Is this suitable? Sponge question

[thrasher720]

The other day i was in key largo and i decided I would buy a hermit crab.. a pet I've always wanted. I bought him off this man who kept it in a cage with many others. the cage was full of climbing materials and food (just so it doesnt seem bad saying they were in a cage). He seemed to just soak a sponge with water and apprently if they are thirsty they get their water form that = O. I typically soak in in water from the sink..is this adequet for the thirst needs of my hermit ?

[emmac350]

No, it isn't enough for your hermit crab. Your crab has a lot of needs that, once met, will help him to live a long life - the current record for crabs that we know of in captivity is 32 years and counting. There is a lot of information on the crab care site at http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabcare that I'd encourage you to read. However, since you did take the time to post, I'll give you an outline as well as an answer to your question.

1. You should never own just one hermit crab. They're social creatures (even though their name suggests otherwise) and your crab will live a longer, much happier and healthier life if he has at least one friend. It also will help him to be more active (more crabs in a tank = more activity).

2. How big of a cage do you have? Did the man just sell you a little plastic critter keeper? If so, get rid of it and get a glass fishtank - the bigger the better. 10g is enough room for two or so crabs (size and species dependent) but crabs in the wild will move up to 2 or 3 miles in one night! So your crab needs as much room as you can afford to give him (as well as the most climbing equipment as you can give him...they love climbing so be creative with non-metal shower caddies and such to give them upper levels to climb in). Also, ensure you have a secure lid on the tank - crabs can climb the sealant in the corner of tanks.

3. What kind of bedding is in your cage? If it's gravel, toss it. Crabs need to molt every so often (for tiny crabs around once a month and for jumbos it can be up to once a year or so) and many of them will only do so successfully with a good quality sand or coconut fiber substrate. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting a big bag of CaribSea aragonite sand, either sugar or select grain sized, or a few bricks of EcoEarth coconut fiber bedding. Both of these substrates are crab friendly and some of the best quality ones out there. Your sand should be as deep as twice the height of your tallest crab, plus an inch or so for wiggle room as they grow. Molting is an extremely stressful time for your crab, so having a good substrate for it to molt in will help you to have a successful molt (if the wrong conditions are offered, your crab can die by trying to put off molting until it finds better conditions.

4. Your crab needs temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees generally. You can take them warmer - mine are most active with the air in the tank around 76 or 77. They also breathe through gills that use humidity in the air so their tank needs to have a humidity level between 70 and 80 percent. Buying a decent quality dual temperature/humidity gauge is a very good investment (I got a good one at a home improvement store that measures 2 temperatures with a sensor so I can monitor temperature on both sides of my tank. If you have inadequate humidity, your crab will eventually die of suffocation.

5. What do you feed your crab? If it's a commercial food, look at the ingredients - does it contain ethoxyquin or copper sulfate? If so, you need to get rid of it - it will kill your crab. Those ingredients are insecticides - but crabs are susceptible to insecticides as they're related - they're both in the arthropod phylum. Besides, feeding a crab the same commercial food every day will actually encourage it not to eat - they're genetically predisposed to not eat the same thing without at least a few days between offerings. Besides, would you eat white bread for every meal on every day of your life? Of course not - so don't force your crab to do that too. If you use the search box in the upper right corner of the website, you can search for "food groups" and find a general breakdown of crab food groups. It's important to feed your crabs something from every food group every day...we can't anticipate what they need on any given day, so it's important to give them everything so they aren't deprived of any one thing. A lot of their diet can easily be made up of what we eat - any fresh foods (meat, veggies, fruits) that you use that aren't seasoned can be given to your crabs. Just cut them off a small piece of what you eat. There is a "safe food list" at http://www.epicurean-hermit.com/index.php?topic=2.0 and, if you don't want to bother with giving them bits of your dinner (you can easily forget, let me tell you) you can buy foods online from the hermit crab addiction store at http://www.hermitcrabaddictionstore.com/.

