Strawberry Hermit Crab
Strawberry Hermit Crab - Coenobita perlatus
Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Class - Malacostraca Order - Decapoda Family - Coenobitidae Genus - Coenobita Species - C. perlatus
Appearance
This terrestrial hermit crab is bright red with small white dots like the color of ripe strawberries. Young hermit crabs tend to be a pale reddish orange, as they moult, they become more red. They are arthropods which means they have segmented bodies and jointed legs. Hermit crabs have four red antennas, two black eyes, two claws and four jointed legs on each side of the body . Their size are usually between 12 -15 cm long.
Feeding
Strawberry crabs are omnivores. They eat foods rich in carotene like dried baby shrimp, chicken, salmon, tuna dried plankton and commercial hermit crab food to maintain their red color. You can also feed them fresh fruits, carrots, nuts, seeds and fish flakes. About once a month you can offer a little treat such a cabbage leaf, a lettuce leaf or a piece of banana or mango.
Digestion and Excretion Hermit crabs eat with their chelipeds (a pincerlike structure on the end of a limb of a crustacean, that resembles a claw) and small mouth parts. The food is passed into their mouth to the gut. Waste products are excreted as urine through antennal glands at the base of their antennae or solid waste pass out through the anus.
Habitat
Strawberry hermit crabs are very delicate, so they must be kept at a constant 23 degrees Celsius and that there is plenty of salt water and moisture. Provide them with a place or two to hide and some plants or branches for them to climb on. You can also put 3 or 4 strawberry hermit crabs together. The bottom of the tank should have a substrate of sand or forest bedding that is deep enough for them to dig in and must have a lid on top. They also like a variety of shells to choose from when molting.
Internal Transport
Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Class - Malacostraca Order - Decapoda Family - Coenobitidae Genus - Coenobita Species - C. perlatus
Appearance
This terrestrial hermit crab is bright red with small white dots like the color of ripe strawberries. Young hermit crabs tend to be a pale reddish orange, as they moult, they become more red. They are arthropods which means they have segmented bodies and jointed legs. Hermit crabs have four red antennas, two black eyes, two claws and four jointed legs on each side of the body . Their size are usually between 12 -15 cm long.
Feeding
Strawberry crabs are omnivores. They eat foods rich in carotene like dried baby shrimp, chicken, salmon, tuna dried plankton and commercial hermit crab food to maintain their red color. You can also feed them fresh fruits, carrots, nuts, seeds and fish flakes. About once a month you can offer a little treat such a cabbage leaf, a lettuce leaf or a piece of banana or mango.
Digestion and Excretion Hermit crabs eat with their chelipeds (a pincerlike structure on the end of a limb of a crustacean, that resembles a claw) and small mouth parts. The food is passed into their mouth to the gut. Waste products are excreted as urine through antennal glands at the base of their antennae or solid waste pass out through the anus.
Habitat
Strawberry hermit crabs are very delicate, so they must be kept at a constant 23 degrees Celsius and that there is plenty of salt water and moisture. Provide them with a place or two to hide and some plants or branches for them to climb on. You can also put 3 or 4 strawberry hermit crabs together. The bottom of the tank should have a substrate of sand or forest bedding that is deep enough for them to dig in and must have a lid on top. They also like a variety of shells to choose from when molting.
Internal Transport