What to do with unwanted Hermit Crabs? Will they die if you drop it? And More Things To Know!
What actually are unwanted Hermit Crabs?
Unwanted Hermit Crabs are those which you don’t think of keeping as a pet and so probably want to get rid of them.
Although they act as a good kind of a pet but those that come wildly often lying in your yard are actually too many to be kept as a pet. So, better to be away and get rid of those extra ones.
In most of the scenarios, land hermit crabs are kept as pets as they only require small amount of water during their day time to just keep their gills wet.
Land hermit crabs naturally live close to the shoreline and must have access to both land and water.
So, if you are living in such an area near the shoreline than its very much probable that may walk to your yard and garden and lie their the whole day.
And it is also to be noted that, those hermit crabs that you have probably kept as a pet (in captivity) will rarely breed and produce any offspring. They can only do their best reproduction in the wild.
So, in captivity the increasing number of unwanted hermit crabs is really very very low. So, not to care much about the pet ones.
What to do with unwanted Hermit Crabs? How to get rid of them?
If you come across many unwanted hermit crabs in your yard than better to carry them out of your yard to the open wild near the shore. Do this check on a monthly basis.
Or, you can also contact you nearby hermit crab seller to take them away or call for a crab rescue center if any, to get rid of these unwanted ones from you yard.
If you have more unwanted crabs in your hermit crab tank and want to get rid of them, or you want to just get rid of the whole tank then better to give them to somebody who can take care of them, or sell it to a Hermit Crab seller.
You can also use them as prey for a wide variety of other aquatic animals that you farm. The small size of most hermit crabs makes them vulnerable to many different predators, including sharks, many different fish species, cuttlefish, squid, and octopus.
Nevertheless, one of the best ways is to throw them away from the tank and add new ones to it, once you see an unwanted increase in the crab population or anything like just to get rid of them.
The most reliable method is to throw out all the old ‘infected’ ones and rinse the tank with water with a wet paper towel applying sanitizer to it. Remember to pay much special attention to the corners of the tank which is where the disease causing mites hide.
An alternative is to throw all and clean the tank properly and keep it under sunlight on a sunny day to kill all the mites.
How to kill Hermit Crabs?
Many people hate Hermit Crabs. May be because they are very irritating to them as they kill snails for fun and use their shells.
These are really very lazy creatures. Moreover, they turn to be more predatory when they get large and will remove snails from their shells more often then.
Best way to kill a hermit crab is to break their shell and take them out of it and then better crush it one by one using a tough stone.
Another way is to kill them naturally by adding tap water instead of distilled water and ocean saltwater in the tank. They will soon die because, tap water contains chlorine, which is lethal for hermit crabs. It blisters their gills and can result in suffocation.
Another horrible way of killing it will be to put it in a cup of water and put him in the deep freezer. It will surely die within hours in a painless manner.
Although I have shared some of the best working ways only that will surely let your Hermit crab to death, but then so I suggest not to kill them. That will be a very cruelsome act of couse.
So better, to give the crabs away to another fish store or people who can better take care of them or else, you can also post it in the classified ads as a freebie.
Will Hermit Crabs die if you drop it?
Yes, hermit crabs can easily die if you drop them at least from a height of about 3 feet on a hard surface. It’s because their outer carapace and shells are really very fragile and can break down too easily.
These are really very soft creatures, with their fragile shells. So, if you ever hold them, then better keep them on a very smooth, and soft surface such as carpet or a bed.
If anyhow you have dropped off a hermit crab and it appears to be still moving then chances are there that it may be alright. But, such a situation is really very very rare.
If you drop a hermit crab and then notice it to be hurt, check for cracks in the shell. If there’s any kind of a crack then it’s better to change the shell of the crab.
Remember to handle them softly and with enormous care or else they can die. If you can’t handle them softly, better leave them on their own.
Also make sure that you don’t keep the lid of your Hermit Crab tank open. It’s because seeing the tank to be open it can crawl above and can fall outside thus injuring itself eventually.
It is often surprising, and people may underestimate, how well a hermit crab can climb, and that they may escape a tank if the lid is left open or unsecured and drop down to potentially become injured.
How to handle them with care?
If you want to experience them with better care then leave them in their transparent tank and watch them live.
Or, if you ever hold them keep them on a bed or couch so if they make any sudden movements and you accidentally drop them they will land on a soft surface.
Hermit crabs are very sensitive to heavy metals like copper and lead and because these are metals that are easily dissolved in water they tend to leech into the tap water we drink directly from our pipes.
So, you must ensure any objects in their tank, such as bowls, are made of ceramic or plastic and not of metals.
Keep the temperature of the tank not lower than 23°C and not more than 32°C. Keep them in a lighted room during the day (far from the direct sunlight) and keep the room dark at night.
Keep the tank humidity level not less than 70%. Humidity lower than 70% will cause suffocation, which will kill them slowly over several weeks or months and can be extremely painful for them.
Use sugar-sized arrogate sand at the bottom of the tank and try to keep the sand at least 20% moist all of the time to maintain the humidity level of the tank.
Also keep the substrate clean. Dirty substrate can lead to mold which can be harmful to your hermit crabs. So, change it at every 6 months.
Provide your hermit crabs with water. All species of hermit crab need to have access to both freshwater (distilled water) and saltwater.