the so-called "hermit crab kits" in pet stores. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Hermit crabs need access to both fresh and saline water. If you wish to use tap water as your source, you must add a few drops of dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and any other harmful chemicals. Read the instructions on the label carefully to determine how many drops you need to add. Boiling tap water alone may not remove all the chlorine, so rely on a dechlorinator instead. After adding the dechlorinator to the tap water, don't forget to stir it with a straw or your finger. You may also use bottled water or distilled water, which usually don't require treatment from a dechlorinator. To prepare the salt bath, add some sea salt crystals to the water and stir until all the crystals have dissolved. The water level should be no deeper than the eyes of your smallest hermit crab. Adding a small sea sponge to each dish also helps boost the humidity inside the aquarium. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Bathing hermit crabs can be either active or passive; you bath each hermit crab yourself or you let them bathe themselves in the aquarium. Do not dig up hermit crabs to give them a bath. If they are above the surface and running about, it wouldn't hurt to actively bathe them once in a while. Bathing helps replenish your hermit crab's shell water. This water inside a hermit crab's shell is to keep the abdomen moist, and preventing it from drying out. Bathing your hermit crabs once or twice a week is enough. Bathing them too much will stress them out. |
| Before doing anything, make sure that the water you are using does not contain chlorine. This can be done by boiling the water, or using special products including StressCoat. The water should just be slightly warm, about room temperature. Place a finger into the water for ten seconds. If you start to feel a burn, the water is too warm. Mix a little salt into the water. Add a drop or two of StressCoat to the water. Although StressCoat is made for fish, it works on hermit crabs too. StressCoat helps calm down stressed hermit crabs, and coats the crab's abdomen, preventing it from drying out. It keeps your crab's exoskeleton healthy for better moults. |
| Add a tiny bit of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to keep your hermit crab's exoskeleton strong and healthy if you wish. When bathing your hermit crabs, do not attempt to hold them underwater unattended. They are land hermit crabs, not marine. Even if you are watching, don't leave them underwater as there is a chance that they'll drown. Don't hold them underwater for longer than one minute. If you are worried, submerge them in intervals of ten seconds and lift them out of the water to breathe in between. |
|
|
|
|
