Hermit Crab Behaviors
Hermit Crab Behaviors range from quirky and kind of funny, to secretive and mysterious. Most importantly, their most common behaviors can be very predictive of their health and happiness.
Once you understand the most common hermit crab behaviors, it becomes much easier to provide the level of care needed for a healthy, happy crabitat for many years to come. Most common behaviors:
- hermit crabs are nocturnal!
- hermit crabs burrow and dig!
- watch for bullying and fighting!
- leg injuries indicate issues
- bathing good, drowning bad
- hermit crabs are SOCIAL!!!
- hermit crabs get BORED!!!
Most Common Hermit Crab Behaviors to watch for
Hermit Crabs are NOCTURNAL!
New hermit crab pet owners often worry when they don’t see their hermies during the day. They seem to disappear easily and often. But hermit crabs are nocturnal, so the best time to watch for activity is at night. Because of the nighttime activity, keeping a crabitat in your bedroom may not be a good idea as your hermit crabs will be eating, digging, climbing and inevitably making noise during the night.
Hermit Crabs Burrow and Dig!
A healthy hermit crab will dig and tunnel in the substrate regularly, most often where they disappear to during the day. They will also disappear periodically for days and weeks at a time for molting, which also happens when they are burrowed in the substrate. Digging, burrowing, tunneling and molting are all an important part of their life cycle and incredibly important to their good health! So when hermit crabs disappear, it’s almost always for a really good reason. Here’s more: Don’t Dig Hermit Crabs Up!
More on hermit crabs burrowing, digging and disappearing here!
TIP: add acrylic risers to your crabitat to prevent tunnel collapses AND add extra square footage for molting! See ideas here: Crabitat Solution to Protect Tunnels from Collapsing
Watch for Bullying and Fighting!
Though pretty rare, there can be bullying and fighting in an otherwise healthy crabitat. Why? Most often bullying and fighting will occur when the hermit crab habitat is overcrowded. Similarly, if there aren’t enough extra shells to choose from, a hermit crab may bully another for their shell. Hermit crabs are social and like to have friends, often hanging out close together. BUT they also need their own space particularly for molting. When overcrowded, a crabitat can become challenging to these natural instincts and needs and can result in hermit crabs becoming aggressive, and possibly causing injuries by fighting.
Leg Injuries Indicate Issues
Hermit crabs can lose legs, which is an indication of injury, health issues or due to fighting. It’s not common, but it does happen both in captivity and in the wild. Losing a leg, or segment of a leg does not mean the hermit crab will die. But it can be an indication that there is a major health issue or life-threatening situation or injury.
If leg issues are observed, it’s very important to consider all potential causes and act quickly IF it’s due to crabitat conditions or issues with other crabs. Example: substrate should be changed 3-4 times per year in a smaller crabitat, 1-2 times per year in a larger crabitat. Overcrowding should always be avoided. There should be plenty of extra (desirable) shells at all times. And there should be a secure covering on the crabitat to prevent a crab crawling to the top and falling out, which can knock them out of their shell and/or cause severe injury or death.
If the leg issue is due to poor health, look at the quality and variety of foods you are feeding. Make sure the water you provide is dechlorinated and ammonia free. Never use untreated water from the faucet! Chemicals in the water will cause health issues, and worse.
Bathing Good, Drowning Bad!
Hermit crabs can’t swim! So yes, hermit crabs can drown. Watch how each of your hermit crabs get in and out of the water dishes you provide. They need to drink, and they need to bathe and submerge themselves. It’s important to provide a fresh water dish that’s deep enough for your largest hermit crab to submerge while making sure your smallest hermit crab doesn’t drown!
Hermit Crabs are SOCIAL!!!
In the wild, hermit crabs are most often found in large groups. They are social creatures and prefer being with other hermit crabs. If you are a beginning hermit crab pet owner, consider starting with 2-3 hermit crabs, just make sure the crabitat you provide is large enough to keep them happy and healthy. It can be a concern when an old hermit crab ends up alone… is it better to leave them alone or introduce a new friend?
Hermit Crabs get BORED!!!
Hermit crabs are inquisitive and like to explore, climb, hide and dig. They like AND NEED stimulation! In the wild, hermit crabs are very busy little creatures, always climbing and exploring (when they aren’t burrowing, molting and hiding). Tip: add or replace elements of your crabitat once every couple of weeks. Add a new climbing branch, add cholla or sheet moss, move the water dishes around and add a new coco-hut. Hermit crabs DO get bored.
Want to see boredom turn into excitement? Try these two things: use a spray bottle and mist the inside of the crabitat (make sure to use distilled or treated water) and add new turbo shells. These two actions will almost certainly peak the interest of your hermit crabs quickly and stimulate them into changing shells and doing some extra climbing and exploring.
Hermit Crabs CHIRP!!!
Even though hermit crabs are generally one of the quietest, calmest pets you can have… they have been known to make noise. They don’t have a voice, don’t bark or anything like that. They do “chirp” which is the only way to describe it once you hear it. Chirping isn’t very common, and the reasons for this noise aren’t agreed on by everyone that’s heard it!
In our experience, chirping occurs when you have older larger hermit crabs that are somehow communicating with each other. Some say chirping occurs as a result of bullying or other unhappy behavior. When we’ve heard chirping it was coming from our older hermit crabs but there was no bullying… they were best friends and not near each other in the Crabitat at the time. Was the chirper perturbed for some reason? It’s very possible! Maybe he was old and in a grumpy mood, maybe he was looking for his bestie… unfortunately we’ll never know.
While it’s probably possible, we’ve never heard chirping coming from younger hermit crabs. And though we’ve raised hermit crabs for decades… it’s pretty rare when we hear it and it’s only come from older hermies. Chirping isn’t a very common behavior (noise) though it does happen.
Feelers in overdrive!
Hermit crabs have two main straight antennae often referred to as “feelers”. These antennae extend well past their eyes and act as an extension of them. They use these for multiple reasons including helping them move around and navigate (avoiding running into hard objects or falling off high branches) and staying safe in the dark.
There are also two shorter antenna that are bent-upwards (as opposed to straight). They aren’t quite as long as the main “feelers” but also extend past their eyes, helping to “see” in the dark. And while the main feelers are often kept down, these second set of “bent” antennae are normally always out. This helps the hermit crab stay aware of anything around them, even when they may be sleeping or resting while clinging to a branch (as an example). Antennae help them feel, even when they may not be able to see.
A common behavior involving antennae is this “bent” set of antennae rapidly moving. The movement looks erratic to us, but it’s very possible the movement is more like a form of communication. When you see these rapidly moving antennae it’s safe to assume they are TRYING to say something! They are nervous, they don’t like something happening, they are trying to figure something out. And they may be saying something like “he bestie, haven’t see you yet today, want to climb up this branch with me and hang in the coco-hideaway with me”?
We like to think our hermit crabs are happy and have these conversations with each other. What about you?
These are the most common observable hermit crab pet behaviors. But guess what? These curious little creatures have lots of other behaviors, often funny and unexpected! By providing a healthy crabitat and watching for behaviors, you’re sure to realize how awesome they are! They’ll get to know you, some will become friendly and trusting, and you’ll realize they all have different personalities.
Last update on 2024-04-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API