Pets at Work: Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are quiet, they don't need much room, they don't smell and they are easy to care for. They can be let out for exercise on your desk, making them much more interactive and entertaining than fish.

Hermit crabs come in different sizes, this is nice when space is limited. It is entirely possible to have 2 or 3 small hermit crabs in a 5 gallon aquarium. Hermit crabs don't need lots of special equipment or lights, just one available outlet for a small heater, that's it.

If you think that hermit crabs may be the right choice for your office, there are a few things that they will need to be as happy with you as you are with them; the 5 gallon (or as large as your space will allow) aquarium with a screen top, bedding (or substrate) such as sand or coconut fiber and dishes for food and water- two for water and a few shells of varying sizes. These, however, are just the necessities.

Hermit crabs need basic care no matter where they live. Crabs need the substrate to be twice as deep as they are tall (including the shell). This is because hermit crabs love to dig, they also molt their exoskeleton (hard skin) as they grow, this is done under cover.

They need to stay moist, this is where the water dishes are used. The dishes need to be deep enough for the crabs to soak in, but not so deep that they can drown...these are land crabs. Hermit crabs require two sources of water, one fresh and one with a saltwater mix available to them at all times. Another way to help them stay moist is to periodically wet the substrate.

Crabs need to eat, the nice thing is that they are scavengers by nature and therefore can and will eat almost anything that is natural. This can be a chance to be interactive with pet crabs at work as some crabs will, with enough time, learn to eat from your fingers or from a spoon.

If the office gets cooler than 80 degrees, and most do, the crabs will need a heater to keep them warm. This is called an under tank heater, or UTH. This type of heater is placed under the tank where it can heat up the substrate, as the crabs get cold, they dig down for warmth. If it is preferred that the crabs stay visible, it may be helpful to provide them with a light for warmth. However, caution should be taken to not overheat the crabs with a heat lamp.

When setting up a hermit crab cage for work, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The first is décor. When housing animals in an office environment, the way the enclosure looks tends to be more important than at home. Crabs are very flexible in their surroundings as long as their basic needs are met. Have fun decorating the tank for holidays, themes, whatever seems fun and will reduce stress at work.

It is important to remember that hermit crabs will scavenge and attempt to eat anything they can get their claws on. Be sure that what ever is put into the enclosure is safe for them to explore and cannot be eaten.