The
Importance of Baths
It is important
to spend some time each week or fortnight giving your land
hermit crab a bath so that they can re-hydrate and condition
their exoskeleton with the addition of StressCoat® which
contains "Aloe Vera, Nature's First Aid Plant".
Baths should be performed under supervision, and there are
some safety measures you need to follow that are outlined
later on in the book.
Land Hermit Crabs
can drown if submerged in water for an extended time (fishermen
say around an hour), but they have been observed bathe themselves
in shallow pools to replace shell water and wash out any foods
and wastes from their shells when in the wild.
Hermit Crabs urinate
through their antennae, so any water spills during handling
is shell water. Hermit Crabs have an anus located on the end
of their abdomen, and have been observed to flick any wastes
(droppings) out of their shells. These feces are often brown
coloured and look like small sausage or ball shapes which
consist mainly of sand and undigested foodstuffs.
It is important that
the water you use is tepid or lukewarm.Cold or warm water can
stress your land hermit crab. If possible it is recommended that
you add a drop of Stress Coat. Stress Coat is a water conditioner
which will remove Chlorine, Chloramines and heavy metals as well
as creating a 'slime coating' due to polymers and the addition
of Aloe Vera. To learn more about Stress Coat, click
here.
Methods
of Bathing
 Submersion
Sometimes it helps
to gently tilt the hermit crab upside down, by the time they upright
themselves air-bubbles lift from inside the shell, along with
a gentle movement in the water to dislodge any gunk or mites which
should float and be scooped out. I do not use the submersion method
unless I believe there is a reason, such as decomposing foodstuffs,
feces or mites. It can be a little stressful for some land hermit
crabs, so you might prefer to follow one of the more gentlre methods
of bathing.
Leg Kicking
  Lower
the hermit crabs into a 'bath' container such as a clean plastic
tub or commercial product such as the bowls pictured above. The
hermit crab then wades through the water and after a few laps
they are taken out. This method should be done under close supervision,
especially if the container used as a 'bath' does not include
a section for the hermit crabs to be able to climb out onto 'dry
land' after making their way around for a few laps for some solid
'leg kicking'. I recommend this method
Walk
through
 If
you do not feel comfortable with either the submersion or wade-through
methods of bathing, an alternative method is to lower the hermit
crabs into a waterdish (or other container) filled with and allow
them to wander about naturally for a few hours. The waterdish
must be one that they can easily get in and out of, and perhaps
has items such as marbles, sea glass, pebbles, piece of cuttlebone
or other item that will aid in their safe departure from the water,
lest they drown. Make sure to replace the Stress Coat-treated
water with fresh after a few hours, which brings me on to the
next topic.
Too Much
of a Good Thing
Some people reason
that if Stress Coat is beneficial to their hermit crabs, why not
put it in the water all of the time? Think of Stress Coat as a
weekly moisturising treatment. Just as we apply moisturiser to
skin that is dry from the effects of salt water from a day at
the beach, Stress Coat helps to repair the damage to tissues as
'natures bandage' as well as create a layer that helps to protect
our skin from drying out. We do not bathe in moisturiser, nor
do we drink it*. Stress Coat is not meant for their every day
drinking water (fresh is best) it is important to replace with
fresh water for the remainder of the day.
Drying
Off
Once they have been
bathed, set them down into a drying-off tub or container lined
with fresh substrate, clean towel or other substance for traction
and allow the hermit crabs to walk about and drip dry. If you
placed them directly within the crabitat, you would find that
it would soon be water-logged from all the excess water from within
the seashells of the freshly-bathed hermit crabs. The substrate
should never be wet, only damp. Wet substrate with foodstuffs
can create a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus.
Bathing after purchase
If it is the first
bath of a hermit crab fresh from a pet store or webstore then
you will need to increase the depth of water so that you can do
your test for mites at the same time.Always use lukewarm water,
de-chlorinated and a drop or two of StressCoat with Aloe Vera,
such as made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, although many brands
have similar properties. When you think of the conditions the
hermit crabs had been in, coupled with dehydration on the trip
home, it is common sense to give your hermit crabs a bath on their
arrival. You can be sure that after a long, dry journey I would
want to go for a nice dip and rehydrate too!
* You
can now buy Aloe Vera inner gel juice (99% real inner gel) from
health food stores which has been proven to be effective in reducing
discomfort in people with problems such as I.B.D., irritated lining
of the stomach, etc when drank. So far there has not been any
research done on the effects of Aloe Vera and hermit crabs drinking
it on a constant basis, so for the meantime let's stick to externals
until the results are in.
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