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June 17, 2000, we had the privilege of becoming hermie owners.
My daughters received their first ones as souvenirs from somebody
who had visited Ocean City, Maryland. My daughters, nor I, had
any idea as to how to care for them properly. For this reason,
I had gone to the library for books to read, to research on the
internet, and I asked questions at pet stores. There was information
on hermit crab care, and yet so much of it varied depending on
which pet store we visited, which web site we were reading, or
what author of which book we were reading. We currently have Ecuadorian,
(Coenobita Compressus), Carribbean, (Coenobita Clypeatus), Indos,
(Coenobita Brevimanus), Rugs, (Coenobita Rugosus), and their cheliped
measurements range from 1/4 inch to 2 1/8 inches. The following
is the care we have done with our hermies, and to date have had
great success in doing so.
Daily they have access to Ethoxyquin free foods, (which is an
insecticide/pesticide), Jurassi Diet Hermit Crab Food, FMR Food,
FMR Treat, Tetra Dried Baby Shrimp, Tetra Freeze Dried Bloodworms,
Crushed Oyster Shells, a tad of T-Rex Calsi-sand, Ocean Plankton,
Hikari Tubifex Worms, Hikari Daphnia, Flukers Mealworms, Hikari
Flake Tropical, Julian Sprung's Sea Veggies, Hikari Sinking Wafers,
Hikari Cichlid Gold, ZooMed Leopard Gecko Food, Zoo Med's Anole
Food, and Sea Weed Select Green Marine Algae. I sprinkle cuttlebone
that I blend into a powder over all these in what we call the
dry food dish. In another dish, we offer various fresh foods such
as fruits, vegetables, non-sugared cereal, Kaytee Healthy Toppings
bird food, (such as mixed nuts, coconut, carrots & greens, apple
bits, banana chips, mixed berries, carrots & sweet potatoes, Pumpkin
seeds & almonds), bread, etc. We never offer any citrus foods
or dairy products. Even though the hermies have access to the
dry foods 24/7, the fresh food dish we offer on a nightly basis
before going to bed, and remove it promptly in the morning when
we awaken. Within all our main tanks and iso tanks, they have
access to a choya log and cork bark which they do munch on. Before
their Sunday bath, our hermit crabs are also offered pure natural
honey.
For the water ponds in the hermies tanks, I only use distilled
bottle water. I use Instant Ocean for the ocean water pond, and
I mix it per the package instructions. I mix a smaller amount
to be sure it stays fresh. I use 1/8 cup, (2 tablespoons), per
one U.S. quart of distilled water. Once it is prepared, I do not
offer it to the hermies for at least 24 hours, shaking it numerous
times within that 24 hours, and testing the salinity with a hydrometer.
Each time it is offered to the hermies, the ocean water container
is shaken extremely well. By doing this the ocean salt is distributed
evenly, instead of when at the end of the container the hermit
crabs get an over dose of ocean salt possibly causing permanent
damage to their gills, or other complications.
 On
Wednesday and Sunday, we bath our hermies in distilled bottle
water with a couple of drops of Stress Coat added to it to replace
the slime to their gills and body parts. On the non-bath nights,
we do mist all of our hermies with distilled water with no additives.
After their misting/bath, all hermies get a minimum of 30 minutes
of exercise in a plastic baby pool that has various climbing objects
and tunnels to explore.
The substrate in our main tanks and iso's is Estes' Ultra Reef
Marine Sand, which is aquarium safe and has calcium in it.
We clean our tanks daily with an aquarium fish net for food
and waste materials. We keep our substrate as dry as possible,
removing any wet sand at this time.
In both our main tanks and iso tanks, I keep the humidity at
75 as much as possible, and the temperature of the substrate at
78-80 degrees on the UTH side of the tank. Our iso tanks are set
up as mini main tanks with coral, cholla log, cork bark, fuller
rock, huts, dry food dish, ocean and fresh water ponds, etc.
If I find a molter in one of our main tanks, I do remove them
and put them into an iso tank. I use my hands, supporting the
molter in the palm of my hand, and gently place him on top of
his exo while talking to him in a gentle voice that he's use to.
I place a sponge in the fresh water and ocean water dishes extremely
close to the molter so he has easy access to the waters if he
wants/needs them. Twenty-four hours after molting, I remove him
from the iso tank, supporting his weak body and shell at all times,
and lightly mist the gill area of his body. After lightly misting
the gill area, I gently dab the access mist off the shell if there
is any, with a clean paper towel. I then carefully put the molter
back into the iso tank with his exo at the opening of his shell.
At this time, I then take the water dishes and sponges and replace
them with sterilized ones, and wash the water dishes out with
hot water. I do this daily, and I do speak softly to the molter
as I am doing this. Speaking softly to our hermies is something
I do throughout the day while they are in the main tanks and iso's.
When the molter has
eaten the softer parts of the exo, I then crush the harder parts
of the legs and pinchers as fine as I can and put them in an oyster
shell for them to eat. After 24 hours of the molter munching on
the drier parts of the exo, I then make another dry food shell
to be put next to the molter's exo shell.
This first shell consists
of Dried Baby Shrimp, Ocean Plankton, Krill, crushed powdered
oyster shells, Calsi Sand, Boiled Egg Shell, Jurassi Diet, Spirulina
supplement, and FMR Treat. I put each food into its own little
section of the shell instead of all mixed together. I then sprinkle
powdered cuttlebone on top of all the foods in the shell.
The day after I offer the above food shell, I then offer all
the dry foods the hermies get while they're in the main tank.
Where as I do change the dry food in the main tanks every two
days, (unless they get wet before hand), I change the dry food
in the iso daily at the time I change the sponges and water ponds.
Molters seem to be a little fussy, and seem to eat fresh dry food
faster than food that has sat for two days.
When the molter is eating well, their coloring has darkened,
and is scooting about the iso tank without appearing weak, on
the next bath day I bathe the molter with his tank mates so they
all smell alike. Once all have had their bath, they have time
in the play area to become reacquainted under close supervision.
If there are no incidents amongst the hermies, all are returned
to the main tank.
Diet and exercise are very important with all creatures to maintain
good health. I believe that for a hermie to have a successful
molt, he must be in overall good health prior to molting. I attribute
their care, diet, and exercise our hermies get prior to molting
as important as the care they receive once they molt.
Because of a hermie being so fragile once they molt, I believe
their gills are even more sensitive than usual. This is why I
lightly mist the gill area 24 hours after they molt to keep them
moist. Because of our daily handling the hermies with mists or
baths, and also handling a few other times during the day, our
hermies aren't threatened when handled after they molt. In fact,
the first time our molter is picked up 24 hours after they molt,
they happily come partially out of their shell to great the misting
of their gills. I attribute all the care given mentioned in this
article as to why I have such a high successful molter rate.
Photo of Clive. He looks dead
Clyde Shrunk
Clyde Tucked Safely Within Shell
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