Grace

= = =__Hermit crabs__ =

By: Grace Powell
= = media type="custom" key="3833525" ==//Moving Home //==

= What Hermit Crabs Eat = = = Hermit crabs can eat animals and plants. They mostly eat small plankton, worms, and mussels. Hermit crabs are called **scavengers ** because they will also eat dead animals and plants. They will eat fruits such as strawberries, grapes, melons, and bananas. They also eat veggies such as carrots, spinach, and broccoli. Hermit crabs will not eat each other! Its is very rare if they do because hermit crabs are not **cannibals **. They need a very organized diet or else they could die. They need choices of fruits, vegetables, and protein.  =Hermit Crab enviro nment and Health = Hermit crabs have very certain health conditions. If you have a one hermit crab, then they don't need a lot of space. The more hermit crabs you get the more space you will need for them to crawl around. Hermit crabs need lots of nutrition to eat. Bottled water is the best for hermit crabs to drink because tap water has to much of **chlorine** and **iron** in the water. Too much chlorine or iron can kill the hermit crab. Hermit crabs depend on company. Even though the hermit crabs have the name "crab" in it they are very social. Some hermit crabs are very shy and won't come out of its shell when someone is around. You can take your hermit crab out and let it climb all over your shirt for **exersice**. If you do have a hermit crab you will need to out about five to eight inches of sand, gravels, or pebbels for them to dig and cover themselves. Hermit crabs will also dig down in the sand because they will molt just like snakes do. You have to put the cage somewhere where its not direct sunlight and you have to make sure the cage is somewhere near 72 degrees. You also have to keep the cage **moist** and **humid**. =Hermit crabs = <span style="color: rgb(63, 222, 222);"><span style="color: rgb(73, 218, 199);"><span style="color: rgb(46, 184, 184);">Hermit crabs have about seven body parts. The tail, lower legs, eyes, antennae, jointed legs, large pincher and the small pincher. The large pincher is for passing their food to their **grill** (mouth) and for defense. The antennae are short, on the outside of the eyes, and are used for touching objects. The antennules are between the hermit crabs eyes and are used for picking up odors and for finding food. Hermit crabs do not have ears but their feelers are for sensing sounds. Hermit crabs can lose their legs. They will not die but it means that they either have an environment problem, an illness, or they have fought with other hermit crabs. =<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(0, 255, 255);">Types of he <span style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 255); color: rgb(0, 255, 255);">r <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">mit crabs = <span style="color: rgb(87, 87, 203);"> There are many types of hermit crabs. But only six types of hermit crab are sold in the United States. All six hermit crabs belong to the genus coenobita group. There are two types of hermit crabs. Marine hermit crabs (which are hermit crabs that live in the water) and land hermit crabs (which live on land.) The most popular hermit crabs in the U.S are the Caribbean crabs also known as the Coenobita clypeatus, the tree hermit crab, and the land hermit crab. There are other kinds of hermit crabs called E-crabs that are the Ecuadorian species and the Coenobita compressus. The world's largest terrestrial invertebrate is the Birgus latro hermit crab. The Birgus latro hermit crab is a shell-less hermit crab. There are many types of hermit crab families are some. There is the Coenobitidae, Diogenidae, Lithodidae, Paguridae, Parapaguridae, Pylochelidae, and the Pylpjacquesidae. Even though these names are hard to pronounce there are a lot more. There are over 5,000 crab species but only about 4,500 are real crabs. Hermit crabs are the other 500 crabs which are not consider a crab because they switch shells and don't live in the water. =<span style="color: rgb(58, 242, 242); background-color: rgb(255, 0, 167);">Fun <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 167); background-color: rgb(69, 247, 247);">facts <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 0, 167);"> = There are a bunch of facts about hermit crabs. Here are a few: =Sources= = http://www.ehow.com/how_2296630_take-care-hermit-crab.html = http://waddell.ci.manchester.ct.us/hermit-crabs.html http://biologyweb.org/hermit.htm http://www.angelhascrabs.com/ http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Hermit-Crabs http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com/Article/Different-Types-of-Pet-Hermit-Crabs/1276 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+many+types+of+hermit+crabs++are+there+in+the+world&btnG=Google+Search http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_different_types_of_crabs_are_there http://www.hermit--crabs.com/hermit-crab-facts.html http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/pseberle/fabulous_facts.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?Interesting-Hermit-Crab-Facts&id=1943644 = = = = = =
 * 1) They have no backbone.
 * 2) They can live up to 15 years in captivity.( Most will live up to 6 to 12 months.)
 * 3) On the beach they are found in groups up to 100 or more.
 * 4) Hermit crabs will eat anything such as potato chips or popcorn! ( Basically they will eat anything a human eats.)
 * 5) Hermit crabs will
 * 6) only hatch their eggs in salt water.
 * 7) The hermit crabs purple pincher can snap a pencil in two.
 * 8) Hermit crabs are not really true crabs.
 * 9) The exoskeleton is the hard outside of the hermit crabs
 * 10) One-fourth pound of the hermit crab is its large purple pincher.
 * 11) Hermit crabs will drown if it is kept underwater too long.
 * 12) Spiders and lobster are relatives of the hermit crabs.