Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is way overpriced (you can get same stuff for half the price).Do not buy this cage (you can get a better cage for less money as I'll explain). You need at least a 10 gallon aquirium and a group of 3-4 crabs. In nature they live in colonies and if you dont have at least 3 in a 10 gallon they can kill each other or die of stress. For small crabs you need about 3-4 inch of substrate such as coconut fiber or sand. They need to shed their exoskeleton under the substrate. Everyone recommends putting the crab shedding their exoskeleton in a medical tank but you shouldn't move them once they start and I don't know how to predict the future yet lol. I leave them together but I have about 5 inches of substrate for my small crabs to hide in and so far everyone has survived shedding. Don't be alarmed when they go missing for about a week or more they are shedding their exoskeleton. If you smell something fishy and stinky then someone died. You need a heater that attaches to the bottom of the glass crabitat to maintain the correct temperature. You need saltwater (not table salt) fresh water and food and only give them spring water never tap water because the chlorine will kill them. You can buy stuff to take ths chlorine and chloramines out of tap but i find it easier to buy a gallon or spring water for $1.00. You want the water dishes to be shallow enough they can get out bur deep enough they can submurge their shells, they save a combo of salt and fresh water in their shells. The crabitat needs high humidity or the crabs will die because they basically need water in the air to continue to breath (little bit of condensation on the insides of crabitat is a good indication it's humid enough. If you buy this product you will be lucky if your new pet lives for more then a couple weeks. At walmart you can buy a 10 gallon tank for 29.00, substrate cost about 7.00, saltwater mixture 3.00, food 3.00, gallon of spring water 1.00. You can make your own climbing toys but they are actually cheap. I have a plastic log, a natural wood bridge and a corner cave. I spent less then 20. You need one hiding place on the side with the heater and one hiding place on the cold side. Hermit crabs are a great way to teach children about responsibility but always supervise young children. Keep a small bottle of spring water next to crabitat so if they pinch and won't let go just dump a bit of water on them. My daughter and I have not been pinched yet because we always pick up by the back of shell but I stay prepared just in case. It might hurt a little but don't yank crab because more likely to break skin plus it could hurt the crab. When we first brought Clawless, Clawdene, Clawdia, and Baby home Clawless lost his big pincher. Sometimes new crabs dye or lose limbs because of stress. We were amazed when Clawless tunneled under the substrate she'd his exoskeleton and grew a new pincher. They are nocturnal so you will see the most action at night (I use a blue light at night for viewing). Now finally let's talk about shells. Kids love to see them switch shells but man can the crabs be picky. You need at least 3 shells a tiny bit larger then the shells they currently are wearing. I read they will kill each other for a shell so I have 20 shells in the tank for our crabs. I went to a craft store and bought large sets because it's cheaper. I then boil them in salt water and rinse with spring water just to be cautious. The shells that don't fit I use for decoration and let my little girl play with them. DO NOT buy painted shells. The crabs breath through the shells and tiny pieces can fall off and poison crabs. They are scavengers and will eat just about anything but no junk food, salty food, lemons, onions or sweets (there is a few other no nos so look it up before feeding). Most fruits, veggies, non seasoned meats they love. I buy unsweetened coconut in the baking aisle for them. It's way cheaper then the pet store. Avoid all pesticides around them or their food because they are related to bugs and it will kill them. When they she'd their exoskeleton they need more calcium so I crush up a cuttle bone and put a few chunks in the food dish. It's only like a 1.00 in the bird food area at the local store