HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I noticed a few white mites on the shell of one of my crabs. They’re about the same size as a grain of sand, and mostly moving around on the outside of his shell. I have noticed them moving around on the soil as well.

The link is a time-lapse taken over 5 minutes where you can see a white mite moving over his shell. You can also see the mites moving along the soil in the background.

Is there any hope of identifying these and figuring out if they’re harmful?

Video of mites : https://imgur.com/a/yOyYo40

Those are food mites. They feed on organic matter and are not harmful to hermit crabs.

Since they live in our homes, you’re going to see them from time to time, as they are attracted to the heat, humidity, and plentiful food of the crabitat. If numbers are high they may appear on the crabs, but their populations usually go up and down on their own.


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