Our Hermit Crab Page

 

For the past 2 months we have been studying hermit crabs.  We have been observing them, doing experiments with them to see how they react, and researching to learn more about their habitat, habits, classification and behavior.  This page will show you what we have learned.

Here we are at work with our hermits.
 
 
 

Habitat	Food and Diet	Behavior and Classification	Hermit Crab as Pets
Crabariums	Glossary of Important  Terms	Comments about What we Have Learned.	Hermit Crab Picture Album

Habitati         tat

Hermit Crabs come from tropical regions such as the Caribbean, Central America, and parts of Australia. They are born in the ocean near the shore.

They live in colonies of up to 100 or more! Their life span in the wild is 30 years. They live 15 years at least in captivity.

Hermit Crabs are nocturnal creatures. Nocturnal creatures are animals that only come out at night. They are nocturnal because the tropical sun is a danger to them and so are predators.
 
 

Behavior

Hermit crabs have personalities just like you and me, some hermit crabs are shy. They will go into their shells, some will be more active, and attack.
Hermit crabs are omnivores, they will eat any thing. Most crabs can be tamed.

Sometimes hermit crabs are aggressive, they are known to pinch with their pincers.They are very social animals, that's why you should keep them in groups of four.

They will walk right off a table. But, some  are afraid of falling. They stay near salt water beaches. They are very good escape artists.

That is the conclusion of hermit crab behavior.
 
 
 

Classification Kingdom - Animal Phyla - Arthropod Class - Crustacea Oder - Decapoda Family - Coenabilidae Geunus - Goehobita Clypeotus Some important defintions An Arthropod is an animal with jointed legs. A Crustacea is an animal that mainly live in the. Sea it have a hard covered outer shell called an exoskeleton. A decopod is a crustacean with 10 legs.

sh

                      eCrabariums

  When you first get a hermit crab you need a proper tank.   A good type of tank is a glass fish tank .  Another type of tank is an aquarium.  If these tanks are too expensive, a small plastic portable critter tank will be fine.  You will also need a grounding.  Things like pebbles and sand are good to use. One type of pebbles is Small River pebbles. Some people don't like sand, because  it sticks to the crab when he/she is wet.  Some  recommended sands are Calci sand, Reef sand, Beach sand or play sand.

        The foods that are proper for Hermit Crabs to  eat are fruits and vegetables. Some types of fruits are peeled grapes, pears, apples, coconut, oranges, bananas, etc. The fruit has to be cut into small pieces. Some veggies they should eat are lettuce, cooked beans, broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes. Some other healthy foods that are proper for them to eat are, cooked hamburger meat, popped popcorn, cooked rice, dry oatmeal, cooked pasta, peanut butter, crackers, bread bits, dry cereal, cooked bacon, and any type of fish.
 
 

Hermit Crabs as Pets

Like people hermit crabs have to be cleaned and well groomed to be happy. Hermit crabs can take baths by being dunked in luke warm water for several seconds.  You should mist your hermit crab outside the cage every day. A squirt bottle is perfect for the Job. Uneaten food should be removed from cage because it will rot and stink. A hermi crab's cage should be cleaned monthly. Spray claners and chemicals will hurt the hermit crab.
 
 

Hermit Crab Food

    Hermit crabs eat people food including peanut butter, salad, vegtables, cookies, rice, cereal, even pizza and steak! Do not under any circumstances feed your hermit crab dairy or dairy based foods. Things like cheese, milk, ice cream are dairy foods. Their digestive system cannot handle dairy foods and this will lead to and untimely death.
      You should make sure not to leave any fruits or veggies in the tank for more than 24 hours because they will rot and make the hermit crabs sick. an

wS      The Hermit Crab's Diet

Their food pyramid is almost the same as ours. Especially, in how they would eat anything you put in fornt of them. Their bread group involves crackers, bread bits, cooked rice, pieces of dry cereal, popped corn, cooked pasta, and dried oatmeal.Their fruit group involves peeled grapes, apples, coconut, oranges, and bananas that you have cut up. Their vegetable group involves lettuce, cooked beans, broccoli, peas, and spinach. Their meat group involves cooked bacon, fish, cooked hamburger meat, peanut butter and it should be fed sparingly. Finally, you shouldn't let them get a hold of metal containers or cans.
 

