How to Clean Hermit Crab Sand

Easy to care for and enjoyable to watch, hermit crabs make great first pets. However, just like any pet, they need good care, and that includes cleaning their tank. Small food particles and droppings easily get mixed into the sand. The food will rot and make the hermit crabs sick, so it does need to be removed regularly. Looking at the mix of sand and old food you may be wondering just how you are going to clean that out. Actually, cleaning the sand is quite easy and shouldn't take more than a couple minutes a day.

Things You'll Need

• Sieve
• Clean sand

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Spot clean the sand on a daily basis. Remove any uneaten pieces of food by hand that you can.

   • 2

     Use a kitchen sieve to sift out the smaller droppings and food pieces. Shift the sand with the sieve once a week. If the sieve is too big to fit into the tank, use a cup to scoop the sand into the sieve.

   • 3

     Replace the sand once every six months. When replacing the sand, save about 25 percent of the old sand to mix into the new clean sand. The old sand has beneficial bacteria that helps maintain a healthful environment.