Hermit Crabs as a Daycare Pet?

[Lilbutterflie]

Well, I took the kids to a pet store today (I'm lucky I didn't leave with half the pets in the store!) and they had a wonderful hermit crab set up that made me want these little guys!

They seem to be low maintenance, they were not expensive, and they are so neat b/c they will molt, shed their current shells, and get a bigger one. They had all kinds and colors of shells available for purchase there. I think the kids would really enjoy them!

I searched the forum for anyone else who may have them, but couldn't find any posts about them. What do you all think? Does anyone have them? Are they as low maintenance as they appear to be?

[blueclouds29]

I lived on the jersey shore and i had hermit crab all the time! They are great pets. No much to take care of! Yes they climb from one shell to another when they molt. Did you get a cage where they can climb all over it? or a glass one?
I think that was a wise decision
You can even take them out if you have more then one and have a race with them!!
Even with one you can still take it out and walk around.

[e.j.]

We had some when my own kids were younger. They're fun to watch and relatively easy to care for, although the ones we had each only lived several months so maybe we weren't doing something quite right. The only caution I'd give you is to watch the day care kids carefully if they have access to the crabs. My son was on the receiving end of some very painful pinches when he got too close to the pincher claws. No permanent damage done but it hurts!

[Lilbutterflie]

I haven't gotten anything yet, I wanted to clear it with DH first; and do some research to see what I would be getting into!

But from my research, I think they will be really neat! The only thing I'm reading is that I might have to purchase a humidity gauge and make sure that the environment is always humid. Did you do that with your hermit crabs?

[heyhun77]

We have had hermit crabs for a couple years but we recently went through something wrong in the tank and our crabs died off one by one, probably from stress. When we were first starting out and I was reading up on crab care and such I read that the ones in the fancy shells (painted shells) are many times mistreated in order to get them into those shells. Often times they are tazered to get them to release from their natural shell.

The downside to hermit crabs is that they are mostly nocturnal so the kids really didn't see a whole lot going on. We would pull them out of the tank and watch them walk across the table which was fun but for the most part they tunneled down into the substrate in the tank and stay there during the day then come out and clink against the glass all night which would wake me up.

Now that the crabs have all died we are turning the tank into a terrarium and then eventually into a fishtank. Fish will be easier to care for and a lot more active for the kids to watch.

Here is the group that was most informative about hermit crabs and their care. http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/index.php

[e.j.]

The only thing I'm reading is that I might have to purchase a humidity gauge and make sure that the environment is always humid. Did you do that with your hermit crabs?

We didn't do this, so that might have been the problem. The air in our house tends to be fairly dry in the winter. We also had the tank near a window which I later read was not a good thing since the sun can make the tank too hot for them.

[Lilbutterflie]

Thanks for all the info ladies! It was a good point about them being nocturnal, but I still think what the kids do get to see will be enough that they will still enjoy them.

I told my dcm about getting hermit crabs, and she said she used to keep them & still has the set up! She's going to bring it to us and hopefully we'll have some hermies by next week!

[laundrymom]

Lol we bought some on our honeymoon eons ago and upon returning my pastors wife asked me how things were going,... I told her we got crabs on our honeymoon! She was speechless then I realized what I said. Lol had a good laugh. Lol

[dEHmom]

Lol we bought some on our honeymoon eons ago and upon returning my pastors wife asked me how things were going,... I told her we got crabs on our honeymoon! She was speechless then I realized what I said. Lol had a good laugh. Lol

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for humidity, it is often much the same as with plants. As long as you keep some water in the area, whether you have a bowl of water, moss soaked in water, etc, just anything with moisture it'll keep the humidity up in the cage.

[snbauser]

We have hermit crabs. They are definately very easy to take care of. We had fish before this and the fish are much more difficult to take care of. But as someone else pointed out, the hermit crabs are nocturnal so there isn't much action during the day. The kids still like to go over and see what they are doing. They get excited when they are actually awake. We also take them out every so often and watch them walk around.

[SFMamaTeacherC]

Hi,
I was planning to get a hermit crab for my son and the kids, but when I went to the pet store they explained about the noctural habits and recommended a fiddler crab. So that's what I got, and she is really cool. Half water and half rocks in the small tank and we just feed her fish food once a day and change her water once a week. The kids love to feed her, she crawls around on the rocks and we watch her eat the food. Her name is Scuttle!

[archdunk]

We have hermit crabs. They are definately very easy to take care of. We had fish before this and the fish are much more difficult to take care of. But as someone else pointed out, the hermit crabs are nocturnal so there isn't much action during the day. The kids still like to go over and see what they are doing. They get excited when they are actually awake. We also take them out every so often and watch them walk around.

the most exciting part is when they leave their shells and try to look for another. its funny when they try to put their big bodies in little shells.

[Lilbutterflie]

Well, we got 3 hermit crabs and we love them! One of them is ginormous and very very social. He'll let me pick him up sometimes without even retreating into his shell, and then climb all over my lap. Although they are nocturnal, the big one wakes up a few times a day to eat, crawl around and climb. The kids are mesmerized. The two smaller ones are little more shy. They rarely come out in the day; but we can watch them in the morning and at night.

I would say they are slightly more maintenance then anticipated; I find that I'm changing their water bowls every day, and of course emptying their food plate and adding new food every day. And it was a little bit of work at first making sure their "crabitat" is the right temp and humidity (I bought a dual thermometer/hygrometer to measure this); but now I'm pretty much able to regulate the temp and humidity easily.

I have about 6 shells in there for them to change shells, and I have noticed each them "shopping". They turn the shells over, stick their legs and antennae inside, and inspect them! I do not have a shell big enough yet for the big one; but I need to find a couple soon! He is doing the most shell shopping; I think b/c his shell is already too small & the pet store didn't have any bigger shells for him. Poor Guy!

[heyhun77]

The fun really can be in watching them play with the things in their tank. We put in a moss pit with a suction cup corner shower caddy and then used a piece of driftwood set up next to it for a ladder. The crabs would climb up the driftwood and hang out in the moss.

They also liked to roll the extra shells around.