mites?

[Kaleighshermies]

how do hermit crabs get mites and how do you prevent them?

[ceo1282]

I was just reading up on this on the site http://www.hermit-crabs.com. Under the FAQ section there's a part on mites, how to prevent them & how to get rid of them. It's another very helpful site for hermie related questions. I hope that helps

[samurai_crab]

Mites will either occur naturally on the hermit crabs in the wild or if a harvester is keeping a lot of hermit crabs from different collection areas, or different species they could pick them up while they are at the harvesting facility.

[Kaleighshermies]

alrighty thanks, mine have no mites as far as I know so hopefully I'm all set

[Jackolope]

I just got over a mite problem. I had white mites and after lots of research I found it was related to food or wood I found at the beach. I got rid of the wood, and began bathing my crabs once a day in dechlorinated water for a week the same temp as their enclosure and then wiping the bugs off them with a soft q-tip. I found that gently pouring the water over their backs was more successful than the full submersion because it prevented the bugs from floating back onto the crabs. And clean everything in the tank with boiling water (I filled the bathtub). Get rid of any substrate and replace it. DO NOT USE CHEMICALS TO WASH THE TANK OR CRABS EVER!!!

So far both crabs seem clear of bugs. good luck.