Hermit crabs

[J.J. Walters]

Last summer, while at the beach, my kids wanted to get some hermit crabs, so we did. "They are easy to take care of", said the guy at the tourist trap shop. "All you need to do is put in a little dish of water and some of this (commercial) hermit crab food, and you are good to go." So we buy three of them (one for each kid), a little plastic container, and some commercial hermit crab food. The man in the store threw in some gravel for free and gave us a little pamphlet on how to care for the crabs. How nice.

So, we get home and, not wanting to be an ignorant "poacher", I start researching the little guys on the net. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hermit crabs require a specific humidity level range (75-85%) in order to survive, otherwise they will slowly suffocate to death! Hermit crabs require a specific temperature range (73-85 degrees), otherwise they will die. Hermit crabs molt (a stressful process) and require a proper substrate (play sand and coconut fiber are good, gravel is bad!) in order to bury themselves so they can shed their exoskeleton. Hermit crabs require lots of extra shells, as they are constantly searching for just the right home (if the crabs can’t find the right home they get stressed). If hermit crabs don’t have the right shell, they will fight other crabs for their shells (known as "shell fighting"). Hermit crabs shouldn’t eat the commercial crab food, they should eat "regular" food (they are scavengers after all), but only certain kinds of food (for example, iodine is bad for them and could kill them). Painted shells are bad. The paint chips off, they eat it, and can die.

The guy at the store (and his little pamphlet) didn’t tell the whole story. No sir, far from it in fact!

Armed with this knowledge about hermit crabs, I set out to create a good environment for them to thrive so my kids can enjoy them. I get a spare 20 gal. tank from a family member. I get play sand, temp/humidity gauges, plenty of extra shells of varying sizes, hiding places, an under-tank heating pad, fake plants, two water bowls (one fresh, one salt), the whole nine yards - over a $100 bucks, easy. The temperature seems right. With periodic water spraying, the humidity seems right. Thanks to a "hermie menu" I found online, the food seems right. I even bought a few more crabs (as they are social creatures, the more the merrier). The crabs seemed happy and content…

Wrong! One guy molted and never came back up. Dead! One guy was ripped out of his shell by another crab and had his back four legs ripped off! Found him "naked" by the water pool. Dead! Another guy was ripped out of his shell and had two legs missing. Dead! Another guy just plain expired, probably from stress from all the death and destruction around him. There should be two "hermies" left, but I find only one. The missing one was apparently eaten alive during the molting process (as can, apparently, happen)! Eaten alive!? Jesus, it's like Agincourt or the Somme in there! The tank has a horrible smell of death! My kids don’t even want to look at the tank anymore. It's too depressing!

I did everything I was supposed to do (and more) and our little colony didn’t make it to six months! Well, there is actually one guy left. He's our little "shell-shocked" hero. But he'll probably die some horrible death soon, too.

Anyway, that's our story. Be forewarned, these guys are not so easy to care for, no matter what they tell you at the store!

[Doc Ibold]

Moral of the story...

Don't get crabs.



All you smart alecks can comment.

[golfmobile]

Sorry!! ROTFLMAO!! Now that could be due to James' entertaining recitation of the facts. But generally non-domesticated pets of any kind are virtually impossible to keep alilve AND healthy. Heck, even a salt-water fish tank is ROYAL pain in the ___ - I speak from experience -- e.g., you can have coral and anemones, or you can have the fish, but you can't have both -- unless you have a tank (and the FUNDS) to support something the size of a public aquarium -- they require different water temps, ph, etc., etc.

So don't buy little baby turtles, chickies, duckies, rabbits, snakes, blah, blah, blah. Buy tropical fish that are raised in aquariums and "understand" that environment, or adopts cat(s) or dog(s) from the shelter. But just realize a pet is a 24/7 job -- just like kids. (well, maybe cats aren't, they're pretty independent as long as they have food and water and a litter box) You could try a pet skunk or ferret, but those still have their own "rules." You want a pet for a child -- get a domesticated animal -- or tank fish. But don't put a betta in a fish tank with other fish.

I've had 'em all -- even the skunk (which I actually really liked . . .), but cats teach kids dignity and dogs teach them love and discipline (do NOT have a dog withOUT discipline -- Barack and Michelle, are you listening? Probably not).

Okay, off the soap box for tonight, and I'll go hug my kitties . . . .



golf

[Italian Ice]

I like cats, I have one, but she's a little evil.

The flashy eyes remind me of "cats of the damned" !!

That really sucks about the crabs. They would be real cool pets if they can be managed. Can't believe the store owner didn't know any better though. You should really let him have it or have a talk with him.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

James, We have had one in a humidified aquarium for over three years. I don't think it is ever going to die. We have already told the girls when this one is gone NO MORE!

[Steve]

OMG that's a funny story. I'm going to save it for the next time my son wants to bring home some exotic pet from our vacations. My stock answer is we will start him out with a Chia Pet and see how he does with that......LOL!

By the way, were you more upset about the time and effort spent, or the fact that you didn't get to see some of the "shell fighting".........

[Sparkle & Fizz]

James, I admire your efforts to do the right thing for those poor little guys!

