New to Hermit Crabs? Here's Where to Start.
Every experienced hermit crab keeper started exactly where you are.
There’s a lot of information out there. Caring for hermit crabs really comes down to a handful of basics. Learn those first, and everything else gets easier.
- How to set up the right habitat from day one
- How to feed using the Buffet Method
- What to do (and not do) when a crab molts
- How to keep a well-stocked shell shop
- Where to go next as you keep learning
Set Up the Right Home
Everything starts with the habitat. Your crabs need enough space, deep substrate to burrow, warmth, humidity, fresh and salt water, and places to climb and hide.
Get these right, and everything else you do for your crabs works better.
Feed a Variety of Foods
In the wild, hermit crabs rarely eat the same thing twice.
That’s why we feed using the Buffet Method: offer a small daily buffet, rotate Complete Meals and Single Ingredients, and always keep The Core — Green Sand, Worm Castings, and a calcium source — available.
Learn the Buffet Method → · Explore The Core →
Understand Molting
Molting is how hermit crabs grow. Most crabs bury themselves for a molt, sometimes for weeks or even months.
New keepers often panic when this happens. The one rule that matters most: don’t dig them up.
If your crab disappears underground and there’s no bad smell, it’s almost always molting — not sick or dead. The single best thing you can do is leave it alone.
Keep a Well-Stocked Shell Shop
Hermit crabs constantly outgrow and change shells. Keep several natural, unpainted shells available in different sizes so your crabs can choose when it’s time to move.
Let Them Be Hermit Crabs
Climbing, digging, foraging, hiding, and exploring are all natural behaviors. Give your crabs plenty of opportunities to do the things they would naturally do in the wild.
You Don’t Have to Learn It All Today
Every good hermit crab keeper started by learning one thing at a time.
Habitat, food, molting, shells, enrichment — get these five basics right, and you already know most of what your hermit crabs need. Everything else you can learn as you go.