Bath time!!!

[lilhoney42380]

When I bought my 3 E's a few weeks ago the lady there said that I should give them baths. I haven't done it yet though and was wondering how many of you do it? Also if I do decide to give them a bath how much water should I put in the container that I'm bathing them in?

[ladybug15057]

When we first get the hermies home we should always bath them at least once upon arrival. Many pet stores (or when hermies are captured) are given a tetracycline bath and one does want to flush that out of the hermies shell. By doing so can also help to rehydrate the hermies. After the initial come home bath it can be up to the individual crabber as whether to bath their hermies or not. If they can provide a water source deep enough where the hermies can submerge and walk through the hermies can bath themselves if they wish to. But even with this, we still occasionally bath our hermies here. When we bath them there is enough water to completely cover the shell of the largest hermie in that tank.

[CrabbyJo]

To add to Marie's great advice, make sure the water you bathe them in is lukewarm, not room temperature. If you were to place your wrist to the water, you would barely feel warmth, and it would not feel cool.
Also, it should be fresh dechlorinated water. It hasn't been found that stress coat is beneficial to hermit crabs, and some actually feel it may cause problems with proper absorption through the exoskeleton (I forget the details - Emma, Marie, help?) so isn't really recommended. It's made for fish, not hard shelled crustaceans.

[ladybug15057]

I used stresscoat the first 2 years of crabbing here in the bath water. Haven't used it now for 8+ years. Whereas I did not note any ill effects when we used the stresscoat in the bath water, I have also not noted any ill effects by not using it either. As for using the stresscoat it is also recommended NOT to use it in the hermies drinking water due to the possibility it may effect the hermies ability to absorb valuable nutrients from the foods they eat. Stresscoat also has a 'form' of an ingredient used in plastic and thought it may after time build up on the hermies gills?
As for the initial bath when we brought hermies home we began to do this in ocean/sea water. Reason, if per chance there may of been any mites/pests within the hermies shells it should of chased them out or cause any possible larvae to explode that maybe down within their shells.

[lilhoney42380]

Enough water to completely cover the largest hermies shell?! Won't they drown?! Should I put sponges in the bath in case it's too deep and they don't feel comfy?

[ladybug15057]

I don't, and yes enough to cover their shells. If one baths the idea is to flush out the hermies shell. So place them slowly in upside down with the shell opening up. When they upright themselves it flushes the shell out so after a few steps one can remove them from the bathtub. Not letting the hermies in the water for more than 1 minute. (have watch/clock with second hand on it) Some have been known to put something in the tub the hermies can climb up on when they want out of the water and remove their hermies from the water then.

[CrabbyJo]

That's right, your hermies can hold their breath for several minutes, but you don't want to stress them out, so less than a minute is best, as Marie said.
I like the idea of giving them something to climb out on when they are ready. I bathe mine in a bowl so it's not play time, but I might consider a larger tub.

[lilhoney42380]

I have a large Tupperware container that I think will work well.

[ladybug15057]

Some crabbers have turned to using the less expensive plastic paint trays as their bath tubs if the hermies are small enough. This way when they are done they can climb up the slanted area to get out.

[hermitcrabs :)]

i give my hermies twice a week in a tupperware container and i make sure that water does not cover the whole bottom and i wait for them to crawl out and i just enjoy watching them play in their little bathtub also do warm water