While setting up my hermit crab tank, I was considering adding some deep pools for my land hermit crabs to give them a more realistic environment. The only problem I had was the fear of my poor little crabs drowning. So, I did a little research to put my mind at ease.
So can land hermit crabs drown? Land hermit crabs have gills that are not built for breathing water, which makes it very possible for them to drown. While it depends on each individual crab, they can usually last up to 15 to 30 minutes underwater.
It’s not recommended that your hermit crabs stay submerged for long periods of time. To avoid any drowned hermit crabs, let’s look into some precautions and more information about the subject.
How Can Hermit Crabs Drown?
It’s crazy to think a crab, of all things, can drown! If you’ve ever been swimming in the ocean, you’ve stepped on what you hope was a crab scurrying around the bottom.
You see crabbers catch large bushels upon bushels of crabs on TV and maybe even seen a few crabs underwater yourself.
Well, at least that’s how it was for me. It was until I bought two purple pincher land hermit crabs on the boardwalk. I had a little how-to guide that told me my hermit crabs had gills. Gills! You would expect them to live underwater.
That would be a different type of crab, known as the saltwater hermit crab. They look just like land hermit crabs but have gills made to breathe water for long periods of time.
Land hermit crabs are a bit different. They need to keep their gills damp and moist, not submerged underwater. In fact, simply maintaining a humid environment in your crab’s tank will dampen its gills enough for your hermit crabs to stay alive and healthy. You can achieve this with two swimming pools and a few squirts from a mist bottle daily.
Hermit crabs can die of suffocation if their gills are left to dry out or die from drowning if they are submerged underwater for long periods of time.
To keep your crabs at a good middle ground where they can breathe without issue, and still enjoy their swimming pools, is to maintain a humid crab tank with two safe swimming pools.
While these are two in-depth topics I could write pretty long articles on, I want to stay concise.
To keep your tank humid, use a spray bottle as mentioned before. I recommend adding a hydrometer inside your tank to track its humidity. I aim for 75-85% humidity, which my hermit crabs love.
Good ways to add to the humidity is by adding moss and swimming pools to your tank. Moss, I haven’t attempted yet, but I have with swimming pools.
While they’re great for giving your crabs a chance to bathe, it’s easy for them to drown. Let’s dive into 3 ways to avoid drowning your hermit crabs.
3 Ways To Avoid Drowning Your Hermit Crabs
For those of you wanting to add a swimming pool in your hermit crab tank, there are a few things you need to do to avoid drowning your hermit crabs.
#1 Include A Pool Ramp
The best way to avoid any drowned hermit crabs is by providing them with an easy way to exit their swimming pools.
Most owners use a small ramp usually made of a sturdy, plastic mesh to make it easy for their crabs to climb out. A great option for this is plastic canvas. You can buy it dirt cheap here on Amazon.
I used plastic canvas for my two swimming pools because it is very cheap, easy to climb, and does not rust.
The 4×4″ pieces I ordered on Amazon (linked to above) were perfect for the leftover plastic food containers I had lying around. I did some measurements, and those things fit perfectly with the wire mesh on one end (I found the containers on Amazon!).
Using a screwdriver to poke holes on each upper corner in my makeshift swimming pools, I was able to use zip ties to line one end of the container with plastic mesh. This will make it much easier for my hermit crabs to climb in and out.
I like using cheap, plastic containers because they’re so simple to set up and they do not rust. Word of advice for any new hermit crab owners: do not use metal containers! Every hermit crab’s worst fear is a toxic pile of rust growing in their crabitat.
#2 Do not make your pools too deep
While some crab owners like to debate over this topic, the general consensus is that hermit crab pools should be deep enough to fully submerge the crabs underwater (including their shells).
I own two purple pincher hermit crabs (click here to find out which hermit crab species you have), which grow to be 2 to 6 inches in length. So, my pools don’t have to be too large or too deep.
Since my crabs are only 3 inches in height at the moment (including their shells), I’m going to go with 5-inch deep pools. This will be more than enough to fully submerge the crab while being shallow enough to not confuse the crab’s way of escape.
I recommend doing just as I did for your swimming pools. Measure the height of your two hermit crabs, then make two pools just a few inches deeper. This will make sure they fit your hermit crabs needs even as they grow and move onto larger shells.
#3 Make your Pools Easy To Navigate
It can be tempting to make a grand swimming pool for your hermit crabs. A pool with several levels and decorations to really wow your visitors with an outstanding crabitat.
While fancy swimming pools could really add a visually appealing factor to your crab’s tank, it can easily get too intricate and hard to navigate for your hermit crabs. That last thing you want is for your crab to get lost in its swimming pool and drown.
Even if it seems simple enough with a few decorations, I wouldn’t risk it. I’ve heard of hermit crab owners who lost their crabs even with a just few decorations at the bottom of their pools.
What happens is a land hermit crab’s head can get a little foggy from lack of oxygen after being underwater for such a long period of time. While they can hold their breath an impressive 15 minutes or so (the most I’ve ever gone was 30 seconds), they can still very easily drown.
With my pools, I’m going as minimal as possible. I’ve found a bit of extra red, white, and blue aquarium gravel we had leftover from my family’s pet fish, which I think goes perfectly with the white canvas mesh.
Do Hermit Crabs Really Need Swimming Pools?
Maybe you just want to avoid the headache of pools and remove the fear of your hermit crabs drowning, and I don’t blame you. However, your hermit crabs really need swimming pools.
Swimming pools are a great feature to add to your hermit crabs environment. Not only are they just a mere addition, but they are also necessary to keep your crabs alive and healthy.
Swimming pools serve three purposes: they raise your tank’s humidity, give your crabs plenty of water to drink, and allow your crabs to wash out their shell.
I mentioned before how important humidity is inside your hermit tank. If you don’t keep the humidity levels above 75%, your crab’s delicate gills will dry up over time. This is one of the main reasons why most hermit crabs in captivity do not last more than a year.
The ability for a crab to wash out its shell is more substantial than you may realize. Hermit crabs poop and pee inside their shell. They can’t help it.
They do their business out of the rear end of their tail, which is tucked away at the end of their shell. Survival instinct tells them not to leave their shell to do their business in fear of being eaten.
In the wild, hermit crabs do their business in their shells and wash out the waste when they take a dip in a puddle.
Well, your hermit crabs aren’t in the wild, so you need to prove them with a “puddle” you can feel proud of. Hermit crab pools are very important to keep your crabs clean and healthy.
Just keep in mind you’ll have to clean their pools as often as you see fit. What may look like a swimming pool to us looks like their personal toilet bowl.
Related Questions
Can hermit crabs drink tap water?
Chlorine found in tap water is dangerous for crabs to drink. Always use bottled or distilled water for your hermit crab pools.
How long can hermit crabs stay in water?
While it depends on the species, land hermit crabs on average can stay submerged in water up to 15 to 30 minutes. Staying underwater any longer may put your crab at risk of drowning.