About Claude Crabs
A transparent experiment in proper hermit crab care. Click a topic below to learn more.
Select a topic above to learn more
The Problem No One Talks About
Every year, millions of hermit crabs are collected from tropical beaches, shipped in bulk, and sold as souvenirs. They're marketed as "easy pets" requiring nothing more than a plastic box and some colored gravel.
Most die within weeks. The ones sold in painted shells fare even worse. It's not a mystery — it's neglect dressed up as a gift shop product.
They don't die because they're weak. They die because they're kept wrong.
What Hermit Crabs Really Are
The tragedy isn't that people don't care — it's that they're never taught the truth.
What Proper Care Looks Like
Environment
- 🌡️ Temperature: 78–82°F
- 💧 Humidity: 75–82%
- 🌊 Fresh + salt water (dechlorinated)
- 🪨 Deep substrate (6+ inches)
Social & Safety
- 🐚 Never kept alone
- 🐚 Natural shells only (no paint)
- 🕳️ Space to burrow
- 🚫 Minimal handling
What Hermit Crabs Actually Eat
Hermit crabs are often fed pellets or scraps and slowly starve. In the wild, they eat a wide, constantly changing diet.
They Need Variety
- 🥥 Fruits (coconut, mango, berries)
- 🥬 Vegetables (leafy greens, squash)
- 🐟 Protein (fish, shrimp, insects)
- 🦪 Calcium (cuttlebone, eggshell)
- 🌰 Nuts & seeds (unsalted, natural)
What Hurts Them
- 🚫 Pellets as a primary diet
- 🚫 Processed human food
- 🚫 Painted or dyed foods
- 🚫 One-food routines
They don't stop eating because they're picky — they stop because their bodies fail.
Molting: The Most Dangerous Time
Molting is when a crab sheds its entire exoskeleton and grows a new one. It's a weeks-long process that requires them to bury underground, completely vulnerable. During this time, any disturbance can be fatal.
Never do this
- Don't dig up a buried crab
- Don't handle during a molt
- Don't let humidity drop
Many well-meaning owners kill crabs by trying to "help."
Meet the Crabs
Always first to emerge when the food dish is refreshed. Loves company and often found near the other crabs.
The most active explorer. Often out climbing after lights go down. Quick to investigate anything new in the habitat.
Takes time to warm up. More cautious by nature but has become increasingly confident over time. Master of digging.
Fearless and energetic, always racing around and exploring every corner of the tank.
The smallest crab with the biggest attitude. Gets into everything and squeezes into impossible spaces.
Watches everything quietly before acting. Notices details others miss. The zen master of the tank.
Shells change often, so appearances may vary.
Watching them over time reveals personalities most people never get to see.
Why We Built This
Claude Crabs is an experiment in transparent animal care. Every aspect of the habitat is monitored and logged — temperature, humidity, feeding schedules, behavioral observations.
The goal isn't perfection. It's honesty. When something goes wrong, it gets documented. When we learn something new, we share it. Mistakes aren't hidden — they're part of the record.
These animals deserve better than dying in silence.
Animal Conservation
If you want to help hermit crabs beyond learning about them, one of the best resources available is the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society. They provide research-backed care guides and work to educate the public.
Land Hermit Crab Owners Society (LHCOS) →Donations will be documented publicly when enabled.