Crabs

The Japanese spider crab is a scavenger just like all other crabs. They have 8 legs, plus two long claws for feed in the front. They usually dead animals on the ocean floor as well as shellfish. They are also known as the "dead man's crab" as they have been found feeding on drowning victims in the past. Although they are the largest crab, they are very docile despite their size.

Hermit crabs don't bite, they pinch you with their two claws. They will only do this if they feel threatened or unbalanced. To hold a hermit crab so that it feels comfortable, you need to have a flat, steady hand. It's best to hold them while sitting down. Making sudden movements will also startle them and they may pinch, so move slowly or be still.

If a hermit crab latches onto your hand, don't panic. It does hurt, but keep a clear head. Set your hand down on the floor in in the tank and don't move it. The hermit crab will feel stable and let go. NEVER run your crab under water or try to pry him off. These things will only injure him and/or make him pinch harder.

They are similar creatures, yes. They are both exoskeletal (have their skeletons on the outside), so they both belong to the Phylum Arthropod (Linnaean taxonomy classifies living things into Kingdoms --> Phylum --> Class --> Order --> Family --> Genus --> Species). For more on Linnaean taxonomy and Arthropods, see the Related Links below.

For most crabs, mating season occurs during warmer weather, and if the crab makes its home in the ocean, the waters need to be a warm temperature as well. When this time arrives, male crabs must find a female crab that has matured sexually and attract her. They do this by performing an elaborate mating dance. Usually, the male crab will rise onto the tips of his legs and move from side to side in front of the female. At the same time he will wave his claws in the air to attract her. This dance is not only done to grab the female's attention, it is also the time when the male sends out pheromones from glands under his claws into the air. These chemicals sexually attract females and get them ready for the mating ritual. The male will continue to do this until he finds a female who is ready and willing to mate.

There are 4 main groups of arthropods. They are the Chelicerata, Crustacea, Tracheata, and the now extinct Trilobites. Crabs are considered to be arthropods and are a part of the Crustacea group which also include shrimp and lobster.

yes because there are a lot of diffrent spices and they are spoted in freshwater

u Hermit crabs have signs an about to molt. But when they do molt, they dig underground, and depending on size it will stay underground for weeks to months. My hermit crab is small and stayed underground molting for a month and a half.

Do NOT dig your hermit crab up! if you think it's dead smell the tank if it smells like dead fish them a hermie is dead :(.

Crawdads are freshwater crustaceans that look like little lobsters. Related to lobsters, crawdads breathe through gills and live in waters that don't freeze to the bottom

Response: That fails to answer my question. I was looking for information regarding cats, not "crawdads".

The average/regular crabs don't live for more than 3 and a half years. A hermit crab can live up to 15+ years is in a healthy, clean and calm home. If in a diseased and stressed home than it will live for about 9 months.

they grow about 5 inches long and 6 inches wide

Red claw crabs are beach-combing scavengers, not even slightly picky. They do well with any of the formulated sinking foods, vegetables, tubifex worms, freeze dried foods (such as krill), brine shrimp, bloodworms, peas, beans, spinach and raw fish. They will also eat commercial flake foods and crab pellets as well as bits of driftwood and aquarium plants.

You should not force a hermit crab completely out of their shell because they would rather die then be forced out of their shell

But if you want to know how to make their legs and eyes and anntenue so they will walk around then you could try lifting up their shell or gently squirting them with a spritz bottle filled with dechlorinated

Clams defecate like anything else.

well how fast it moves depends on its size small ones move very fast and big ones not so fast also crabs don't sprint forwards like us they scuttle sideways

Yes hermit crabs are good pets. I love my hermit crabs and they come from Australia! I've had them for a long time now, and I haven't once regretted getting them!

They really enjoy walking and climbing around in the dark. They also love eating a variety of foods to keep them active so they can walk around in their cage.

Another great thing is they help people learn responsibility and if your child is a child who is really responsible then you should get him or her one, for fun, even though they are already responsible. They only pinch if you shake them, drop them, or scare them.

And they will eat anything you give them but only give them dairy foods once and a while.

I'm a different user but i agree they are great. they are easy to take care of and are great for first pets. They are even great as a millionth pet! I go to this little island i only know of and i call it crab island because it has tons of both land and sea crabs! I play with them and give them food and water. I do this because sometimes it's really hard for them to find food so i can help them an bring them plenty of food water and toys. i think they are really happy most of the time. I always let them out to run around and explore. I just think they are such interesting and fum little creatures. And I love them, and agree that they are in fact, great pets and companions.

Crabmeat is an excellent source of protein, is very low in fat and contains few calories.
Crabmeat also contains important quantities of essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous, which are all important for a well-balanced nutritional diet.

No they don't decompose things but they help things to. For example in compost worms are useful because they eat out tunnels which lets the air in causing it to decompose faster. They are not decomposers but help things to do so.

It's a little unknown because it been only discovered in 2005.

Depending on how long they are or were left at room temperature. Bacteria begins to grow on foods left out at room temperature after just one hour. The longer left out the more chance of bacteria.

the purple shore crab usually eats anything it can find but mostly feeds on dead sea animals sea lettuce and green algae.

No. Hermit Crabs need a substrate that will allow them to bury themselves. They cannot bury themselves in gravel. I suggest sand, but it can get messy and attract sand fleas. A ggod idea is to look for substrates out here that are "hermit crab friendly". There are several and a great brand is "T-Rex" or "ReptileSupply.com" since most reptile supply companies also make products for Hermit Crabs because they need similar habitats.

No you cannot cause there is no hair for them to live in

I've heard of hermit crabs being bred in the lab (I'm not aware of official documentation, however), but no home setup would be able to handle it. The life cycle of a hermit crab is far too complex; you can't just throw a male and female crab in 10 gallon aquarium and wait to see what happens. The process is very tedious--even if you were able to provide the proper setup for breeding, you would have to sustain the offspring for months until they were even close the the size of the hermit crabs at pet stores (not to mention your responsibility for the adult crab!). No average person has the time or money to do this properly.

Yes, as I have one as a pet. She has four on her front paws and five on her back paws, this helps her inclimbing trees and digging up her food and fighting with other squirrels as they are very territorial creatures.