I thought it’d be fun to make some hermit crab phone wallpapers! Feel free to use them for your personal use.
Hermit Crab Phone Wallpapers
Author: happycrabitat
Hermit crab obsessed, pug & hamster mama, expresso addict
Items in Hobby Lobby you can use for Hermit Crabs
There are things in the craft store you can use for your hermit crabs!
New information has determined we can use Hobby Lobby’s cholla wood if we wash it in vinegar & hot marine salt water it is safe for use. (The reason it has to be washed this way is because this supplier uses a 50/50 bleach water solution to clean it then sun dries it before it reaches the store.)
Some of us use silk flowers & succulents in our crabitat. It’s a person preference as to if we feel it is safe to use or not. It depends on if your crabs tend to pick at them or not. If there are any metal parts, seal them with a good dallop of non-toxic hot glue or a dallop of 100% silicone.
Hobby Lobby does sell some Turbo Shells for about $4.50 a pack. Canvas needlepoint can be used to make pool ramps and also boxes for our hygrometers. Birch wood rounds can be used to make hermit crab swings with jute string.
Floral garland & vines can be used to decorate your crabitat & for the hermit crabs to climb!
Last but not least, you can use Styrofoam to make things such as little treehouses to climb, cover it with coconut fiber.
Organic Vs. Non-Organic for Hermit Crabs
It’s always a good idea to buy organic for the hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are classified as arthropods, like insects and spiders. We really don’t want to be giving them pesticides. However, some fruits and veggies are worse than others. I found a website, EWG that provides a yearly updated guide on the dirty 15 (most pesticides used) and the clean 15 (least pesticides used) and thought I’d share that with you.
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.
Hermit Crab Pool Care
TWO POOL ARE NEEDED,
ONE FRESH WATER & ONE
MARINE GRADE SALT POOL.
THE POOLS NEED TO BE BIG ENOUGH FOR
YOUR LARGEST HERMIT CRAB TO SUBMERGE.
OFTEN HERMIT CRABS MAY BE
“TOE DIPPERS”
BUT THEY DO LIKE TO SWIM AS WELL.
MOST COMMONLY USED MARINE SALT IS
“INSTANT OCEAN.”
*DO NOT USE FRESHWATER AQUARIUM SALT.
OTHER ACCEPTABLE BRANDS ARE FLUVAL SEA
SALT, RED SEA SALT, TETRA MARINE SEA SALT,
OCEANIC SEA SALT, MARINIUM, & CORALIFE.
IT IS PREFERRED TO USE TAPWATER
BECAUSE IT HAS BENEFICIAL MINERALS.
WATER CONDITIONER RECOMMENDED IS
SEACHEM PRIME.IT REMOVES CHLORINE,
CHLORAMINES, & BINDS AMMONIA.
*DON’T PURCHASE A WATER CONDITIONER
THAT CONTAINS ADDITIVES STIMULATES
OR CREATES A STRESS COAT ON FISH.
STANDING WATER POOLS SHOULD BE
CHANGED EVERY 2-3 DAYS.
POOLS WITH BUBBLE STONES SHOULD BE
CHANGED EVERY 3-5 DAYS.
DUMP WATER, CLEAN POOLS, WIPE CLEAN,
AND REFILL.
MIX PRIME 2 DROPS PER GALLON.
INSTANT OCEAN IS 1/2 CUP PER GALLON.
MOST MARINE SALTS ARE 1/2 C TO A GALLON
YOU CAN PURCHASE A GALLON OF
DISTILLED WATER TO USE THE EMPTY
GALLON JUG TO PREMIX THE INSTANT OCEAN.
SHAKE WELL EACH USE.
IF YOU ARE JUST FILLING YOUR POOL WITH
FRESHWATER & PRIME. ONLY ONE DROP OF
PRIME IS NEEDED.
Hermit Crab Donations
Do you have old shells laying around unused? Here are great places to donate them for wild hermit crabs!
Claws in the Classroom is a project through LHCOS that helps teachers with hermit crabs as classroom pets. They take crabitat donations & shells as well!
Hermit Crab Word Search
Click here to download the hermit crab word search pdf file.
Happy Crabitat 