my aunt went out a few weeks ago and bought 2 hermit crabs for 2 of her children. the guy at the shop where she bought them, told her about how easy to care for they were.... that was why she bought them..... after a week one died. being i have so many pets she asked me to come and look how he told her to set them up and see if it looked correct.
here is how he told her to set them up.
enclosure............ the smallest critter keeper is the best, they dont move that much.
put dry sand in the bottom.
food and water..... feed a pinch 2 times a week, and put water in the enclosure once a day in a small lid and make sure you remove it after a few hours.
i went to her house, knew the set up wasnt right, but wasnt sure of what was the correct set up. so i came here a few days ago and started reading.
today i went to her house and changed everything.
heres what i did.... i got her daughter a 10 gallon aquarium, put some "beach" sand along with some of the zoo med "crab substrate", installed 2 thermometers, and a humidity gauge.
put a few pieces of cholla in there for the crab to climb on, bought a water dish and a food dish. installed a heat pad on one side of the tank. as i was doing all of this my aunt and her kids were asking why i was doing all of it, i supplied her with care sheets on hermit crabs.....put some of the food in the dish. put some water in, put the screen on the top and put a flourescant light.
the first question was why was all of that needed since the crab didnt move around any, i explained to them in the small keeper he couldnt move, also they are social animals, i then went to my car and came back in with a box with 3 more crabs (she has four kids, i thought 1 for each kid) i showed her and the kids about how to "bath" the crabs to keep the gills moist. we bathed the crab in some water with chlorine remover added and stress coat added. put all four crabs in the tank, and they all were moving around in their new surroundings, she and her kids seemed excited to actually see the crabs moving, and the light was an added feature i guess because it made it "more viewable"
i also encouraged her and the kids to chop some apple and other fruits for the crabs from time to time.
sounds silly but me having animals most of my family, {sisters) dont come around that much because of me having so many pets...
i grew up with my aunt there is a years difference in our age.... she and her husband encourage me in to bringing different pets that i have over for their kids to see and learn about.
so far her kids have seen
* a sugar glider and how they bond to a person............
* rats how they bond to people and how social they actually are.
* ferrets how smart they are and how playful.
* tarantula's how pretty they actually are.
* corn snakes, and the fact that some snakes are not poisonous, and they actually are pretty in the different color morphs.
* and iguanas how huge they get and they are really difficult animals to keep and can be dangerous.
* they now have learned about hermit crabs.
* each of the kids have learn the proper way to handle each species of animal, as well as that you have to be able to learn and read an animals mood.
