The life cycle of the land hermit
crab is unique. It starts by the release of eggs into an
ocean tide pool, where the zoea go through
a series of moults and development stages.
A baby hermit crab zoea will be
a part of plankton until
it grows and starts to resemble hermit crab form. Once they
have developed to maturity, hermit crabs leave their watery
home, making the long journey to land to find a shell for
the protection of the soft abdomen
Once ashore, land hermit crabs
go through a metamorphosis, developing modified gills that act as lungs to enable them to breathe air. Once on
land, they live in a variety of environments including trees,
mangroves and areas up to 1-2 miles away from the shore.
In the wild some land hermit crabs
can spend a long time away from a water source, some only
returning to the sea when they are heavy with eggs which
they will flick into the intertidal pools to start the cycle over again. Land hermit crabs are instinctive
and will access moisture from dewdrops found on leaves of
plants. They are able to go without food for a time if necessary
and store water in their shells for drinking later.
Hermit crabs are able to regenerate - or
regrow - any lost or broken limbs during the moulting process.
Hermit Crabs moult because
their hard exoskeleton does not grow with their body, and
so they must shed it and infuse the new tissues with moisture,
then harden these tissues to develop into an exoskeleton
with the aid of 'chitin'.
During this time, you will need
to keep your hermit crab in a comfortably warm and moist
environment and offer substrate into
which they may burrow within. Some hermit crabs like to
dig down deep into the substrate and
hide out while their new exoskeleton
hardens and they will return to normal activity. For the
next 10 or so days heir new skin hardens with the aid of
'chitin' which
hermit crabs will obtain by eating their discarded exoskeleton.
During this time of natural wonder, you will find your hermit
crab is soft, vulnerable, and inactive.
After moulting, your
crab will need a bigger shell to protect their newly moulted
body. Your hermit crab may be a little crabby after a moult
and you should offer a variety of shells for them to choose
from. Hermit crabs love to size up new shells and will often
change shells for hours on end until they find their favourite.
Copyright © 2000 Vanessa Pike-Russell
Related articles:
Breeding and raising land hermit crabs by Stu Wools-Cobb http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/articles/breeding/keeping_breeding_hermitcrabs.pdf
Related forum topics:
crab laid eggs, they hatched!http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5185