6. Water...tap water isn't safe for your crabs. The chlorine in it will blister their gills and eventually cause them to suffocate. You can either treat your tap water with a dechlorinator (found at pretty much every pet store) or buy distilled water at a grocery store and not have to worry about dechlorinating it. Just having a sponge with water isn't enough for crabs. They like to soak in their water, so get yourself water bowls that are deep enough for your biggest crab to completely submerge in (but ensure there's a way for any smaller crabs to not get stuck in it). Additionally, fresh water alone isn't enough for crabs. They need to be offered salt water mixed with a saltwater aquarium salt mix (Oceanic, Instant Ocean are two popular brands among crabbers), not anything labeled "hermit crab salt water mix" or any of that stuff...ironically enough, it doesn't actually contain what they need out of the salt water. Mix the salt water according to the instructions on the package. Hermit crabs need salt water to keep their shell water (water they keep in their shell to keep their gills hydrated and to try to make up for low humidity in case it gets too low) at the right salinity - if they only have fresh water to use for shell water, they will recycle their urine in their shell water to get the salinity right...and that's just gross! But if they only have fresh water, they will lose electrolytes in their bodies and can die of it. So do please offer bowls of salt and fresh water. The sponge is fine to use to keep up your humidity, but if you use it, you'll have to sterilize it every day or two to ensure it isn't becoming a bacteria breeding ground as they tend to do. Either completely dry it and microwave it (if it's wet when microwaved, you'll end up with a shrunk sponge) or boil it in dechlorinated water.

I know this seems like a lot of information, but it is for the best of the crab you bought - all of this will help him to live a long and happy life. If you have further questions, please feel free to ask, but also feel free to use that search bar to see if your question has been discussed before. Welcome to the site, and congratulations on your crab!

[ladybug15057]

Emma has done great with giving an outline of hermie care needed.
I would like to add regarding the taking the temperature of the tank, it is relevant to also monitor the substrate temp of the tank because there is usually a difference between the air and substrate temp of a crabitat.
They should be offered a substrate 78-80 F (25.56-26.67 C) and always a cooler side as well (72-73 F/22.22-22.78 C) for the hermie to choose where they are most comfortable at.
Regardless of where the humidity gauge is bought at, make sure to test/calibrate it for accuracy.
The dechlorinator bought needs to be one that removes chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals from tap water. However, tap water also contains fluoride, and there is not a dechlorinator sold that removes fluoride from tap water. (fluoride is known to cause mutations/defects in zoea) Hermies do need the larger ponds as Emma said, but also so they can climb in and fill their shells with the water too that they need to keep from dehydrating. Make sure the ocean/sea salt you buy is one specifically sold for salt water fish tanks.

[thrasher720]

He gave me at first a tiny travelling cage to go from Key Largo to Fernandina Beach. At the pet store i bought a plastic holder which came with a free crab. Very soon I plan on building my bets a habitat so that i can get most creative with it. So he has a buddy =] . i feed him bits of what foods i eat(or don't eat) and soak his/her sponge every few hours or so. I bring him out of his confiment for exercise (with my watchful eye as to prevent my tea cup yorky from getting hurt) and to stretch. He does have room to move around in his temp home. I should also mention his partner his very much smaller than him and also doesnt like to come out of the hell often, bur i have seen them interact.. The man told me they HATED water. So the idea of them needed to suck never crossed my mind. So that explains why he opts to lay on the sponge =P. A little more on topic i wanna know how he drinks water from the sponge like the man claims. Currently his temp home is full of shells.. i have two shells for food and his sponge and decorative red rocky like things ( he has pushed alot of these out of the way for a clear place to sleep). Also some shiny blue beads for more decoration. if this matters much he is a land hermie

[Chermo]

