Vampire crab "Borneo red" - Geosesarma penangense

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red", also called Glow Sc issor Crab or Glow Scissor Vampire C rab, belongs to the crab species Geosesarma penangense. The bright red to orange-red clawed hands give the glow-scissors vampire crab "Borneo red" from the Indonesian island of Borneo its name. Like all vampire crabs, the Southeast Asian land crab Geosesarma penangense "Borneo red" is highly prized in vivaristics - their great color and interesting social behavior make them great terrarium pets.

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" is dark brown, except for its bright red to orange-red claws and red leg attachments, and has brown eyes. With a carapace diameter of about 1.5 cm, the Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" is a rather small Geosesarma species. The abdominal flap of the male Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" tapers towards the front and is V-shaped. In the female the abdominal flap is wider and rounded in a U-shape.

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" is a very social group animal and like all vampire crabs needs to live together with conspecifics of their own species. Please never keep the glow shear land crab in solitary confinement, this would not be species appropriate! Geosesarma penangense "Borneo red" must also not be kept with other crab species in a terrarium - the Penang Vampire Crab is very good in a species terrarium. Springtails and white is opods are suitable as additional stock, which at the same time clean up a little in the terrarium, for example, with food remains and also serve as a live food source for the small crabs.

A diversely furnished wet terrarium is ideal for Geosesarma crabs. A tank from 60 x 30 cm floor space fits well for a small group of 5-6 Penang Vampire Crabs "Borneo red". Make sure there is a surplus of females - 2 males should live with 3-4 females in the group. Geosesarma penangense "Borneo red" as a land crab is well adapted to life on land; the animals only need a shallow, small water part with fresh water, for example a water bowl. The water should be about 10 cm deep. A larger water part is possible, but not necessary. Especially for molting the vampire crabs like to go into the water. The hardness of the water does not matter.

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" should have an air temperature of 20 to 26 °C and a humidity of about 80-90% in its humid terrarium. The Geosesarma needs a permanently moist substrate, and you should also spray water into the terrarium with a spray bottle every morning and evening - or run a nebulizer to keep the humidity high. Geosesarma penangense "Borneo red" is an excellent climber and needs for this reason an escape-proof terrarium, in which the doors and ventilation plates must close tightly without gaps.

As substrate coco humus or terrarium humus in a humid terrarium are well suited. Because Geosesarma as pure carnivores do not go to plants, you can plant the substrate well, but you should keep in mind that the Glow Vampire Crab likes to dig. Therefore you should also mound up the substrate about 10 cm high and not only keep it permanently moist for stabilization. Geosesarma penangense "Borneo red" likes to dig their short living bur rows in the substrate. Brown foliage serves as a hiding place for the Geosesarma.

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" belongs to the specialized reproductive type: the females carry rather few, but rather large eggs in their abdominal valve. They are carried and nursed in the abdominal flap until fully developed small juvenile crabs hatch at the end of the gestation period. Immediately after hatching, the small Geosesarma are on their own in the terrarium and go exploring. Because the adults chase the young and also the young crabs decimate each other, you should provide many hiding places in the Geosesarma terrarium.

Tubes, lots of foliage, also perforated bricks and in general a varied arrangement in the terrarium helps the crabs enormously, and the survival chances of the young animals increase decisively. If you want to increase the survival rate of the young Penang Vampire Crabs "Borneo red" even more, you should put the juvenile crabs together in their own well furnished rearing terrarium without adults. If the juvenile crabs are separated early into their own rearing tanks, the survival rate increases again very significantly.

The Penang Vampire Crab "Borneo red" as a pure carnivore likes to eat frozen food, FD food like freeze-dried insects and of course live food like the already mentioned white isopods and springtails. As dry food we recommend our special food for carnivorous crabs NatureHolic Krabbenfeed.