How to Create the Perfect Hermit Crab Habitat

Before you even think about purchasing a hermit crab it is imperative that you create the perfect hermit crab habitat so that your new found buddy or buddies will live a long and happy life. They do not require much looking after, and in reality do not need an awful lot of space. However in order to keep your crabs happy and content it is best to try to re-create their natural living conditions within the confines of an aquarium. In order to create a perfect home for your little crawling critters that ticks all of the boxes, there are a few very important facts that you will need to know!

One of the most important pieces of information regarding the proper crustacean pet home is that they live in humid tropical conditions. In order to recreate this in captivity, you will need to make sure that the aquarium is kept between the temperatures of 72-82oF. If the temperature falls regularly below this then they will probably die. If your aquarium is set in a warm room then this temperature should be maintained naturally. However, if a cooler room is used then it will probably be advisable to purchase a small heater for the tank/aquarium. This will allow you to achieve a constant temperature at all times. All good pet stores will have these heaters in stock and they are not particularly expensive. Likewise, if the temperature is too high, it will also cause the crab distress. You will know when the little critter gets too hot because it will begin to smell musty and give of a brown discharge. So you see, tropical temperatures are critical in the perfect crustacean p!

et home!

The humidity levels must also be kept between 70-80 %. You do not have to buy any special instruments or tools for this purpose as sometimes just placing a bowl of water in the tank will help. Failing this, you can buy natural sponges (again, most pet stores sell these for a few cents) which will keep the aquarium moist.

You will also need to provide the burrowing facilities that would be a large part of a natural habitat for these little creatures. This can be done quite easily by lining the bottom of your aquarium with a layer of substrate. Substrate is quite simply a layer of sand or even ground coconut fiber, placed in the tank at around 3?in depth so that your crabs can happily burrow away. You can use kids play sand for this purpose or visit your local pet store for coconut fiber. The little critter particularly likes to burrow when it is shedding its exoskeleton. As well as burrowing, your new friends also love to climb, so make sure that you have places within your aquarium so that they can do this. You can purchase toy trees and plastic rocks for this purpose.

Unlike its name, this little creature is actually a social being that thrives in small groups or pairs in it's natural habitat, and is not a 揾appy chap?when left to his own devices. So it is advisable to purchase more than one.

Finally, and probably the most fascinating fact about this little critter, is that it makes its home in discarded shells. This is primarily for protection as it is born without a shell. In a natural habitat fro these little critters, the crab will forage for deserted snail shells to move into. Whereas in captivity, he is dependent upon his owner to offer him a steady supply of shells in differing sizes. Once again these can be purchased from any good pet supplier.

Creating the perfect hermit crab habitat for your crabs will make sure that they live a long and healthy life and will give you enjoyment and pleasure for lots of years to come.