The Basics of Caring For Your Crustacean
No matter the reason you brought a crustacean to your home but you have to be very friendly with this creature. And at most of the times, people are not sure as to what to do with this crustacean due to not knowing any Hermit Crab information .
The below mentioned things are a good guide for everyone who is into this business of keeping the hermit crabs. Even if you are a veteran, this refresher course can help you a lot in taking proper care of them.
Temperature
Your Harriet the hermit crab can stay fit and healthy only in a specific temperature zone which is 72 to 80 degrees in the Fahrenheit scale. The crab should not be exposed to temperatures lower than this. Temperatures below the above pointed one can even cause its death.
This does not mean that you can keep the creature exposed to heat for any duration of time. If it gets overheated, you can smell musty odor. There is also a discharge of brown fluid.
Humidity
The appropriate humidity is necessary for a hermit crab as they thrive in such good conditions. A humidity level of about 70 to 80 percent is the best suited to it. You should be aware enough to provide it a moist tropical feel.
For most of the people, this category of creatures is new and they do not understand the necessity of a substrate, with many not even knowing what a substrate actually mean in this context. This is something you put at the bottom of the tank. The crab you are keeping likes to burrow so be precise when deciding on this material.
There are many things one can opt for this from the local pet store. Among these, sand is widely used one.
The height of the substrate has to be good enough to be burrowed. The thickness should be so that the substrate is properly heated, which cannot be possible if it is too thick.
Other things to consider
Following the aforesaid points, you have got your pet in a suitable environment very similar to the tropic one. Now comes the time when you should give some thought to its food. In its most suitable wild conditions, it would feed on fallen fruits, decaying woods, plants and grasses.
Today not enough has been done on the name of research for their food habits, especially in conditions where they are held captive. But there are some obvious things like nutrients in the form of calcium. Others are carotene and some antioxidants.
In the absence of carotene, a crab fades in color after passing through the molting process. So to keep the color intact, you require feeding them with vegetables like corns and carrots.
So we can sum up this discussion as the best food for you is also the best for the hermit crab. But this must not include cheese, potato chips, boxed Marconi etc. Apart from these, you can feed the crab with meat and fish also to help maintain a great health for it.
These creatures also like to eat tree bark and oak leaves. These have to be rinsed properly and dried before being given as food. The crabs like to crunch this kind of food.
There are commercial foods available for the crab in the market. But you need not rely on them as the most natural food for them comes in the form of vegetables, fish, fruits and meat. Also when you give the crustacean this food, you are at least aware of the freshness which is not the case with the commercially available food.
So in a short time you are now able to provide your hermit crab a good place to live and healthy diet to eat. This is not all that you have to know, you would get to know their likes and dislikes slowly as you turn veteran. But these are the basics to be followed without which your crustacean has no chance to survive.
Some other content you might like to look at:
- Making the Hermit Crab Cage a Home
- Simple Basics on How to Care for a Hermit Crab
- Pet Land Hermit Crabs
- Feeding Your Hermit Crabs
- What do Hermit Crabs eat?
