Hermit Crab Shells

A hermit crab fact is the crab wouldn’t be identified as such if it doesn’t have its protective shell attached to it. Hermit crab shells may be perceived as sturdy and dependable incase there are attacks from predators and be relied on as a trap for a hermit crab’s prey. Being a two functional structure, hermit crab shells would not be reliable enough for the crabs if they aren’t supplied with proper nutritional needs.

Hermit crab shells play the counter part of the human’s skeletal system. It serves as the crab’s exoskeleton and as it feeds, the nutrients do not only spread out to the crab’s body but also nourishes the shells. Humidity and moisture is just a few of the contributing elements that makes the hermit crab shells strong however, there are also things you can do given that you have hermit crabs as pets, to strengthen their exoskeleton.

Imitating the environment where hermit crabs live is one major concern and is very important upon deciding to house this exotic pet. For one reason, water or salt water itself contributes to make the hermit crab a healthy one. Other than that, what you feed your pet hermit crab follows. Hermit crabs feed on both meat and vegetables.  What do hermit crabs eat?

Hermit Crabs are really low maintenance pets and you can even play with them occasionally, as they would demand for attention too. Going further more on keeping your pet hermit crab behavior, there are also ways on how you can make their shells strong in a way that can be merged through feeding.

Hermit crabs also need the nutrient Calcium. As one would obviously know, calcium is very much responsible in making the bones strong and resistant to easy breakage. Now as a pet owner, you won’t need milk exactly to provide this nutrient to your pet. To clear things up, you are not feeding a baby or a cat. Calcium for hermit crab shells have a variety of sources that can be easily purchased on pet stores. For example, on designing the fish tank where you’ll be placing your pet hermit crab, instead of putting in plain sand, use coral sand instead. When it comes to food mixtures, here are some of the things that you can try out:

Cuttlebone – this can be purchased at pet stores or bird shops. What does it look like? If you had a pet bird before, this is the white oblate plate-like thing that birds get their beaks sharpened. Cuttlebone is a good source of calcium for hermit crab shells and it can be included in the tank as a whole or be crushed as mixture for their food.
Crushed oyster shell – this can also be purchased at pet stores that serve the same purpose as the cuttlebone. Comparing crushed oyster shells from cuttlebones, crushed oyster shells are the most excellent source of calcium.
Crushed eggshells – if you find the first two a bit tasking to find, check your kitchen for eggs. Eggshells can be crushed and mixed to a hermit crab’s food. Just make sure that it is from boiled egg then dried.
Calcium vitamin supplements – this is another option, which is a sure source of calcium for your pet hermit crab. If you find the first three sources of calcium to be contributors for added cleaning, then go for this supplement instead.