It is good that you found this site, you should know that petstore or shops at the beaches know nothing about hermit crabs or their care. Hermit crabs need everything from what emmac said. Hermit crabs need to be in glass tanks so it holds heat and humidity well. When you feed them what you eat make sure no spices or even salt and pepper are on the food before giving it to them. I usually give raw meats unless it is chicken in that case I do cook it first. Try to feed organic as much as possible too, not everyone does this but if you can't afford organic you can always rinse everything really well in declorinated water to help remove anything that may have been sprayed on the food like pesticides which are harmful to the crabs. Please do not keep using undeclorinated water or you will harm your hermit crabs. They need the water dish with declorinated water and salt water that people use for their salt water aquariums. Emma really knows what she is talking about so please do everything she says so your hermit crabs live long healthy lives. When I first started I had no idea they were so much work to care for them but now I have a 20L tank with tons of climbing stuff and deep water dishes. I started with 3 crabs and adopted 3 more a few months back and then 1 more just a month or so ago. They are addicting so when you get your tank make sure you don't go too small unless your budget doesn't allow you to start big. 10gallon aquariums at Walmart or most petstores are around $11 to $12. Well I believe that is all I can say for now since Emmac did such a good job on her post.

[ladybug15057]

Please do take what you have been told with a grain of salt. This forum is for land hermit crabs, and this is what the care information in the crab care section is for. (please look for the 'new' in yellow when visiting the crab care section. Those sections have been updated with current care information, the others still need updating)
The advice Emma and I both posted is for land hermies as well. Do you have a hut or something he can seek shelter in if he wants/needs it?
May I also strongly recommend to read the PPS article?

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... toryid=165

So we maybe able to help you a little further too, could you please go to your profile area and at least select which country you are from?

[CrabbyJo]

These ladies have given you some excellent advice. I know it is a lot, but please do try to absorb it all.
First and foremost is the water situation, please get them dechlorinated water and dishes of both fresh and ocean salt water.

I myself am concerned about the substrate you have in the tank. It sounds like you don't really have any substrate? Just some bits of red rock and such?
A good inexpensive substrate is coconut husk fiber (coir) which can be found under the brand name Eco Earth. This can be expanded with dechlorinated water and the crabs love to dig and rest in it. They also love to munch on it, and it's resistant to mold and mildew.
Another option is sand, but there is a lot of debate about what sand is best. The only sand I know of that is absolutely safe and beneficial for them is aragonite sand, usually found at pet stores that cater to reef aquarium hobbyists.
http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/ ... onite.html
The sugar or select grain sizes of sand are the best, as they are oolitic (rounded grains that will not scratch the crab's abdomen, as it will invariably make its way into their shell).

As for drinking from the sponge, well, judging from how my crabs love to go to their fresh water pond and sit and drink, I would assume that of course they do, they need water! But it is probably like if you were thirsty and had to suck your moisture from a damp cloth. Wouldn't you much rather have a glass of water? I think you'd take it any way you could get it, and that's what the poor crabs have to do when only given a sponge as a water source. After all, there aren't sponges sitting around in the wild for crabs to suck from!

It sounds like you were given some extremely bad information, we are so glad you came here to try to see what your crabs really need!
Keep reading, you'll get them set up and you'll have some happy, long living crabs.

Welcome to Hermit Crab Paradise!

[thrasher720]

thank you for the grand advise... like said this is a temp home i have them in. tommorow i shall set about preparing them a proper and happy enviroment =]

[mindytyson3]

ok i have one sponge in there so how do i get the bacteria off of it? i read on here to use a microwave? i wanted to do it every other day to kill germs and bad bacteria from it. please help. thanks.

[ladybug15057]

If one opts to microwave the sponge to sterilize it, it needs to be completely dry to do so. Other wise a sponge the size of an apple could shrink to the size of a grape. (and no adding it to water will not make it 'blow up' again)
Boiling in dechlor water for 5 minutes will sterilize it. But prior to either microwaving or boiling it should be rinsed out first.
Majority of us do not use a sponge any longer due to the molds and bacteria they are known to harbor. There are other ways to keep the humidity up in a tank.