Hermit Crab Breeding – Mission Impossible!
Author: Tod Schaffer
Hermit crab breeding is not a task for the faint hearted! There are differing opinions on the internet as to whether mating these critters has even been successfully achieved in captivity – some say yes and others say it is more or less "mission impossible".
If you are determined to have a go at hermit crab breeding, then you will need to have a lot of patience and understanding. It's not simply a case of boy meets girl because first of all you have to determine the sex of the crabs. This can be difficult in itself because how on earth can
you examine the sexual organs of a creature that rarely comes out of its shell? Your best bet, in this instance, is to visit your specialist pet store, who may be selling critters that have already been mated although it will probably cost you!
For the magic to occur, you will also need to create the perfect setting for your lovestruck couple. You are going to encounter a few complications here, because you will be trying to simulate a proper mating habitat and this can present a few problems. When female land hermits breed in the wild, for instance, they lay their eggs in the shallow depths of the sand near to the water. When hatching happens, the baby critters scuttle off towards the ocean, and trying to replicate this environment in the confines of your home, is not going to be easy.
If your mind is still made up to attempt proper mating, you are going to have to set up a salt water tank, or even dig a garden pond and then try to simulate the effect of waves. This can be achieved in a tank by the use of a small wave maker that you can buy from specialist stores. They are fairly inexpensive but quite effective. Then, as all lovestruck couples like to make love under the stars, you will need to buy and install some moonlight bulbs. We're not finished yet! To get them in the mood for love, both the temperature and humidity levels need to be maintained, as in the tropics. Oh, they'd also like to be served with some delicious grub over the next few weeks! You also need to get in a stock of brine shrimp as the lives of your potential larvae crabs depends on this. Now you just need to sit back and let Mother Nature get to work.
When these little critters mate, they perform a sort of dance which can be quite entertaining to watch. It will probably be at least a month until you see any land babies. Just in case you strike gold, and are successful with your match making efforts, you would be advised to get in a stock of small shells for the crab babies to move into. Remember they will be very small, probably no bigger than 5 mm, so we are talking tiny shells here.
You should now know enough on how to get the mating game going. I bid you good luck and here's to your match making efforts and here's to the happy couple!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/collecting-articles/hermit-crab-breeding-mission-impossible-3140703.html
About the Author
Tod Schaffer is a Hermit Crab enthusiast who has vast experience of raising Hermit Crabs. For more information about Hermit Crab Breeding, Hermit Crab Center.