Feed and water are changed every day.
Feeding with mineral water, cold boiled water or tap water without chlorine.
Coral sand is changed every February-March.
Avoid direct sunlight and keep the temperature at 20-30 degrees Celsius.
Maintain humidity of 60-80%
Don't disturb them when molting.
Hermit crabs belong to nocturnal animals and like damp and dark places.
1. Before feeding
Please bathe them in salt and warm water for the first time to remove parasites or lice. New crabs usually drill into the sand for days to weeks to adapt to the new environment, waiting for them to get familiar with the sand at home. Maintain proper temperature and humidity, and put a basin, shelter and bottom sand, and add 1-2 teaspoons of calcium salt to the sand. Don't put them on your hands at this time to reduce interference with it, but keep changing food every day.
2. Sunshine and ventilation
Try to find a place close to the window, or a place where the sunshine can be slanted. But not to the point of direct sunlight. Put the cylinder at a lower position, and the highest edge of the cylinder is just at the lowest edge of the window. There should be more hidden objects, especially caves, to match their habits.
3. Feeding tank
Plastic or glass boxes can be selected. The plastic box is attached with a cover, which can prevent escape. The cover has holes and proper ventilation. In addition, the cover can be tightly closed, which can keep warm and moisturize.
4. Space
Bottom sand should be laid in the feeding tanks so that they can have a suitable place to hide and shell, and the depth of bottom sand in the tanks should be at least 1-2 times the height of individuals in the tanks. There should be room for concealed objects and basins, and enough for them to walk around. If you want to make the space of the feeding cylinder bigger, you can put some three-dimensional containers in the feeding cylinder for them to climb.
5. Individuals of different sizes
In the same feeding tank, we should try our best to avoid feeding large individuals and small individuals, because this will increase the chances of large individuals attacking small individuals. Some large individuals will seize food and prevent small individuals from eating. In the worst case, it will cause pressure on small individuals, leading to self-cutting or □□□ behavior, which will eventually lead to death.
6. Reserve cylinder
Prepare 1-2 backup feeding tanks as shelters for molting land crabs. For example, when an individual is found to have signs of molting, they can be put in another feeding tank. In addition, the spare cylinder can also be used as a treatment room for individuals who are ill or under pressure and cut themselves.
Step 7 wash
The feeding tank should be washed once with clean water before use. Note that the detergent is very toxic to the terrestrial hermit crab, so never use detergent, lye and other detergents when cleaning the feeding tank. Bacteria are easy to breed in summer and can be cleaned more frequently, but not so frequently in winter. Clean it every 2-3 months on average. If odor or insects are found, the feeding tank should be cleaned as soon as possible. Pay attention to whether there are any individual hermit crabs missing in the feeding tank before cleaning. If an individual is missing, it means that an individual is hiding in the sand, and may soon be shelled. At this time, it is necessary to stop cleaning the feeding tank. Prepare a plastic tank and let the hermit crab soak in water with calcium salt, the water depth is the same height as the snail shell. When bathing, we put the snail shells face up, put them into the water, let them walk in the water 1~2 minutes and then pick them up.
8. Temperature and Humidity Because hermit crabs live in subtropical areas, the temperature should be maintained at 20-30 degrees Celsius. When it is at 15 degrees, the movement will start to slow down, and when it is below 10 degrees, it will die. The feeding cylinder can be maintained at 26~30 degrees with a hot blanket or an ultraviolet lamp. Because hermit crabs breathe through gills, they can't breathe when the humidity is low. Please keep the humidity at 60-80%, set up a humidifier, and use water with calcium salt (don't give tap water containing chlorine) for manual spraying 2-3 times every day.
9. food
Hermit crabs are nocturnal animals, and it is best to feed them at night. Changing food every day, hermit crabs usually use their forepaws to find organic substances in the sand, which can be fed with rice, bread crumbs, eggs, fruits and vegetables, fish feed and so on. In addition, it is especially fond of corn and popcorn. For example, after molting, you can give them more calcium and protein foods such as meat, fish, eggshells, cooked shrimps (with shells) and so on.
Don't give them onions, mustard-containing food, spicy food, processed food with preservatives or additives, sugar, food with a lot of oil, food with insect-repellent effect, and vegetables and plants with insect-repellent effect.
10. Drinking water can be mineral water, distilled water or cold boiled water. Don't give tap water containing chlorine. Hermit crabs breathe through their gills, and water containing chlorine will harm their health. If the feeding tank is large enough, two basins can be used to put fresh water and seawater respectively.
1 1. Shell
When the hermit crab grows up and its shell becomes unsuitable, narrow or broken, it needs to be replaced. When you buy a new shell for the first time, you need to wash it with warm water and calcium salt. If it doesn't have a new shell, it may mean that the current shell is still suitable.
12. □□□
Prepare a few snail shells and soak them in warm water. In addition, spray the hermit crab in □□□, or give it a seawater bath for about 1 minute (warm water should be used, not cold water, and the water level should not be too high), then put it in the shoe box together with the previous snail shell (if there is no one, find an ordinary box or box), and the inside will become dark after the cover is covered. Then, keep it that way. 1~2 hours later, open the lid and have a look. If it continues, wait 1~2 hours.
The molting hermit crab will molt every once in a while if it wants to grow. "molting" and "changing shell (changing snail shell)" are not in the same state. "molting" means that the hermit crab shed its old shell, and the muscle tissue will grow and gradually harden to form a new shell. "Shell changing (snail shell changing)" means that the terrestrial hermit crab crawls out of its back snail shell and then moves into another empty snail shell. When it is found that its activity is reduced, it often hides in the basin or near the bottom sand to get water, and it repeatedly digs the bottom sand to hide, which is a sign before molting. The process of molting is usually in the sand, which usually takes several weeks to a month, depending on individual circumstances. Don't take away the old shell shed by the hermit crab, because it is an important source of calcium needed again. Hermit crabs will become very fragile during molting. If molting fails, it will often lead to death. Don't play with them or observe them for the time being, so as not to interfere with them in finding a suitable place to prepare for molting. At the same time, isolate it to avoid molting failure caused by peer interference. Note that the isolation cylinder must have at least a basin, a cave for hiding, and enough sand.
Another change after molting is the change of body color. Some individuals will become lighter after molting, while others will become darker. The change of body color is mainly related to the food they eat before molting. Generally speaking, individuals who eat foods containing more carotene will gradually become brighter. However, the change of body color may also be related to temperature, humidity and other environmental factors, so the body color of terrestrial hermit crabs will change slightly after each molting. Even the same species of terrestrial hermit crabs will have different body colors because of different habitats.
Hermit crabs are very timid and neurotic creatures, and they are very alert to the surrounding environment. Stick background paper or magic mirror paper, so that you can observe their activities in the breeding tank well.