Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 13:34:04 -0500 From: Jeffrey Stein <lothar@pilot.msu.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg776$foo@default> Subject: FW:
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Sent: Friday, February 14, 1997 3:21 PM
To: Jeff
Crayfish And Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs
While true crabs are contained in the order Brachiura containing the
short-tailed crabs, hermit crabs are often considered to be classed in the
order Decapoda - the long-tailed ten-legged crustaceans including lobster,
shrimp and crayfish. While lobster, shrimp, crayfish and true crabs have a
protective armored plate covering their abdomen, hermit crabs have none.
While the lobster has special appendages around their tail used to propel
themselves through the water, in the hermit crab, this appendage has become
modified to enable the crab to hold onto an empty shell which it uses to
protect its vulnerable hindquarters and soft belly. Like all Decapoda
members, the hermit crab has five pairs of legs.
Housing and Feeding Your Hermit Crabs
You will need a small tank lined with aquarium gravel or coarse sand. (Some
people use corncob litter and Astroturf. While Astroturf will work fine,
corncob should be avoided due to the growth of bacterial and fungal
organisms when the cob is wetted by food and feces.) You can provide a few
decorative rocks. For water, provide a flat dish with water in it,
something on which the crab can easily crawl into and out of. Keep it
filled with fresh water.
You will need to provide new shells for your crab to move into as it grows;
marine snail shells should be available at aquarium supply stores selling
hermit crabs. Shells you collect in the wild must be first soaked for 24
hours in bleach water, then thoroughly rinsed. Keep in mind, though, if
they are not the kind of shells the hermits normally use is the wild, they
probably will not use them in captivity. (In the wild, hermit crabs will
kill a mollusk in order to take over it's shell; if you keep more than one
hermit crab, be sure to provide extra shells for them all to grow into.)
For food, offer poultry mash, soaked or finely ground monkey chow or dog
chow, leafy dark greens, shredded fruits and squash; avoid citrus fruits.
For a treat, offer crushed Vanilla Wafers. (Believe it or not, the results
of a study conducted by Florida Marine Research showed that this was the
hermit crabs favorite food! As this is not a highly nutritious food
product, do not feed in excess!)
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