Glossary Aquatic - lives in the water Antenna - one of the pair set of feelers growing on the head of the hermit crab.                       They are used for sensing the enviornment. Arthropod - an animal that has a segmented body and jointed legs Crustacean - an animal that lives mostly in water such our hermit crab.  They have a hard outer shell or covering.  Exoskeleton - a tough protective outer body covering, as found in the crustaceans like our hermit crab. Habitat - place where an animal lives and stays Mollusk shell - a shell of a snail, conch, clam, oyster that a hermit crab can use for a home. Nocturnal - active at night, hermit crabs are nocturnal. Omnivore - animal that eats both animal and plant matter. Pincer - a grasping claw of a crustacean Regenerate - to grow again.  If a hermit crab loses a pincer it can grow another one. Scavenger - an animal that feed on the remains of plants and animals. Terrestrial - an animal that lives on land

Here we are working hard finding out how hermit crabs react to different simuli.

 What we learned about hermit crabs.

Mike C. - Hermit crabs have to get new shells for comfort.  They prefer darker colors to lighter ones.  They take a long time to eat and they don't have a strict diet.

Brian S. - Their shells protect them. They have fragile bodies.  Hermit crabs are scavengers.

Matt - Hermit crabs are nocturnal, they are active at night.

Harinder - I found out that hermit crabs like the dark  I found alot of web sites about hermit crabs.

Ricky - hermit crabs are escape artists and can get out of the tanks if they are not covered.  They like to eat poptarts and lettuce.

Chris -  Hermit crabs have an exoskeleton, they are crustaceans, they like to climb over things.

Brian L.  - hermit crabs can only mate in the sea, they change shells, they have one big claw and one small claw.

Jerry - Hermit crabs can live to be 30 in the wild, they back into their shells when you put vinegar or ammonia near them.

Kayla - If a hermit crab loses a claw it can grow a new one, this is called regeneration. If you want to wake up your hermit crab you can put it in warm water.

Rina - I learned that hermit crabs are scavengers, they are nocturnal and that they come out of their shell when they grow.

Nabil - I found out that hermit crabs eat human food.  If a hermit crab comes out of its shell and can't find a new one it will probably die. Some crabs are shy and some are aggressive.

Andrea - Hermit crabs like the dark and they like all kinds of food.

Steven - Hermit crabs are crustaceans, they like the dark better than the light.  Google had a lot of information about hermit crabs.

Chevelle - Hermit crabs have different behavior, sometimes they fight with each other, they have walking legs and claws, or pincers to pick up things.

Michael B.  - I learned that a hermit crab can grow up to four inches, they can switch shells, and they are nocturnal.

Trevor - I found out that hermit crabs have two claws, some don't mind the smell of vinegar, and they like dark better that light.

Erica - Hermit crabs are good climbers, they can grow really big, they are gentle animals, and they might be small, but they are very strong.

Victoria - I learned how hermit crabs live, I learned how to care for them, I learned about their habitat and how they look.

Heather - I found out that hermit crabs will eat bacon, they are omnivores, if you pull a crab out of its shell it will be hurt, and if they come out of their shell easily they are dead.

Shawn - I found out hermit crabs go in the water like crayfish.  A hermit crab will change its shell if the shell is too small for it.

Elijah - There are two different types of hermit carbs, aquatic and terrestrial. Hermit crabs aren't aftraid of heights.  They have their own personalities.
 
 
 
 

Hermit Crab Picture Album

Hermit crabs are great climbers.	Hermit crabs like to stretch their legs.
We tested their food preferences.	They like everything!
They like to take weekly baths.	They're small but very strong and active.