conditions to mate

Question
what are the conditions for 2 land hermit crabs to mate(have babies) and do you think that i should try to get them to mate i already have 3 land hermit crabs

thankyou

Answer
Dear Jeff,
thank you for your question.
Land hermit crabs usually don't breed in captivity. It's been done once by a private owner in Australia, but even he didn't manage to repeat it. You will need a saltwater tank for the larvae as well as a good and steady supply of brine shrimp for them to feed on.
It's not really clear what exactly makes crab mate, but you will definitely need a big saltwater pool, preferably with some kind of motion to imitate waves. Moonlight make play a part (can be imitated with moonlight bulbs).
You can find a link to a booklet written by the Australian crab owner here, he describes his setup and method of raising the zoea very well:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Animal_Care/Land_hermit_crab#Breeding
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer