Crabby Cravings
Hermit crab and exotic pet supplies
Coenobita perlatus
Common Names: Strawberry Hermit Crab, Straws, Red Hermit Crab, Ruby Hermit Crab
Identifying features: Strawberry hermit crabs have, as their name suggests, a somewhat strawberry like appearance! Usually bright red with good care, they feature white “dots”, not unlike the seeds on a strawberry, over their legs and body. Their eyes have the appearance of polished hematite.
Colour range: Usually red, the intensity of the colour can vary from white through to almost black naturally. Dull or lack luster colour can often be an indicator of poor health or diet.
Temperature: 29c
Humidity: 85%
Shell preference: Round openings such as green, silvermouth, Mexican, tapestry and jade turbos. They also enjoy land snail shells, foxheads and some murex as options.
Dietary needs: A high quality diet is especially important to the colouration of strawberries, adding in extra beta carotene rich foods will assist with this, as will the presence of plenty of flowers, krill and leaf litter.
Coenobita perlatus are probably the most popular species among enthusiasts, but also sadly the most delicate by far. With an almost ruby like attraction they sell easily and sell fast. Although they are often readily sold by suppliers they are far more sensitive to stress and care issues than other species, with even highly experienced successful crabbers having issues maintaining them long term. It is recommended to have at least a years experience with healthy, thriving Coenobita clypeatus before moving to another species, but for perlatus the recommendation is generally for even more.
Despite their beautiful appearance Strawberries have a reputation as a natural bulldozing crew, taking the destructive habits of other species to even greater levels and randomly running rampant pulling down even the most carefully tailored tank. In these cases it is best to leave them to it as much as possible, setting right only what is necessary and keeping massive tidy up jobs to a minimum.
Substrate wise they do well on a base mixture of playsand and coir to the same ratios as the more common C clypeatus, 5 parts sand to 1 part coir. Addition of leaf litter, worm castings and such is beneficial as with other species. Extra substrate should be provided above the base minimum (7 inches or 3x the largest crab's height, whichever is deeper) to allow for their fondness for tunnelling.
For general care information please see the appropriate guides.