Short-sheared land hermit crab - Coenobita brevimanus

The short scissors land hermit crab Coenobita brevimanus comes from the coasts of the Southwest Pacific. It grows up to 15 cm in size and weighs up to 230 g. It is one of the largest land hermit crabs from the genus Coenobita. Here you can get young specimens with 2 to 3 cm. As with all land hermit crabs the abdomen of Coenobita brevimanus is soft. Therefore the short-snouted hermit crab needs a snail shell to protect it. When the animals shed their skin and grow as a result, they often need a new shell. We recommend to keep at least three suitable snail shells per land hermit in the terrarium and three slightly larger ones. Short-sheared hermits like to take the shells of snails of the genera Turbo or Tonna, but they are not so much attached to them and also try other shells. Since the land hermit always carries a supply of water in the shell with which it moistens its gills when needed, it is important to offer only intact shells.

Its name short claw land hermit refers to the distinct difference in size of its claws: One is much larger and beefier than the other. Color-wise, Coenobita brevimanus is very interesting and pretty with its brown to bright purple colored legs. The sexual characteristics in the separately sexed short scissors land hermit crabs are hidden in the shell. Do not pull them out! Once the land hermit moves, you can carefully look at the abdomen - in the females you can see "fuzz" on the left side (the remains of the swimming legs, to which the eggs are also attached when the ladies carry), in the male everything is smooth.

It is possible to breed land hermit crabs in the hobby. The breeding is done in brackish water, similar to the Amana shrimp. After mating, a female land hermit crab lays a large number of very small eggs. Unfortunately, it is not possible to see from the outside if a female is carrying. At the end of the gestation period, larvae are released in the water vessel and must be transferred to a separate rearing vessel containing brackish water.

Unlike other land hermit crabs, Coenobita brevimanus is usually not found on the beach, but further inland on grasslands and in rainforests near the coast. Thus it is not dependent on brackish water in the terrarium, it gets along permanently with fresh water very well. The social and peaceful Coenobita brevimanus is a group animal and needs the company of at least three to five conspecifics. There are no disputes with other terrestrial hermit species either. Since these hermits grow very large, the terrarium size should be 80 cm or larger. If the land hermits of the group are of different sizes, this is no problem, even small land hermits are not suppressed. Since short scissors hermit crabs are skilled climbers, they readily accept cork tubes, roots and thicker branches in the terrarium as a place to climb.

A bowl of fresh water with the water just high enough to not completely cover the smallest hermit is usually sufficient as a water basin. Do not forget a piece of wood or cork or a flat stone as an exit aid! Depending on the size of the animals, the size of the bowl should also be chosen. Alternatively you can offer two or more water bowls. Coenobita brevimanus like to dig, especially for moulting they dig themselves in completely. The substrate must have a sufficient height for this. It should also be permanently moist. We recommend a mixture of peat and sand or coconut based terrarium humus.

Coneobita brevimanus needs a humidity of 70 to 85%, which is achieved by the permanently moist substrate and by daily spraying. The preferred temperature of 22 to 29 degrees can be easily achieved with a heat lamp, a floor heating cable is not necessary.

Plants are either actively eaten by Coenobita brevimanus or destroyed when crawling over them. We recommend - if it should be plants at all - only hard-leaved and non-toxic plants. Store-bought plants must be kept outside the terrarium for two months (or longer) and kept free of soil before they are used.

Red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables in particular provide the short-scissor hermit crab with astaxanthin, a very important pigment for its immune system and coloration. Please pay attention to unsprayed goods! However, Coenobita brevimanus is not a pure herbivore. It also needs protein in the form of unseasoned uncooked fish, frozen food, FD food ... Please remove leftover food from the terrarium before it goes bad. A good, natural permanent food is brown autumn leaves from native trees like beech, oak or hornbeam. As a source for calcium intake, a cuttlebone, for example, is a good food for the terrestrial hermits to nibble on.

As a clean-up troop, we recommend white isopods or springtails for the terrarium.

Our recommendation: Use NatureHolic InVitros for planting. These are free of snails, planaria and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid when keeping invertebrates. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your invertebrates. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.