non organic mulches

Hermit Crab help (new crab no idea)?

I just got a crab and I love it. It is so active it crawls on my hand and climbs things. I bought on a board walk and it came with a little cage, food, water sponge, gravel, and a fake tree. After researching online I found out that the things the sold me weren’t actually the best thing for a hermit crab. My mom is refusing to spend anymore money on this crab. I made him a non-chlorinated dish of water, a shelter out of a dried out cantaloup rind, and a climbing place out of kinx. I put him in an old empty glass aquarium. I have a couple problems: One, I need something besides gravel. I have some mulch and that fake Easter grass. As well as some organic (non pine) hamster plush stuff. Also it said my hermit crab needed salt water not made of table salt? Lastly do i need to get him a little friend?

good for you for doing the research and making a better environment … maybe you could convince your mom to spend just five dollars more ??? at home depot or walmart or toys r us you can buy a large bag of play sand which is suitable for hermit crabs and the cost is only about five dollars … the substrate is supposed to be damp all of the time and deep enough so they can bury completely and tunnel, so i would not suggest the easter grass or the hamster stuff, and mulch, you truly have no idea what is in that so i would not suggest … definitely he needs a friends cuz a solitary hermit crab is always stressed, stress leads to illness and death … and they do require salt water … my local fish store sells small tubs of marine salt for five dollars in which i use to make up the water … they need salt water to bathe and drink and they also store some in their shells which is helpful for their gills … you do also need two gauges (zoo med makes one that is two in one) to measure the heat and humidity of the tank … the humidity should be pushing 80 and the temp should be 75 or over … if these are not maintained, the crab will die … hermit crabs breathe through modified gills, kind of like fish, and without enough humidity in the tank they slowly suffocate … and again, good for you for doing the research into what your new pet needs … the cantaloupe rind hut is genius :O)

Stop Mulching. Use Magic Mulch!