The 8 Best Hermit Crab Habitats

Best Overall

ReptiZoo Full Glass 15 Gallon Reptile Tank

$76 at Amazon $76 at Wayfair View on Reptizoo.store

Most of the tanks on the market that are best for hermit crabs are primarily marketed as homes for reptiles or amphibians. While it's common to see hermit crabs sold in small plastic terrariums, they provide an inadequate amount of space for your hermit crab's optimal health. Look for an aquarium or terrarium with a minimum 10-gallon capacity to ensure that your crab has enough space to live their best life.

The ReptiZoo Full Glass 15 Gallon Reptile Tank has a ventilated top with a thin net screen designed to allow for heat penetration (from an external light, for example) and temperature control—perfect for creating the hot and humid climate in which hermit crabs thrive. The lid also has a separate feeding hole, so you don't have to remove the entire lid to access the tank.

With generous dimensions—20 inches wide, 12 inches deep, and 14 inches high—there’s also plenty of room for hermit crabs to move around, climb on branches and rocks, and dig down into your preferred hermit crab substrate. While the sides aren't sealed like an aquarium, the tank includes a PVC tray at the bottom that allows you to control the wetness of the sand and substrate to keep your crabs comfortable.

The ReptiZoo Full Glass Reptile Tank comes packaged as individual panels that are a cinch to assemble.

_{Dimensions: 20 x 12 x 14 inches︱Capacity: 15 gallons︱Materials Included: Glass terrarium, sliding and ventilated lid, PVC tray}

Best Starter Kit

Zoo Med ReptiHabitat Hermit Crab Kit

$97 at Petco $80 at PetSmart

Zoo Med makes one of the highest-end—but not prohibitively expensive—all-inclusive kits on the market. Most importantly, it has a 10-gallon tank that fits the recommended dimensions for young (less than 5 years) and non-oversized hermit crabs. (If you are trying to accommodate a significant number of larger crabs, a 20-gallon aquarium or terrarium will serve your purposes better.) The 20 by 10 by 12-inch design provides enough space for your be-shelled friends to roam a little more freely.

The terrarium also comes with a sliding screen top, which is a perfect way of maintaining air circulation within the crabitat while controlling temperature and humidity and not leaving the tank totally exposed. With the 5-pound white sandbag and a brick of soil, the kit also provides the requisite amount of substrate for your crab or for crabs to burrow into happily. To keep the sand clean and fresh, you can bake or rinse and dry it for easy reuse.

To keep your crabitat sanitary and well-balanced with the nutrients hermit crabs need, Zoo Med’s kit includes both salt and drinking water conditioners and mineral blocks. There’s also a nice portion of crab food, which can be placed in an accompanying tree-stump-like small food and water dish that blends right into the picturesque habitat. All of the directives about how to use these items to take care of your little friends, of course, are covered in the kit’s accompanying hermit crab care guide.

Before you invest in this cost-effective package, note that is a starter kit. The dimensions of the terrarium are the minimum for what is recommended for a crab tank, designed to house four hermit crabs that are 1 inch wide or less, or two to three crabs that are 2 inches wide. Should they grow extensively, or if you want to add more to the family, you’ll need to invest in a bigger home, since generally 10 gallons is the minimum recommended size.

_{Dimensions: 20 x 10 x 12 inches︱Capacity: 10 gallons︱Materials Included: Terrarium, sliding screen top, substrate, food/water dish, food, mineral block, drinking water conditioner, salt water conditioner, care guide}

Best Splurge

Tetra Aquarium 20 Gallon Fish Tank Kit

$117 at Amazon $148 $83 at Walmart

At a slightly higher price point than the ReptiZoo 15-gallon we recommended, hermit crab owners can get 5 extra gallons and some extra room for their crabs to move around in. The tank is 24.2 inches long and 12.4 inches wide, providing enough space to accommodate multiple hermit crabs.

Designed for fish originally, this Tetra product also offers significantly more high-tech temperature and lighting control options, coming complete with an LED hood and a mini-heater. For hermit crabs, 8 to 12 hours of LED light are ideal, and the built-in heater will offer additional capacity for keeping humidity and warmth at exactly the desired levels.

While many of the included accessories will be useful for a hermit crab habitat, there are several included items that will go to waste, including a water filter and artificial aquarium plants—one potential downside to this kit.

