How many of you "bathe" your crabs?

I heard it puts stress on them but now i hear it dosn't. I'm confused.

 

it may stress them a litte but i think a monthly bath with a bit of stresscoat wont hurt. I use stresscoat to help with exoskelton development and hardning

 

I bathe them if I see a problem with them like mites, broken shell, etc.

 

I bathe the newcomers but then I provide water dishes that are large enough that they can bathe themselves. They seem to bathe alot in both the salt water and the fresh water. I can always tell by the sand in the dishes.

 

I don't bathe unless it's a new guy. I have deep enough water bowls that my largest crab can go and soak.
There was a debate going on about stresscoat. I will see if I can find the link.
The Crab Street Journal : Hermit Crab Magazine » Forums » That's Debatable » Bathing (Warning: This is a little long winded)

 

Well I bath my crabbies once a week,with hermit crab salt which gives them calcium they need and strengthens their exoskeleton.I heard its good to give them once a weak baths becaus it moistens there gills which they will slowly suffocate and die if not dried It also takes away any excess stuff like sand,tht gets stuck on them,tht's why I bath them once a week I think tht's wht ur supposed to do they have alot more info on Hermit-Crabs.com u can go there I'ts pretty helpful k bye. ;}

 

that isnt true. if the humidity in your tank is 72-82% and you have bowls big enough for them to bathe in themselves you do not need to bathe them once a week. i only bathe my crabs when adding one to the tank.

 

It doesnt stress them unless you bathe it everyday.

 

thats like saying you dont get stressed taking tests unless you take them everyday.

 

I used to give my crabbies a bath every Saturday, but now I only bathe them when I first get them. I do have deep enough pools for them to submerge themselves.

 

Bathing them in salt water will not give them the calcium they need. They need to eat it to be beneficial.

I am so lost with this info" heard its good to give them once a weak baths becaus it moistens there gills which they will slowly suffocate and die if not dried" What are you trying to say exactly?

Also, hermit-crabs.com isnt the best site to get info from. Check for more up to date sites where information is updated frequently.

 

I NEVER bathe mine - other than when I first get them. If you think about crabs in the wild, they do not have humans to come in and give them a bath once a week. They live with sand in their shells, etc. I strongly believe that if you provide fresh and salt water dishes, that is all they require and they will take care of themselves. Their gills won't dry out walking in and out of the "pools" we provide for them.

 

ive got a salt and a fresh water pool deep enough for my crabs to submerge but i give them a bath about every 2-3 week i notice it energizes them and puts them in a really good mood.

 

I DON'T bathe my crabs. they are pretty active and fine after months of not bathing them. I only mist mine.

 

I think that if your dishes are deep enough for them to bath themselves and easy to get in and out of, that they know when they need to, and will take care of themselves. Being rained on in the wild is not the same as being submerged in water, and when we do it their shell water mix probably gets all messed up. They know better than we do what is right for them and I let them decide.

But if you're adding new crabs to an existing group you should bath the new ones in case they have mites or something.

 

Yes, their water dish is up to their eyes so they bathe themselves! I do bathe new crabbies, but I don't like regular bathing of them.

 

I only give new ones a bath... Because I want to make sure that they got all the bad stuff out of their shells from the pet store. Thats it after that I just let them do their thing. They can spend a while in their dishes so I don't bother with getting them out and giving them a bath. I just let them take care of it themselves.