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Taking care of hermit crabs takes a lot
of work and you should be ready to do the work in order to keep your
hermit crabs happy and healthy. If you are ready to put the work into
your hermit crab care, then you will really enjoy having these wonderful
little exotic pets. If you aren’t willing to work hard at caring for
hermit crabs, then you should maybe think about another type of pet
because hermit crabs cannot live without the proper care.
Habitat
Hermit crab care starts with giving them
the appropriate habitat. Start with a clear tank because they are the
best to be able to watch your hermit crab dig and play. In order to
properly take care of hermit crabs you will want to provide them with
some good, clean sand or gravel in the bottom of the tank, or better
yet, a substrate called forest bedding, which is made out of coconut
fibers. The forest bedding stays moist longer, although you don’t want
it to be too wet, and it is a better consistency for the hermit crabs to
dig their tunnels into.
Water and Food
Caring for hermit crabs means that you
have to provide them with the proper food and water. Food can be
purchased at the local pet store. There is special hermit crab food that
you can buy. Or, you can look up your species of hermit crab care and
see what kinds of foods they like to eat so that you can give your
hermit crabs special treats once in a while. They will also eat the
forest bedding and the wood from driftwood pieces that you might put in
the tank.
Water should be kept clean and free of
chlorine. There are drops or tablets that you can buy at the pet store
that will remove the chlorine from tap water. You don’t necessarily
have to regularly bathe your hermit crabs, but you will want to provide
them with a bowl of water that they can climb in and out of that is
about an inch deep. Hermit crabs will bathe themselves.
Handling
Part of caring for hermit crabs is loving
your hermit crabs. To show them that you love them you might want to
take them out of their cages and hold them sometimes. This is fine, but
remember that hermit crabs have pinchers and they might pinch you, and
it can hurt. Sometimes hermit crabs pinch because they are nervous and
sometimes it is because they are hungry, so if your hermit crab is
pinching you should put him back in the cage and make sure it has food.
If he isn’t pinching, then he probably likes it when you hold him.
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