_{Dimensions: 24.2 x 12.4 x 16.7 inches︱Capacity: 20 gallons︱Materials Included: Aquarium, LED hood, mini UL heater, water filter, artificial boxwood plant mat, four artificial plants}

Best Portable

Lee's Hermit Crab Hideaway

$37 at Amazon View on Petco View on Feederspetsupply.com

Lee's Hermit Crab Hideaway comes with a handful of essentials needed for a hermit crab to thrive while on the go. The plastic tank comes together quickly with a ventilated lid complete with a top door for easy access to your pet and a handle for transport.

The easy-to-clean kit comes with a natural sea sponge for watering, a plastic plant, natural gravel, a hut where your crab can hide, and a detachable night sky scene. The lid comes in a variety of colors, but the color you receive might not match the color pictured online.

_{Dimensions: 12 x 8 x 7.5 inches︱Capacity: Not listed︱Materials Included: Tank, natural sea sponge, plastic plant, natural gravel, hut, night sky scene}

Best Budget

Aqueon Standard 10-Gallon Glass Aquarium

$43 $30 at Amazon $47 at Chewy $60 at Walmart

This budget starter tank option distinguishes itself from other similar options because of its better quality glass and one-piece, center-braced frames—since it's strong enough to hold water without the glass bowing, it will be more than adequate for retaining a hermit crab substrate.

It also has generous dimensions that will permit crabby roaming at every angle. It’s an attractive as well as sturdy line of aquariums, too, available in a wide range of sizes with black or oak trim styling.

The only drawback is the lack of a top, but this can be purchased separately.

_{Dimensions: 20.25 x 10.5 x 12.63 inches︱Capacity: 10 gallon︱Materials Included: Aquarium}

Best Acrylic Tank

HerpCult Acrylic Habitat

View on Amazon View on Chewy

The standout feature of this fully transparent acrylic enclosure is its one-click sliding magnetic lid which makes it easy to tend to your hermit crab while keeping it securely inside the roomy habitat. If you have small children, you'll appreciate the strong magnets of the Acrylic Clear-Top Habitat from HerpCult, which can deter curious hands from lifting open the lid.

The sturdy flat top design means it's stackable. Also, ventilation holes on the sides of the terrarium ensure there is constant airflow. Note that the lid can warp under humid conditions, which can make it challenging to close.

^{Dimensions: 12 x 8 x 6 inches︱Capacity: 6-10 gallons︱Materials Included: Enclosure}

Best Hidey Hut

SunGrow Hermit Crab Huts

$12 at Amazon

In a crabitat, good hideaway huts are sometimes considered a cute accessory rather than a necessity. But given hermit crab’s need for sun protection, they are critical to any healthy and functioning crab environment, often a sense of a home base and a respite from sunlight. Make sure to invest in a hidey hut or two, at least—they don’t cost much and they are the complement to shells that hermit crabs need to maintain comfort and peak health 24 hours a day.

This three-pack of shady 5x3-inch huts will give your crabs a comfortable resting spot. Often, owners build the huts into a larger tunnel-like living space for the crabs or spread them out in their tank to give them separate outposts to move between.

Made of coconut hide, Sungrow’s huts will give your crab tank a great aesthetic, but also, the rugged, textured exterior provides a great climbing surface for crabs trying to get in some exercise or make full use of their space. It also nicely creates the look of a hermit crab’s indigenous marine home in the wild.

_{Dimensions: 5 x 3 inches (each hut)︱Capacity: N/A︱Materials Included: 3 huts}

Best Shell

Zoo Med Hermit Crab Shell

$6 $5 at Amazon $4 at Chewy View on Petco

As a hermit crab outgrows their current shell, it's important to offer a new larger shell for them to move into when they are ready. The Hermit Crab Growth Shell from Zoo Med comes in assorted colors and styles that are grouped into two sizes, large or extra large. Each natural shell has a large opening with a smooth interior to be inviting for a hermit crab.

Since the shells are natural, the shells pictured online will likely vary from the shells you actually receive. Each shell is sold individually, so you might want to purchase two or more to give your hermit crab options. Plus, the extra shells will also serve as decor in your tank.

_{Dimensions: 2 x 4 x 7 inches (large); 2.5 x 4 x 7.5 inches (x-large)︱Capacity: Varies︱Materials Included: One shell}