Q&A for How to Breed Hermit Crabs

So they don't eat them or kill them. Don't take any risks.

You shouldn't be pulling them off of her, this can damage the eggs. Try dipping her in the water upside down and flushing the eggs out. If that doesn't work let her try again herself.

It's possible. The most common problem is the two crabs don't want to mate, they are not sexually mature, or they aren't interested in each other. Some successful attempts have been done with many crabs and multiple tries.

Yes. The baby land hermit crabs should live in salt water until they grow legs.

You can go to your local pet store and ask them about brine shrimp, blood worms, and freeze dried hermit crab food.

It could mean the embryo died. This is not common, but does happen.

Key to survival: pet hermit crabs need a bowl of fresh water and a bowl of ocean salt (not table salt) water in their cage at all times. Hermit crabs use the water to drink, bathe and replenish the extra water they carry within the back of their shells).

In most crab species, the males, have one significantly large claw. The females do not.

This means that you should have a one gallon tank filled with saltwater, but the mom and dad have to be able to access it. So, put a mini tank in a ten gallon (or the tank you have) tank.

You should only breed hermit crabs with hermit crabs.

Yes, you are.

It is almost impossible to breed hermit crabs in captivity. They would have to be in a massive tank with special conditions to simulate the ocean.

Shells do not matter, the crabs just need to be the same species and roughly the same size.

Only about five to twenty of the baby hermit crabs will survive, depending on how many shells are supplied and how much space in the saltwater tank you provide for them.

If you are judging "the best" by the number of eggs, then a larger crab will do the best. Remember, they lay around 15,000 eggs, so be ready to accommodate them.

All sorts of food! Meal worms and blood worms are a good staple, as are shrimp and krill. Give them lots of unsweetened coconut shavings, they love it! You can get organic dried mixed fruit at health stores, and I give mine bird seed, chia grass, and sunflowers. Hermit crabs are foragers and they can eat just about anything, but stay away from foods with artificial sugar.

The more space the better, but it could work if your hermit crabs are very small.

No. Honey is too high in sugar.

A gallon is a unit of measurement. Have you ever seen a gallon of milk? That is a gallon. For fish, you may want to search for it, or ask your family. Most fish are most comfortable in a 3- to 5-gallon tank, but you need to be careful that they will not grow to be very big.

That depends on when they feel the need to change their shells. Be sure to have lots of shell options so they are encouraged to change shells, but do not force them to come out. Forcing them could kill them.

Yes, but make sure it is bottled or distilled water, as water from the tap can be harmful to hermit crabs.

I suggest that you keep them in separate cages and never put them together for a long period of time.

the baby hermit crabs will start spending time out of the water after about a month, at which point the megalopa may find its first shell

great question! You may be interested in the research on this topic from the IRJES- check out the paper, 'Effect of Acute Salinity Stress on Oxygen Consumption and Survivalof the Fiddler Crab' by Nagale Vilays and Kulkarni Blasaheb G. Lots of useful info there!

It is extremely difficult to breed even the same species of hermit crab in captivity, so I wouldn't recommend it

A coconut is not required for breeding hermit crabs, but it is great at retaining moisture and can be used as a little den for crabs to hide/sleep in.

While crabs can lay 100,000 eggs, not all of these eggs will mature into crabs. Expect a few thousand.

Yes, you can cross breed crabs.

You should not force your hermit crabs to switch shells. I know it's tempting, but this will actually put them in a high stress situation, which will make them less likely to switch. The only thing you can do is wait. It usually takes about a month or two for them to feel comfortable enough to switch shells, and you should have about 2 - 3 shells per crab. The new shells should also be bigger. Make sure not to get a shell with a harmful ingredient in them, such as lead, toxic paint and other things they could ingest, such as plastic, as this will make them less likely to move into these shells. You can get shells online or at your local pet store.

Finding out whether a hermit crab is a male or female is very hard. Male hermit crabs, however, tend to be darker than the females of the same species.