Cleaning Hermit Crab Tanks |
The land Hermit Crab - Coenobita clypeatus is a very clean pet to keep. These animals eat very small quantities of food so excrete small quantities of waste. They have no odor associated with them or a well kept hermit crab tank.
However, every 4 - 5 weeks you should take the following steps to ensure that their environment is as clean as possible to help prevent any infections or mite infestations.
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The picture opposite shows what the dry waste of the hermit crab looks like. If you see small areas with the droppings on the surface then you can remove them on a daily basis. If you do this then you can clean the tank and substrate every 8 weeks or more.
If on the other hand you leave them you will need to clean your tank and substrate every 4 - 5 weeks |
The first thing to do is remove the hermit crabs and place them in a deep bowl to keep them safe.
After removing any decor you should empty the sand (in this case) in to a deep bowl. |
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Sterilize
The sterilising in this case comes from a large kettle of boiling water. Simply pour the boiling water on tho the sand and stir until all the sand is submerged in boiling water.
Leave this to stand for 5 mins.
You can see from the photo that particles of dirt are coming to the surface. If the water is realy dirty then you should drain the sand and repeat the process.
If you need additional sand then it is available from FAUNOLOGY.COM |
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Drain
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After sterilizing the sand, drain it in to a large bucket and rinse thoroughly under running water. When the water from the buckets is running clean then the sand is also clean.
You then need to get as much water out as possible, here a clean kitchen towell will serve as a wringer. |
Bake
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Once as much water as possible has been removed from the water it should be spread out evenly over a clean baking sheet.
Bake the sand at 180C for 30 mins. This baking will remove the additional water and finish the sterilising process. |
Wash the tank
While the sand is baking in the oven you should thoroughly clean out the tank using warm water with a little detergent added.
Give the tank several good rinses to make sure that all traces of cleaning products have been removed.
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If you have any wood or cork decoration in the tank then you should pour boiling water over them and/or soak in boiling water to sterilise.
Any peices of cork that can fit inside your microwave can be sterilised using the microwave. Simply place them in and cook for around 1 minute on full power (900w).
You can now remove the sand from the oven. Allow this to cool and you will be able to crumble any lumps and it will be as new.
The entire process should take no more than about 30 minutes to complete.
Once the tank and decor are cool you can return to the main page and rebuild your tank. |
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