Hermit crab cages aren’t actually cages at all! If you have hermit crabs, you want to house them in a tank as this will help to keep in the humidity that they need to survive. Hermit crabs are tropical creatures used to a tropical seaside environment and their “cage” needs to mimic this in order for them to survive.

You can keep your hermit crabs in a fish tank - either plastic or glass, but glass is probably better since it won’t get scratched from use. You want to be sure that their cage is big enough to accommodate all the hermit crabs you plan to have as pets along with toys for them to climb on, their dishes and shells. Typically a 10 gallon aquarium tank works well for this, but be sure you get a good cover to keep the crabs from climbing out as well as trap the humidity inside.

After you have chosen the perfect hermit crab cage, the next thing you need to do is make sure that you outfit it with the necessary things you need to keep your crabs comfortable.

Most importantly, your hermit crabs need heat and humidity. In order to do this, you’ll need to get an under tank heating unit - or sometimes just the light in the tank will heat it up enough. Either way, you’ll want to get a thermometer for the tank so that you can make sure the temperature remains between 72 degrees and 80 degrees. You may find that simply having the full water dish is enough to create the necessary humidity (between 70 and 80 percent) but if not, then try putting a large sea sponge in a bowl of dechlorinated water inside the tank. You need to remember to clean the sponge out often, though so bacteria doesn’t start to grow.

Now you should consider substrate for your crabs cage. Hermit crabs love to dig so you’ll need to supply them with something they can use to do this and make sure it is deep enough for them. Two recommended substrates are sand and coconut fiber. You can use special sand for hermit crabs, or regular sandbox sand. Just be sure to sterilize the sandbox sand by baking it at 300 degrees before you use it. The coconut fibers or forest bedding is fibers that you can use instead of sand - the crabs can still tunnel in it and it helps keep the moisture levels up.

Choosing hermit crab cages that will provide the appropriate environment for your pets is key to their health and happiness. Just be sure you pick one that is big enough and can give them the right temperatures and humidity and their sure to love their new home!