Strawberry Hermit Crabs
Strawberry Hermit Crab Photos
Strawberry Hermit Crabs
The strawberry hermit crab is one of the more exotic looking of the Hermit Crabs. It is very easy to identify the strawberry hermit crab as it has a color all over its body that is the color of ripe strawberries. The Strawberry Hermit Crabs that are showing up in the United States are being imported from Malaysia and Indonesia.
You need to keep in mind that Strawberry Hermit Crabs are extremely delicate and the crabitat they are kept in is kept at a constant 75 degrees and that there is plenty of water and moisture. Running or falling water that falls or runs into a small shallow pool is a real necessity to keep your crabs alive and healthy. Below in the video you can see an excellent set up for strawberry crabs.The pool and the water in the crabitat must be salt water.
Strawberry Crabs need to eat foods rich in carotene in order to maintain their brilliant strawberry color. In order to maintain their color and keep them healthy you need to feed them dried baby shrimp , dried plankton , and commercial hermit crab food. If you provide them with this diet you will have healthy strawberry crabs that are brilliant in color.
Give Your Strawberry hermit Crabs A Treat.
About once a month you can offer your strawberry crabs a snack like a cabbage leaf , a lettuce leaf or a piece of banana or mango. Your strawberry crab will love the tasty treat.
You will need to provide your crab with other shells in the crabitat that are slightly larger than the one it currently lives in. Be sure these extra shells stay clean. And one day when your strawberry hermit crab is ready it will move into one of the larger shells and you will have to hunt even larger shells to offer the crab a larger shell for a home.
The Temperature and Humidity Is Important For Your Hermit Crabs
The temperature must be kept at or above 72 degrees if you want your crab to be healthy and happy. Constant temperatures below 72 degrees will kill your strawberry hermit crab. But they will die also if they get to hot. Humidity in the crabitat must be kept at around 70 percent. If you have trouble keeping the humidity up spritz the enclosure with water from a spray bottle several times a day. Add safe plants to help keep up the humidity.
I know people like the funny colored and painted shells but I just don't do that. I try to stick with all natural shells. The paint from painted shells can and does break off and they might eat it so stick with all natural shells when ever possible.
Strawberry Hermit Crabs will move things around in their enclosure. This is a very common behavior and is no cause for concern. They often do it looking for food and sometimes I think they are just bored.
Where Do Strawberry Hermit Crabs Come From.
Your Strawberry Hermit Crab probably came from Indonesia and or Madagascar. It is now illegal to take Strawberry Hermit Crabs from the wild in Australia where they are considered endangered. They are not endangered in Indonesia or Madagascar. There are healthy growing populations in both countries.
Moulting And How They Are Cared For
Its very important that your Strawberry Hermit Crab's enclosure be kept at the ideal condition or it may die when it moults. Its food is also very important or it will lose its color especially after moulting. You should always continue your own research and learn everything you can about your Strawberry Hermit Crab and it's diet. It must be fed foods that are rich in beta carotene for it to remain healthy and strawberry in color. You should do careful research and feed your Strawberry Hermit Crab as natural a selection of foods for it as you can. If you do this your crab will have a long and happy life. You should give your crab calcium and carotene supplements on a regular basis. This is important for your crabs health.
Don't Crowd Your Strawberry Hermit Crabs
These crabs enjoy enclosures that they can get lost in. Provide them with at least a place or two to hide and ideally the enclosure should have plants and several large branches for them to climb on. If your ever in doubt about plants use artificial ones. They can't get sick from plastic plants.
Keep in mind that with ideal conditions and the right food you can expect your Strawberry Hermit Crab to live for thirty years or more.
Video Of A Close Up Look At A Strawberry Hermit Crab in this video.
Remember that you want your crabitat to have a moist tropical atmosphere if you want a healthy and happy strawberry hermit crab. You will want to have a under tank heater and you will want a substrate deep enough for your crab or crabs to dig down into.
And you really don't want to keep just one Strawberry Hermit Crab as the crabs do better with several friends in the crabitat with them. Three or four strawberry hermit crabs will do well together.
How To Make Saltwater For Your Hermit Crabs.
You will want your crabitat to have sturdy branches for climbing and the salt water pond must have either a water fall flowing into it or a small stream of water. You must keep the moisture up in your crabitat. And it needs to be kept as close to 75 degrees as possible. You can add a falling water fall with a small pool and a cheap pump. The water needs to fall 8-12 inches to keep up the humidity in the enclosure. To make saltwater for your hermit crabs boil 4 teaspoons of sea salt in one gallon of water and let it cool to room temperature before you use it for your hermit crabs.
And the best way to measure the temperature and the humidity in your crabitat is to have an indoor / outdoor thermometer and humidity meter combination to keep a close eye on your temperature in the crabitat and the humidity. You can find these meters selling from $8.00 up to $30.00 and you will want one of the better ones.
You must also pay careful attention to your substrate in your crabitat. It must be easy to clean and it must hold up to the tunneling activities of hermit crabs. You will find that the very best substrates are coconut fiber and sand or a mixture of the two. You can buy a commercially prepared substrate for your crabitat. And I would suggest you do this especially if you are new to hermit crabs.
Your crabitat must have a secure lid on it because if they are given the opportunity your strawberry hermit crabs will escape. And once they escape they are hard to find.
Now let me tell you this. You should use only bottled water or distilled water in your crabitat. Never use spigot water or you will kill your strawberry hermit crabs. You should provide a small dish of water in your crabitat that is fresh water your crabs can get into and out of easily. And you need to make sure this water stays fresh at all times. Never use anything metal as a water or pond dish. Metal like in a water dish can react with your strawberry hermit crabs and kill them.
Handling Your Strawberry Hermit Crabs
When you first bring them home place them into the prepared crabitat and leave them alone for at least 3-5 days. Let them get used to their new home. You can then try picking them up by the back of the shell and set them on your hand at or near ground level. Do not allow your crab to fall and get hurt. In time as you experiment with holding and feeding them they may even start to take bits of food from your hand with their claw.
And I think we have pretty much covered the Strawberry Hermit Crab but if you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments section below and I will try to give you a quick and hopefully helpful answer.
Caution About Any Pet You Plan To Purchase Or Bring Home
If your planning on purchasing a pet like a Strawberry Hermit Crab or any other type of pet even a dog, cat, or goldfish you should do your own research and find out everything you can about that particular pet before you bring it home. I would suggest getting a book on the pet from a public library or purchase a book on your pet.
Be sure that you do your own research and learn everything you can. While this Hub Page gives all the information I know about strawberry hermit crabs I don't know everything. So be sure to do your own extensive research. The best place to start is the pet shop where you purchase your strawberry hermit crab.