Topic: Hermit Crabs - my stepdaughter wants 'em

[EowynJane]

Thanks for the info WJ.  I've decided I really don't want them, I don't want to set up or look after them and my stepdaughter is only here every other weekend.  With no movement in the tank except for at night and the fact that she'd probably have to come into my fish room to see them interest would fade fast.  I'd much rather do something else with my time and money.

Thanks guys

[Alyak Nnad]

Hi!
I once fell in love with these beauties. They aren't as active at home as they are in the mall.

1) 5 gal=1 crab
2)Crabbies need company
3)Children loose interest quickly
4)Less work for you-easy to take care of
5)More expensive than fish
6)Nocturnal!

If you get one for her, good luck!

[bulrush]

I've had hermit crabs and, because they are nocturnal, they are not good pets for children. Any pet a child gets will be taken care of by the adult, just keep that in mind. (Hamsters are also nocturnal, I found out. And don't like being woken up a lot to be played with.)

The hardest part was getting the humidity to stay in the tank, I had to get a piece of plastic to cover the top, and a humidity meter to put inside. You have to check the humidity every day. Plus you need 5-6 inches of sand for them to burrow in when they molt, and sometimes they die during molting.

[wendyjo]

They do need humidity but if they have bowls of both fresh and salted water they will be OK even if the humidity is lower than they'd like.  In winter, when the furnaces suck the humidity out of everything, it can be almost impossible to maintain proper humidity unless the tank is practically sealed shut - and then you risk mold and/or bacteria issues.

I think heat is actually more important than humidity (again, that is if you have water bowls available to them to bathe in).  They won't do well when it's chilly.

Many people create pools to help with humidity.  Using a large shallow bowl (you can buy them at the petstore for this purpose) partially buried in the substrate, and using airline and a pump to create bubbles in the pool.  I did this for a while but the crabs would constantly fill the pool with sand and dirt, so I gave up, lol.

In any event I think EJ talked her SD out of getting crabbies.  But I'm just putting it out there for anyone else might be checking out the thread.

[EowynJane]

I didn't exactly talk her out of it but I did decide against it and she seems to have forgotten about it.  She's 16 so we're hoping she's moved onto her next fasination.  If she does bring it up I'll tell her no.

[bulrush]

I have to disagree with Wendyjo. Ambient humidity is very important for hermit crabs when they molt (same with snakes), less so for daily life. But if something goes wrong during molting with a hermie, they often die.