Q&A for How to Care for Hermit Crabs

If it's a land-based hermit crab, you can care for it in a 10-gallon tank with a sand base, some hiding spots, some places to crawl around in, and a sponge soaked in water. To feed it, use pellets that are made specifically for hermit crabs. If it's a water-based crab, you can put it in your aquarium as a scavenger to hep keep the tank free of food that would otherwise sit around and cause water quality issues.

Don't do anything! It's normal for new hermit crabs to wait once they're moved to a new environment. They're just acclimating to their space and making sure it's safe to come out and explore. Give it a week or two and your hermie should be moving around like normal.

Did you buy your hermit crabs all at once from the same pet store? It seems likely that you just got unlucky and accidentally purchased some very old or very sick hermit crabs. Other than that, you mention fiber shavings. What kind of fiber is it? Crabs are sensitive to synthetic materials, so if you aren't using natural coconut shavings, that could be the culprit.

They eat multiple times throughout the day whenever they're hungry. Just note, they eat so little at any given time that it might not even look like they're removing food from the bowl or area you're putting it in.

Hermit crabs need a lot of care and effort to ensure they thrive, which can make them a high maintenance pet. For instance, they must be kept in an environment that is cleaned often and has high humidity, they must be fed proper nutritious food and they must be given plenty of space to live their lives. One problem is that hermit crabs don’t live as long in captivity as they would in the wild––many don’t survive beyond the first year whereas in the wild, a hermit crab has the chance to live for up to 30 years. And while they are endearing and entertaining creatures, they are meant to live in colonies and are highly sociable, so keeping one or even two can prevent them from living the bigger social life nature their species is used to. Do your research before deciding this is the right animal for you to keep in captivity.

In captivity, a hermit crab tends to live a much shorter life than in the wild. Hermit crabs lack the environmental features they need to thrive when they’re in captivity, like extensive areas to roam, many companions (they’re social creatures), high humidity, seawater and plenty of enrichment experiences. However, you can replicate some of this and take good care of the captive hermit crab so that, on average, it may live up to 15 years (half the lifespan of in the wild). Unfortunately, many hermit crabs have a much shorter lifespan, often of only up to 1 year, because the conditions are not right for them or the care taken of them falters over time. If you want to keep a hermit crab, do plenty of research to make the crabitat an ideal space and know how to take extraordinarily good care of your pet hermie so it has the chance to live a long life.

The pinch from a hermit crab can hurt, depending on where it pinches you and its size. For example, a large hermit crab pinching the flesh between your fingers is going to be somewhat painful, especially if you don’t have tough skin! The key to not getting pinched is correct handling of the crab and not scaring it when you handle it. For advice on handling your hermit crab properly, check out How to Hold a Hermit Crab.

It depends on what you mean by "easy." They can’t be placed into any old container and left alone with little interaction or enrichment. They need careful and considerate setup of a large tank space and their environment needs checking daily to ensure that everything is okay, such as the temperature, removal of foul food, cleaning dirty objects, etc., as crabs are susceptible to parasites and mold. You also need to provide a balance of proper nutritious food as well. Provided you are happy to do all these things regularly and properly, your crab can be "easy" to take care of. Importantly, failing to provide optimal living conditions will be to the detriment of the crab’s health, don’t do your research and be prepared for daily care routines that ensure the crab’s health, happiness and longevity.

Hermit crabs usually only pinch if they cannot get a good grip and they're afraid they'll fall or topple. For example, when holding your hermit crab, remember to make sure that it feels comfortable. Ensure that you hold the hermit crab with two hands. This should prevent your crab form pinching you out of fear of being dropped or unbalanced. If it is pinching you, quickly and carefully place it down on a flat surface where it will be safe and it should let go. Then attend to your pain.

Yes, especially hermit crabs. Those guys are like little Houdinis with claws.

No, you don't have to have an even number. Three would be fine!

No. Hermies need sand and/or earth to tunnel, and they won't be able to dig in shells and rocks. Shells and rocks can be used as decorations, but make sure you have something else, like a mix of EcoEarth and fine play sand as the substrate.

Your hermit crab is very old, so be extra gentle, and caring! This is really good, and your darling has had an incredibly long life!

Wash it immediately. It should be fine then but if it becomes infected, consult a physician.

No. Hermit crabs are very sociable and will chill with crabs of any gender or age.

They are sort of nocturnal. They will move in the day, but most of them move and get food and water at nighttime.

No, make sure you have both salt and fresh water in their crabitat so they can balance the salinity in their shells. However, you shouldn't make it deep enough that they will drown. If your hermits are different sizes, put rocks in the bottom of the deep tank so that the small ones can move if they need air.

As long as you keep him in a cage with a hygrometer of 80+ degrees, he should be fine. If the tank is too dry, he will suffocate and die.

No, this is not suitable as their claws might get stuck in the holes and they won't be able to move again. The same thing goes for towels. Use nice, smooth surfaces or clean pebbles, sand, etc.

Hermies may look a little sick right before they molt, then they will bury underground and stay there to shed its exoskeleton. Once it does do not take it away, because it needs to eat it to grow the new one. You should leave the hermit alone during this time, and also keep it in the crabitat during this time. Just make sure that the other hermies are not bothering him.

Yes, hermit crabs LOVE dried mealworms.

Yes, they will leave their shell to get into another shell. However, if they are running around like crazy with no shell, have extra shells in their crabitat -- during this time, it helps to place a few more in there. Make sure not to touch the hermit with no shell on, as that hurts a lot.

It will grow back. Just do not play with that hermit crab and be more careful in future.

No, they cannot. Hermit crabs need sand to burrow into, and the sand holds in the humidity, while gravel does not. They can use play sand, as long as it is not dyed.

There is no reason to be afraid of them since they are so small. If you are afraid of them pinching you don't pick them up. You could also tell yourself that even if they do pinch you it will not be a large injury.

Most likely not unless it's a surface molt. Hermit crabs will usually bury themselves to molt.

Change your hermit crab's food every few days so it does not start to mold.

It can be. Make sure not to use calcium sand as it can stick to hermit crabs excessively.

Yes, just make sure to bake it so all of the organisms in it will die. Bake it for around 30 minutes.

Clean it out your cage several times and make sure your crabs (and crab shells) are not infested. For full details, read: How to Eliminate Mites from a Pet Hermit Crab Tank.