Hermit Crab New Owners Guide

What you will need:

Glass tank tip- Check Facebook Marketplace,
Craigslist, or yard sales. Often you can find
aquarium tanks much cheaper that way.

Lid for the tank- A mesh lid with a
solid barrier at the top to hold
in humidity is ideal. If needed,
you can temporarily use siran wrap. Plexiglass
or chloroplast makes a good cover for the screen lid.

Place heavy weights or a lock on your lid. Hermit crabs are escape artists!

You will need 6-12 inches of substrate,
or 3 times as deep as your largest crab is tall.
Quikrete Play Sand meant for a sand box
is perfect.

Lowes or Home Depo sales Quikrete. Coco fiber which is shredded
coconuts. Mix the play sand and coco
fiber together 5-parts DRY sand to 1-part DRY coco.

Ultratherm Heat Mat- place on the back of the tank,
just above the substrate, to provide
gradient heat. Either side of heat mat
can face the tank. Use heat tape to stick it to the tank.

Use Reflectix to cover heat mat & tape
it to the tank. This forces the heat into the tank.
Light Source- No direct sunlight on the tank.
Be aware of how the room temperature. rises during
summer. They need a normal light/dark
12 – 12 hour cycle. Aquarium lights are fine to use.

Water Conditioner-
We recommend Prime Aquarium Water Conditioner.
Aquarium Salt Mix -Not freshwater salt. Instant Ocean
is the most common brand & usually easy to find.
These other brands are also good and may
be available in your area: Fluval Sea Salt, Red Sea Salt,
Coralife, Oceanic Sea Salt, Tetra Marine Sea
Salt and Marinium.

Bowls- Cheap, disposable food bowls work great.
Pools should be deep enough for your largest crab
to submerge. Provide sturdy exit ramps.

A nutritionally complete diet
composed of quality food free of ethoxyquin
and copper sulfate (found in hermit crab pet store
pellet type foods. It often is not listed on the container.
as it is hidden in the fish meal & is toxic to hermit
crabs.) You can find complete hermit crab meals on
Etsy.

Gauges-Skip the cheap, analog gauge at the pet store.
They are not accurate. go wireless and digital.
Walmart carries digital indoor/outdoor Thermometer-
Hygrometer. You can also buy them online. Hygrometers
should be calibrated prior to use.
Relative humidity no lower than 70%. Heat 75-85
degrees.