Add Moss to your Hermit Crab Tank!
Why add moss to your hermit crab tank?
- helps maintain humidity and moisture inside the enclosure
- stimulates a hermit crab’s digging and burrowing natural behaviors
- provides an attractive element to the habitat that is representative of a hermit crab’s natural environment
There are thousands of varieties of moss found all over the world, and on every continent. Most varieties are green and small, low-lying and clumpy. Moss can most often be found near to a water source, though there are varieties that can grow on top of sidewalks and on roofs!
Which to add to your Hermit Crab tank?
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Most Common Pet Store Moss
There are only a few types of moss commonly sold within the pet industry. Most moss products are marketed towards reptile habitats, as well as for small frogs and invertebrates.
If you go into your local pet store, chances are you’ll find moss products in the reptile section. When shopping online, do a search for “reptile moss” to find pet-safe products.
- sheet moss (a.k.a. carpet or hypnum moss)
- sphagnum moss (not sphagnum peat moss)
- forest moss (a.k.a plume moss)
- frog moss (a.k.a pillow moss)
There are currently only 1-2 types of moss specifically being marketed for hermit crab pets. These packages contain the same types of moss as for other reptiles, etc. but in smaller packages.
Note: don’t use artificial grass/turf that’s often used for turtles because hermit crabs can’t dig through it. Stick to a moss product!
What type of moss do we use in our crabitats?
We’ve only used the Galapagos brand of Sheet Moss or Terrarium Moss for years. When the moss gets ripped apart and brown, we change it out for new moss, typically 3-4 times per year. It’s a loose blend of dead moss that is dyed with a pet-safe non-toxic green.
It adds a beautiful green natural look to the crabitat while helping with humidity and moisture. It’s easy to remove and rinse/clean. We use this to surround the water pool, put in corners on top of sand substrate, and we use clear silicone glue to adhere vertically to certain crabitat elements.
We haven’t experienced any green dye issues, either lurching onto anything or washing out. Some people have reported concerns about this dye, but we have never experienced any.
HERMIT CRABS LOVE DIGGING INTO THIS TYPE OF MOSS! Tips: rinse well, then soak in detoxified water for 5-10 minutes before adding to hermit crab tank.
Add around water dishes/pools, in dark corners on top of sand substrate. Mist a few times per week. Don’t over-water to avoid mold or algae growth.
Types of Moss Commonly Found in Nature
There are many types of moss found in nature. Most moss varieties grow in shady, boggy or very rainy areas where there’s less direct sun and more moisture.
There are some types of moss that are more tolerant than others, and types of moss that can be found in every part of the world and in every climate.
What are the most common and known types of moss?
- bryum moss
- sphagnum moss
- sheet moss
- forest moss
- Spanish moss
- pincushion moss
- ribbed bog moss
- plume moss
- fern moss
- common peat moss (aka sphagnum peat moss)
- American tree moss
- juniper Moss
- reindeer moss
Fun fact: bryum moss isn’t widely known by name, but most everyone has seen this moss often and in lots of different places. It’s silvery-green in color, and considered to be a weed. It’s very commonly found in urban areas growing on sidewalks and driveways, on gravel, asphalt, and rocky trails.
It typically grows in round, tightly packed clumps. It’s not commercially sold on large scale, but you can buy it on places like Etsy. This moss is often used as an inexpensive, nice-looking moss to add to waterfalls and rock word of koi ponds and landscaping, as well as in gardening and making orchids and flower arrangements more attractive. It does need a good amount of moisture to remain alive and green but can tolerate drying out on occasion.
But do you want to use this to add to your hermit crab tank? NO! If you aren’t sure where it comes from, what it was exposed to or what it might come with… don’t expose your hermies to it! Chemicals, toxins, insects, mold and fungus spores could all hitchhike into your crabitat!
Moss found for the home decor, parties & weddings, gifts and gardening industries
There are a larger number of moss products sold within the home decor industry, as well as for weddings and parties and gardening. Moss adds an attractive natural element, most often dyed green, to tabletops and displays, gifts, terrariums and artificial flowers and plant arrangements. Moss is very popular within these industries, and sold in many stores and in many forms.
Moss being sold in the gardening, home decor and party sections of stores should NOT be considered safe for hermit crab pets. Stick to purchasing moss only from pet stores, when it says non-toxic and pet-safe!
Whenever adding anything from your backyard, outdoors, in nature, or purchased online… make sure it’s completely safe. There could be chemicals like mosquito spray residue, insecticides or herbicides and other chemicals from pollution (depending on where you live). There could be mites, mold, fungus or bacteria etc that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to see. And that particular variety of moss may just not be healthy for your hermit crab pet!
It’s always a good idea to stick to the moss products that are marketed as “pet-safe” and “non-toxic” to ensure you aren’t exposing your hermit crab pets to anything bad for them.
Generally speaking, a healthy happy hermit crab habitat will have plenty of green and natural elements… but they will be artificial pet-safe, non-toxic and carefully curated. Stick to purchasing only moss sold in pet stores for reptiles, frogs and other small invertebrates to be safe!
Last update on 2024-05-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API