Newb here with pet crabs!

[cornflakes]

I'm working overseas temporarily and got bored so i picked up 3 little crabs as pets. This is the first time owning crabs so I have lots of questions.

First off, I don't know exactly what kind of crabs they are. Fiddlers? Here is the photos of them.

If anyone can identify what kind of crabs they are that would be great. I just made a little new house for them using some store bought pebbles, fake plants, toilet paper roll, egg carton (for shelter) and a hollow wooden box. I also put out a small bowl of water (not tap water but from the water bottle). I also have a small mound of crushed up dog pellet food for them. They were eating it and also exploring the new home and one likes to sit in the water for hours.

Here is another photo:

My questions are:

1) Is my setup ok for them? Do they need sand instead or soil?
2) What kind of food can i give them (i dont have access to crab food here)
3) How often do I need to clean the house? Is it like changing bedding every 2 weeks or a month?
4) How much cold can they handle? The winter is coming and my room gets pretty cold (down to 8 - to 12 Celsius)...i dont use heating here.

5) How long do they normally live for?

Any other tips would be helpful thanks!

 

[Cleggat]

Hello!

It looks like yours crabs are red-clawed crabs (Perisesarma bidens), brilliant little critters to have, however they are also brilliant escape artist, they might surprise you with their skill in that field. So their set up is best with some sort of lid, preferably in my opinion being mesh, with holes no bigger than a third of the size of one of the crab, to give good aeration. Preferably their set up should be 50% water 50% land, the water containing a filter.

Food wise, these little guys aren't picky and will very happily accept catfish pellets, fish, shrimp, bloodworms etc. As for temperature, they should ideally have 25 degrees Celsius but can fair well in 21 - 27 degrees Celsius and lifespan is around 3-4 years.

Hope this helped, and I hope you have good fun caring for your new critters!

 

[cornflakes]

wow thanks for that information.
Yes, I did notice that they were analysing the new home and looking for ways to climb up (they stretched sideways to reach as far up as they could) and one of them even climbed the fake plants.

What if I am not able to get a filter for the water? Is it ok to just use a small bowl of water and change it every couple days or so?

Also, during the winter season, I won't be able to keep my room between 21 - 27 celsius. It will be 13 degrees celsius pretty much all the time. Will that be ok for the crabs? I try to cover the container 75% with a blanket to see if that might help keep it a little warmer.

 

[Cleggat]

They are brilliant climbers, they can easily climb up cables/wires.

They should be ok without a filter, as long as you change it every few days like you suggested. 13 degrees is a bit low but they should be fine in it, they may slow down a bit however.

 

[cornflakes]

thanks again for your advice. I ended up getting a slightly larger container for the water. I've noticed only the male likes to go down into the water and stay there for hours.