To those that are new to crabbing, or are interested in what is needed to have a happy and healthy crab colony, here is a list to help you get started.

1.) Ten Gallon Glass Tank and lid:

You must have at a minimum, a ten gallon glass tank and a lid that is preferably glass or mesh lid with a syran wrap covering. The lid is essential to keep in humidity. Crabs come from a warm humid climate and therefore need such to be happy and healthy.

2.) Moist play sand or Eco Earth Substrate ( at a minimum depth of three times the hight of your biggest crab ) :

There are a variety of available substrates for your crabitat our there. However all are not good for your crabs. The hermit crab sand they sell at the pet stores, also known as Calci-Sand, is not a good choice. When wet it tends to clump and dye your crabitat furniture and even your crab's shell(s). Gravel and wood chips are also bad because they provide little to no means of tunneling for your crabs. Tunneling and digging are natural behaviors of crabs and they need the means to do so in order to make a molt and destress chambers. The best substrates out there are play sand and Eco Earth. You can get a fifty pound bag of play sand at any home improvement store for about five dollars. Eco Earth can be found in the form of condensed bricks in the reptile section of any pet store. Just add dechlorinated water and the bricks will expand to ten times there size. In order to make sure that the substrate is okay for tunneling, make sure that it is moist enough to mold with your fingers. Substrate that is too dry will collapse on a tunneling crab and suffocate them.

3.) Dechlorinated fresh and salt water:

Crabs need both fresh and salt water to live although the water you provide has to be dechlorinated. The water from the tap has been conditioned with chlorine at the water processing plant to remove harmful bacteria, but the chlorine itself is harmful to crabs. In order to remove the chlorine, you can purchase a dechlorinating solution. Good dechlorinators can be found in at around the reptile and hermit crab section of the pet store. Just make sure they remove both chlorine and chlormine as well as any heavy metals. You can also provide bottled water for your crabs as it is free of chlorine. You can find salt for mixing salt water in the aquarium section of the pet store. The best kinds are Instant Ocean or API Aquarium Salt. Using table salt is not recommended as it has iodine in it which is also harmful to crabs. Sea salt is bad as well because it tends to clump up when mixed in water.

4.) Food:

All food that is given to your crabs should be organic. The pesticides used in non-organic foods are harmful to crabs and potentially deadly if fed over a long period of time. The food at the pet store is also questionable as it contains copper sulfate, a harmful chemical to crabs. You can feed pet store food to your crabs as an occasional treat but not as a daily food item. A list of safe foods to feed your hermit crabs can be found at Epicurean Hermit Crab. You can also buy hermit crab food form online stores like the Crabbage Patch and The Hermit Crab Addiction Store.


5.) Climbing toys and Hideys:

Crabs need things to climb on and into. Proved them with things that are rust proof, completely crab safe ( crabs tend to nibble on anything that is in their tank ) and have no sharp edges where the crabs can hurt themselves. Coco-huts are a popular choice as they provide both a place to climb in and on top of as well as a fibrous snack.

6.) Food and Water Dishes:

Crabs need dishes that are shallow enough for them to get into and out of but deep enough to contain the food and water. Dishes available for lizards are a good choice.

7.) Temperature and Humidity Gages:

To help you monitor the heat and humidity in your crabitat, temperature and humidity gages are a must. You can buy analog ones for as cheap as five dollars in the reptile section of the pet store. More expensive digital ones are also available.

8.) Extra Shells:

As a hermit crab has a hard shell like exoskeleton every where but it's soft fleshy abodomen it needs empty shells to protect it from preditors. A growing crab needs a variety of shells to change into as it gets bigger. The type of shells a crab likes depend on the species of the crab. PP's and Indo's like shells with nice round O shaped openings while E's and Ruggies like shells with a narrower D shaped opening.

9.) Iso tank:

This tank is nessesary to place a crab in if it is sick injured or about to molt. It is also a place to house new crabs before you place them in the main tank.

~And last but not least~

10.) Two or more land hermit crabs:

A land hermit crab is a social animal that feels most comfortable with others of its kind. If you have only one crab, I highly recomend getting it a tank mate so that it feels more comfortable. Make sure you have lots of shells for your crabs to choose from to minimize a shell fight ( a fight started by one crab over another crab's shell ).