Do Hermit crabs pee? This is one of the most curious things so many people want to know. Knowing that they do live in other animals’ shells almost all their lives and barely comes out, you may begin to think if they could really urinate and how exactly they do that while staying in a shell. In this article, we will discuss all the processes these animals take to urinate.
Do hermit crabs pee? Hermit crabs do urinate, but they don’t do it through their anus, they have antennal glands close to the eyes that they use to pee. You may never see this happen because hermit crabs can urinate without leaving their shells.
This means that they don’t urinate right inside their shell as many people do think they do, but they do it from their face, which is interesting and strange too.
Asking if hermit crabs can urinate is like asking if mammals could do the same because all living things that eat and drink must have a way to eliminate their waste product or waste matter, so they do pee like every other animal.
Hermit crabs could pee, but their urine will not be noticeable to humans.
This is because their urine is tiny and not as powerful as other animals, so, it’s insignificant and could not be noticed while watching them do it with naked eyes.
Because we can’t notice them pee with naked eyes, no wonder many people do ask a lot of questions about the possibility of this animal urinating.
Many people think that this animal could only pee in their shell, maybe that’s why you can’t see them pee, well, that is very wrong because they have antennal glands close to the eyes that are used to pee. You may never see this happen because hermit crabs can urinate without leaving their shells.
So, hermit crabs do pee through their face or should I say through their head.
They only Poop through their anus, which drops in their shell and would later be pushed out into their tank’s substrates with their legs.
So, this is to say that they could pee and poop just like every other animal.
Do Hermit Crabs Pee When Scared?
A lot of people do say that hermit crabs will normally pee when they are scared. You might be wondering how true this might be.
Yes, Hermit crabs do pee when they are scared. When picked up and held in the hand, they will pee out of fear, but Many times we do not notice this because their pee is tiny and not powerful enough to be noticed.
Many animals have their unique ways of expressing fear and shock, and so, do hermit crabs too.
Their method of expressing fear and shock is that they pee.
So, indeed it’s true that hermit crabs will pee if they are scared, but you might not possibly notice it.
Do Crabs Pee From The Eyes?
Yes, they pee from their face close to their eyes. They have antennal glands close to the eyes that are used to pee. You may never see this happen because hermit crabs can urinate without leaving their shells.
So, their urinary gland is located on their face and they use it to release urine whenever they want to.
Apart from urinating to release tension from their body system, they also do it with each other.
What I mean to say is, that they urinate on each other to communicate.
Although this sounds weird, it’s true. They use urine as a means of communication.
Apart from urinating on themselves to communicate, they also use it to claim territories.
We all know that crabs are very territorial, and sometimes are very aggressive to each other.
So, one of the ways they use to pass information to other crabs to stay out of their territory is to urinate all over their territory, which others will perceive and stay clear.
Although as human beings, we can’t smell their urine, but, they do.
Do Hermit Crabs Pee A Lot
Knowing that Hermit Crabs could pee through their head and closer to their eyes, you might want to know how frequently they normally do that.
Do Hermit Crabs pee a lot? Yes, hermit crabs do pee very frequently, but they do it in a small quantity that it wouldn’t be noticeable.
How frequently they could pee could not be measured because it really depends on the body system of the crabs, and even how frequently they drink water.
So, the simple answer is, that they pee a lot and very frequently too.
One funny thing about these creatures is, that they pee anyhow they want, this includes peeing on tank walls, substrates, caves, etc.
They will urinate anyhow they like and anywhere they want without limitation, so that’s why it’s very important to also clean the tank walls when you clean their tank in order to avoid the urinary smell, etc.
Again their urine might serve as potential water for them when recycled.
Although their pee doesn’t smell that bad, but when they accumulate, it will start giving an offensive odor, especially it will make the tank and water very unsafe for other animals in there, especially fish.
So, it’s very nice to at least clean the tank and rake the substrates always and the walls inclusive too.
Conclusion
Hermit crabs do pee, but they don’t do it the way many people see it.
References
