Can crabs walk out of their cage?

[Bob23]

I wanted to ask if I can take out hermit crabs out of their cages so they can walk around the apartment, supervised of course. If so, for how long and how?

Thank you!

[soilentgringa]

Most of us are very hands off with our crabs. They're wild animals and are preyed upon by most creatures larger than they are.

I believe they can come to associate us with food or tolerate our presence but the less stress we cause them, the better.

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[curlysister]

I have very rarely picked up my crabs, to show them up close to my nieces, mostly when I first got them. I did pick up Cher momentarily to look at her 'new' leg after she came up from the last molt. As SG said, most of us don't handle them.

[piratetoothgir]

When was the last time any of you two handled your crabs.
I will pick mine up by the shell only, just to move them out of the way where I was cleaning the substrate at.

[curlysister]

About a week after Cher came up from her molt, I picked her up and held her in my hand. I wanted to inspect her 'new' leg up close, LOL. I held her for less than a minute and then put her back in the tank. I do occasionally pick them up by the shell and relocate them within the tank when I am re-organizing too.

[GotButterflies]

I personally am hands off with my crabs. I live in Florida, and the humidity is high here. The concern would be the fact that they need humidity to breathe. They have modified gills.

We are not here to tell you what to do by any means! You of course would need to watch for safety features. Crabs can pinch cords. The exercise would be good for them. I provide my crabs with modified hamster wheels in their cages.

Carol, (who a lot of us admire for her crab expertise), raised her two, (now one), by allowing them to roam for periods of time while supervised.

Like Soiletgringa mentioned, they are prey animals, so it definitely can be stressful for them. To each there own.