Mites are a common problem for a hermit crab and properly getting rid of them is such a pain. Hermit crab mites are tiny arachnids that may infest the shells and bodies of hermit crabs. Identifying them is tougher as they are microscopic, but leaving them as they are will kill your crab. Here we’ll talk about how you can eliminate mites from your crabitat.
How to identify the mites
These mites are almost impossible to with the naked eye. You can see some movements if you observe closely. If you see some unusual small things in the shell, food bowls, crab’s body, in the substrate, or anywhere else, don’t be fooled by thinking it is the eggs because hermit crabs hardly breed in captivity and don’t ignore them.
The crabs may become restless and change frequently change shells. Or it can be out of the shell for a long time without normal reason because of infested shells.
Take a magnifying glass to ensure. Hermit crab mites are often red or brown and if you take a heat light near them they will start to hide as they hate light. You can take the tank under sunlight to see the movements clearly.
When you are sure about the mites, you have to take the next step. The infected area may be little or limited in certain areas, removing/cleaning the specific area won’t solve the problem and you should never underestimate them.
How to get rid of hermit crab mites
- Isolate the crab: Take a plastic container with a lid so that the crab can’t leave the container. If the crab comes close to any live plant or another crab enclosure, there is a high chance those places will get infested. So isolate the infested crab properly.
- Removing elements: Remove every element from the infested tank, including the substrate. If you can do the removal and cleaning process under sunlight that will give extra benefit as the sunlight will force them to run away.
- Clean the tank: Once you removed all the accessories, it’s time to clean the tank. Wash the tank with water. Take a wet paper towel or clothes and start cleaning, pressing against the glass tank, especially in the corner. Let the tank dry in the light (better if can dry under the sun) while doing other processes.
- Throw away the substrate: The whole substrate is probably infested so better if throw away the old substrate. Fill the substrate in a plastic bag seal it well and throw away ensuring the mites can spread. If you don’t want to lose the substrate, bake it in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 360 degrees. But throwing them away would be preferable because any remaining eggs or mites will keep multiplying and infesting the tank again.
- Clean the accessories: Boil all the accessories for 20-30 minutes including the toys and plastic plants. Except for plastic accessories, you can use the oven to remove mites. Bake the wood, gravel, and shells for 20 minutes at 360 degrees. Keep an eye out if the wood doesn’t get burned. The shells and gravel can be extremely hot, move with a pincher, and leave until cools down.
- Wash the crabs: Obviously, your crab won’t come out of the shell, but you can try giving them some clean shells. [Leave it no problem if the crab doesn’t change the shell.] Now pour dechlorinated salt water into the container where you kept the crab. Submerge the crab completely for 1 minute and do the process 3-4 times. Now place the crab upside down and constantly keep pouring water in the shell. The mites will start to flow. Do this until any mites remain and do the process several times a day.
- Rearrange the tank: Now all the things are set. Place the new substrate in the tank and place the all cleaned accessories and your crab is ready to go.
- Don’t use commercial mite-specific medication and bleach because they will kill or at least damage your crab.
Ensure the mites never come
The moist, dark, and place with hideouts is ideal for mites that’s why they start living there. But you can’t reduce moisture or anything as hermit crab needs that kind of environment.
So keep checking your crabitat after cleaning the tank once a week, there is a high chance the mites will attack again.
Keep the tank clean, remove any leftover food, and clean the water bowl. Clean the place where they poop or if you see any scattered poops.
#FAQS
What parasites do hermit crabs have?
Hermit crabs have a variety of parasites, with more than 185 species of parasitic isopods from the family Bopyridae. External parasites like mites can infest the shells and bodies of your hermit crabs, fungi can also be parasitic affecting the exoskeleton and soft tissues of your crabs, nematode worms can infect the digestive tract of your hermit crabs, Protozoans are single-celled organisms that can be the cause of infection in various organs and systems, bacteria can cause infection if the enclosure is not clean, crab lice known for infesting hermit crabs gills and other organs, flatworms can affect the digestive system of hermit crabs, and Isopods in the subfamily Athelginae attach to the abdomens of hermit crabs and Isopods in the subfamily Pseudioninae infest the inside of the branchial cavities of hermit crabs.
Are hermit crab mites harmful to humans?
No hermit crab mites are not harmful to humans. Hermit crab mites evolved with hermit crabs and chose only hermit crabs as hosts. They do not have a preference for humans. But maintaining hygiene is important because they may not affect humans directly, they may spread disease.
Do hermit crabs carry diseases?
Hermit crabs do not carry any disease, you can touch them bare-handed. They may have some natural behavior that looks gross to us like eating everything from dead animals to own poop but it has nothing to do with carrying any disease.
Here are some facts about hermit crabs.
