Would you believe that there are around 600 species of hermit crabs crawling all over the coastal lines of the world? Yet only few of these species exist in the United States and reared as pets. In Australia, they prefer the Coenobita bariabili and the strawberry-colored Coenobita perlatus. The Americans, on the other hand, prefer the Caribbean hermit crab or scientifically known as the C. clypeatus as their pets. If we want to learn more about the common hermit crab species, let us first identify and study the most common species of hermits found and reared in the United States.
?Coenobita cavipes. This species originated from some Asian countries and eastern part of Africa. You can only see them on the beach during mating season because they prefer to stay in the forests that are near the beaches. They prefer fruits for their diets and have the record to have the most molting stages than any other species of hermit crabs. Their usual colors are brown and orange.
?Coenobita brevimanus. Considered the second biggest hermit crab of the Coenobitidae family (C. Birgus latro is the largest) it came from the African east coast and the southwestern coast of the Pacific Ocean. They are can be easy to recognized by their dark eyestalks and spherical eyes. Their exoskeletons or body shells are usually brown or purple in color.
?Coenobita compressus. This species of hermit crabs are known by two names, the 慐cuadorian hermit crab?and 慞acific hermit crab. They are commonly found on pet shops and favorite among hermit lovers because they are the smallest species in the hermit crab kingdom. Although the adults can reach only about 12mm, it can walk so fast that people lose them easily when mishandled. Their colors are yellow, dark grey and orange.
?Coenobita rugosus. The Australians fondly called them 憆uggie?and they are commonly found on the coastal areas of Australia, east Africa and the southwestern Pacific. They are fascinating animals because they can make sounds much like the birds when chirping especially when they feel they are in danger. They produce this sound by rubbing their pincers on their shell. Their colors always depend on their diet so you can see them in varieties of color such as brown, green, black, blue, tanned or even white.
?Coenobita perlatus. They are now common in the United States as well as in Australia and people regard them as 憇trawberry hermit crabs?because they have this unique color of white spots with red background color on their exoskeleton. Their young are paler in color. This species can live up to 30 years or more even in captivity.
?Coenobita clypeatus. As we have said, this is the most common hermit crab pet in the United States. They are better known as the 憈ree crab? 憇oldier crab? 憄urple pincher? and the 慍aribbean hermit crab? Although originally they came from the Caribbean Sea, they can now be found on the beaches of Florida, Venezuela and the Bermuda Islands. They are big in size and their purple claws are what make them unique. They can also live up to 30 years and beyond.
Still, if you want to learn more about the different of species of hermit crabs so that you can choose which among them could better be reared as pets you can check their information on my site about hermit crabs. It contains complete information with regards to their preference on their habitat, their foods and feeding habits, and many of the things to avoid in order to keep them alive.
