Land Hermit Crabs have adapted to live on land and can drown if submerged in water. The abdomen of a hermit crab is very soft and vulnerable; unlike ‘true’ crabs, hermit crabs do not have a hard shell to protect themselves. To survive, they must tuck their abdomens within the abandoned shell of a marine…
Age is measured by counting the otoliths, or growth rings, at the base of the antennae post-mortem. Size is hard to calculate, as hermit crabs will grow and moult depending on environment, diet, exercise, species and other random factors. However, you can observe the change in the size of Carol of Crab Works’ hermit crabs…
What is Autotomy? Comes from the latin words autos for “self” and tomos for “cut Autotomy can be described as self-cutting, Websters dictionary describes autotomy as a “reflex separation of a part (as an appendage) from the body: division of the body into two or more pieces.” Hermit Crabs can autotomize (drop) and regenerate…
What Do Hermit Crabs Eat? In order to keep your hermit crab healthy your crabs will need a balanced diet. Just like we need our meat and vegetables, so do hermit crabs. A hermit crab’s diet is balanced with some seafood, meat, calcium supplements, protein supplements, fresh foods such as fruit, nuts, seeds; and…
So what is moulting? Moulting is when an animal sheds its old skin and then grows a new skin. You might have experienced the wonder and surprise at seeing a snake shed his skin. The shed skin looks like a duplicate of the snake, but it is only the cast off skin that didn’t grow…
Look closely at the hermit crab environment and ask questions about the food, bedding, housing and temperature needs for your new pets. If you have never owned hermit crabs before a book on caring for hermit crabs is a wonderful resource. There is a list of hermit crab guides listed under Books to the left. Make sure…
Aggressive Behaviour Land hermit crabs are territorial animals, and as such they will often act aggressively towards one another to establish a ‘pecking’ order among their colony. Sometimes this can be in the form of ‘feeler’ or antennae fights, others in violent pushing or flicking fellow tank mates out of the way. Usually this…
ARE YOU READY FOR A LAND HERMIT CRAB? Australian Land Hermit Crab Care Guide THE BIG PICTURE As you would have already guessed, caring for a land hermit crab is more than just food and salt. The initial set up for a land hermit crab can include much more than you previously thought. The good…
VANESSA’S CRABITAT Australian Land Hermit Crab Care Hermit crabs are advertised as cheap and easy to maintain, which is not necessarily true. You are trying to offer everything a tropical land hermit crab needs while in captivity, the essentials they cannot live without. Please read my article “Are You Ready for a Land Hermit Crab”…