HCA: Hermit Crab Association

If I want to provide a dish or two for our crabs to bathe themselves, how deep should they be?

For bathing, deep enough for the crab to completely submerge. Just remember to provide net, rocks, shells, or something for them to use to climb out.

Straws are the only hermit crabs that require full emersion into a salt water pool. However, the rest of the species tend to enjoy this as well. In my experience PPs do not like to bathe in salt water. Rather, they tend to sit on the edge of the pool and drink the water.

when the dishes are deep enough for them to submerge in, they can keep their gills in condition by wetting them, and it replicates their natural habitat...they cas fully submerge whenver they want in the ocean! lol

also having these dishes eliminates the need to bathe crabs.

hermit_of_hermit_crabs wrote:Straws are the only hermit crabs that require full emersion into a salt water pool. However, the rest of the species tend to enjoy this as well. In my experience PPs do not like to bathe in salt water. Rather, they tend to sit on the edge of the pool and drink the water.

Most of my PP's like to sit and drink, but Walter likes to drag empty shells in with him, soak for a bit next to it, then clime on top of it in the middle, anduse it like an island... lol!

none of my crabs have ever done that! it sounds cute

Ok, I've heard this so many times, but now I have to ask. When you all say "fully submerge," do you mean the entire shell and crab under water, or just the crab itself completely under with however much shell with it?

Shell and All