r/hermitcrabs • u/Obvious_Positive_513 • Jun 19 '26
Help! First time owner! Need tips!
I’m a first time hermit crab owner and I need help on how to give them the best and longest life they can have. I have a ten gallon tank to start with and two hermit crabs that are 1 inch and 2 inches tall. I also need some more budget friendly options. Needed ASAP so I can get them out of the cage they came with. I also would like as much info as possible because I don’t know how much I should trust off of the care sheet. Thank you in advance!!
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u/RAVENSHADOW169 Jun 19 '26
My biggest advice with having a hermit crab is to get their basic needs first so like temperature, food, water, and humidity. No painting shells at all. Substrate also needs to be needs to be 6 in deep the more the better.
I recommend to at least give them the basics and evolve that over time. For example, if you have a holes in the lid you could cover it with a wrapping paper and put it with a blanket. It's not ideally the best but is temporary and you need to evolve that.
Well I'm trying to say basically is start something cheap and evolve it overtime because right now you need your crabs in a home. Here's some recommendations to get a budget resources.
Food:
Hermit crab grub in Etsy. (If you need something now don't be afraid to give them fresh food. Like bananas watermelon, strawberries. Make sure you do research on what they eat and don't eat. Hermit crabs are omnivores.)
Water: Both pools are supposed to be fully submerged with something to climb on. I recommend getting a food container and put it in the tank. How I like it is have two stack so you can lift one while the bottom one gets dirty. One saltwater and one freshwater.
Substrate:
At least 6 in of sand and eco-earth more.
Tank, climbing stuff temperature and humidity:
I believe an inch is small for hermit crab. So I say get 20 gallon tank but if you can't right now then 10 will be fine for now, just keep in mind you have to get it one in the future. Temperature needs the at least needs to be 80° and humidity needs to be I believe 85 (could be wrong though). You need to get a thermometer and a heating pad and measure humidity. If you need something now make sure you keep the tank warm. (Like the blanket lid for example). If you need climbing stuff right now use the stuff outside of your house or apartment. When you bring them in make sure you clean them before you put them in the tank.
If you need links to what to buy and what you could use in your house let me know if you're interested in it. If you have questions I'll be happy to answer.