Are Hermit Crabs Nocturnal?

Exploring Hermit Crab Behavior at Night

Are hermit crabs nocturnal and what are those noises you may be hearing, coming from their habitat each night? These fascinating little creatures can be a little mysterious, and their behaviors a little quirky. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the question: Are hermit crabs nocturnal? Let’s uncover the secrets of what hermit crabs do after dark.

YES Hermit Crabs ARE Nocturnal BUT...

At night, hermit crabs can be very active. In the wild, nighttime is when it’s safest for them to go exploring and foraging for food sources. They’ll climb and crawl and burrow at night looking for food, water, a new comfy place to nap.

While some species are primarily nocturnal, others like the Caribbean Purple Pincher hermit crabs may display a combination of diurnal and nocturnal activities.

In the Wild vs. Captivity

However, it’s also important to note the difference between the wild and captivity. In the wild all hermit crabs rely on the cycles of the sun and moon.

In their hermit crab habitat in your home, they rely on the lighting you provide for them.

While most likely your home is somewhat consistent every day on when it’s light and dark, there could still be some confusion over if it’s night or if it’s day to them.

Nighttime Activity is Healthy

Hearing your hermit crabs moving around at night is good. It’s a sign they’re healthy and happy and doing what they do in the wild. You may hear scratching, or their shell clinking against the glass, and some other sounds like chirping that are all indications they are doing what they’re supposed to be doing as healthy hermit crabs.

Simulate Day and Night with Timed Lighting

If the location where you keep your hermit crab habitat enclosure doesn’t provide consistent day and night… consider adding an auto timer to their lighting. Consider using “daylight” blue/white bulbs and use an auto timer. This provides the same “sunrise” and “sunset” every day, simulating their habitat in the wild. The times don’t matter nearly as much as the consistency.

When the main lighting of the habitat is on a timer, you’ll start to notice that your hermit crabs have habits!

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Note: I have my habitat lighting go off in stages, but it goes completely dark at 11pm. That’s when I generally turn off the surrounding room lighting and everything is mostly dark enar the habitat. I like to keep the lights on until then to enjoy the habitat. So what happens every night, like clockwork (pun intended), when their final lights turn off? My hermit crabs come out of their caves and sit at the entrance and wait. What do they wait for? They sit and watch for all activity in the house to slow, for lighting to be mostly out, and then they’ll come out and start their nightly activities. They have habits, and they get used to the timing of “sunrise” and “sunset”. Consider using a reptile or grow light with UVB to simulate daylight, and put it on an auto timer! This way their night and day is predictable, and closer to how they live in the wild.