Hermit crabs 11/10/08
Hi! My little sisters and I have pet hermit crabs. We put them in one tank. There are no bugs in it, but for some reason when I looked in the tank today, there was a web across one of the shells with little black dots in it. Is it from the crabs? Do you know what it is?
<Greetings. It is possible I suppose that these webs are spider webs, or silk webs spun by something else. In that case, they won't do any harm and can be rinsed off with some clean water. But I'm a little more concerned that these webs might be in fact fungal hyphae. Fungi will grow on anything that is organic, warm, and damp. Hermit crabs need to be kept warm, as you know, since they're tropical animals that quickly die if they are kept at room temperature. But they also need a well ventilated environment. Usually these two things are taken care of by putting a heating mat or stone in the vivarium (for warmth) and then placing a lid on the tank (to keep the heat in) but the lid is left slightly ajar so air can move through the tank (for ventilation). Hermit crabs are quite difficult to maintain if you don't "tick all the right boxes", and I'd encourage you to review their needs carefully. Once sick, there's little that can be done for them. Many books have been written about pet Hermits, but in the meantime, why not visit one of the several good web sites dedicated to their care. I happen to like this one:
http://www.hermit-crabs.com/
Cheers, Neale>