Should You Bathe Your Hermit Crab?
There is an interesting discussion about bathing hermit crabs happening on the Crab Street Journal.
Here are my thoughts on the subject of bathing hermit crabs:
I have to agree with Dionysianexile and many of the other crabbers who have expressed their opinions at the Crab Street Journal. When I first started keeping hermit crabs I bathed them weekly, but over time I observed that the hermit crabs seemed to be stressed after each bath (especially the strawberries/Perlatus hermit crabs). I stopped bathing my hermit crabs 7+ months ago and have found that the number of deaths that I would usually attribute to PPS (post purchase stress) has decreased.
There are many people who keep hermit crabs who have been crabbing for years and swear by bathing. I think that if a care technique is working for you and your hermit crabs, great. I personally have found that my hermit crabs do much better with a “hands-off” approach. I provide my hermit crabs with pools, natural foods, climbing & hiding objects and quality substrate and they do great. In fact, I’ve found that the mortality rate in my hermit crab tank has improved since I’ve stopped fussing over my hermit crabs as much.
The only time I bathe my hermit crabs now is when I’m introducing a new hermit crab and I only bathe that crab, I do not bathe the entire clan. On occasion I have bathed a hermit crab if it’s showing aggression towards other hermit crabs.
I do think that we seriously need to evaluate the hermit crab materials that are available on the Internet to new crabbers. Some sites are horribly outdated; it’s frightening to think that someone could recommend that you put your hermit crab in your pocket when you go shell shopping. ::shakes head::
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