Golf, your cats are beautiful! We have two rescued Maine Coon cats whom we spoil rotten!

[J.J. Walters]

I forgot to add that the one crab that has survived is the smallest one ("Swirly Whirly"), and the last one to still have a painted shell as a home! Oh, the irony!

Moral of the story...

Don't get crabs.

So true! That is, unless it's steamed and sitting on a plate in front of you!

Okay, off the soap box for tonight, and I'll go hug my kitties . . .

Beautiful cats golf! We would love to get a cat for the family, but our 4-year old is pretty much terrified of dogs and cats (and bugs and squirrels and ... pretty much anything that moves). Maybe when she gets a little older.

That really sucks about the crabs. They would be real cool pets if they can be managed. Can't believe the store owner didn't know any better though. You should really let him have it or have a talk with him.

It's apparently like that at a lot of touristy places. They just want to move 'em out. The store I went to later after I got them home, PetSmart, actually does a pretty good with the crabs - proper tank setup in the store, good information packet, lots of accessories.

James, We have had one in a humidified aquarium for over three years. I don't think it is ever going to die. We have already told the girls when this one is gone NO MORE!

I don't want to scare you or anything, but some people have had hermies for over twenty years!

OMG that's a funny story. I'm going to save it for the next time my son wants to bring home some exotic pet from our vacations. My stock answer is we will start him out with a Chia Pet and see how he does with that......LOL!

By the way, were you more upset about the time and effort spent, or the fact that you didn't get to see some of the "shell fighting".........

LOL Steve!!

I never really got to see any of the "shell fighting" because they are most active at night. The time and effort to maintain them really wasn't that bad after you get the tank setup. Getting the tank setup correctly (and with the proper humidity/temp levels) is a tricky. Designing the actual layout of the tank was fun, though. I thought it was paradise, but unforunately, it turned out to be a pit of despair!

[SelleckLover]

James J. Walters wrote:

I did everything I was supposed to do (and more) and our little colony didn’t make it to six months! Well, there is actually one guy left. He's our little "shell-shocked" hero. But he'll probably die some horrible death soon, too.

Wow James...thanks for the lovely, up-lifting, life-affirming story! Good thing I'm not depressed and on the brink of committing suicide...it probably would have pushed me over the edge! Oh! The humanity...or should I have said hermit-anity????? From now on I will resist the urge to purchase a hermit crab and stick to purchasing crabs at Joe's Crab Shack served to me on a plate with a fork! Bon Appetite!

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Great, only seventeen more years of the little fella! I think he may be going to college in a few years.

[Frodoleader]

Sounds like our experience with hermit crabs! We finally decided that the only pets we can successfully raise were furry ones. We now have a cat and two rats. Yes, rats! My wife loves them! And for all you smart alecks, she loves me too...at least I think she does!

For our next furry pet, I am trying to talk her into a German Shepherd Dog. I have always wanted one and now I have the land and time for one. Only have to convince the missus, and the cat!

[MPS]

James, I love the hermit crab story, sad as it was for your children. Have to agree with Golf on the furry domesticated pet issue. That said, I may have spent more time and money than you did, on a batch of butterflies this past winter. We have, on our tiny 50’ x 100’ beach lot, a wildlife habitat. It’s certified by NWF, HSUS and Audubon. There are loads of creatures living in and passing through this tiny space: 40 species of birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, toads, lizards, voles, bats and others I may not have seen.

Anyway, on to the butterflies…. Last December I noticed a number of Monarch caterpillars on some milkweed. December is much too late for caterpillars, so we kept an eye on them. It was cold, by California standards, and the caterpillars went through their instars rather slowly. We kept watching. When a heavy storm came through, my husband and son erected a lean-to to protect the caterpillars. We did a head count every day. After weeks, none had turned into chrysalises (due to the cold) so I decided they had to come inside. My son built a cage and in they came. By now we didn’t have enough milkweed left to feed them, so the hunt was on for a nursery that had a full size milkweed plant. Found one, bought it, and brought it home. It was just like the book, The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar. Now these guys are 2 inches long and eating every leaf I put in the cage. Finally, they began to turn into chrysalises. Now, anyone can watch a video on Youtube of this change, but when it happens right in your house, it’s easy to become a little too attached to the creatures.

Two weeks later, in a much larger and taller cage, we had butterflies. Butterflies, that couldn’t be released outside because their wings don’t work if it’s less than 70 degrees out. Butterflies, who would not eat by themselves. That’s right, they can migrate thousands of miles but they won’t eat without a little help. So, I’m up at 5:00 am to hand feed the butterflies. No small task because there were 15 in the first “litter”. Back home by 5:00pm to do it again. Finally, we had some warm weather and let them go, only to find a second batch of caterpillars. The story repeated itself. This time, I solved the feeding problem by buying a “travel” cage and bringing them to work. Students would stop by, after class, and feed them for me! It worked very well.

I also promised my husband that it would never happen again. Next winter it may be baby squirrels or bats!

[SelleckLover]

Wow, MPS...I'm very impressed with your dedication! Very admirable! The closest I've ever come to nurturing anything was just observing the teeniest little hummingbird's nest that was built on a string of Christmas lights left up waaaaaay too long on my balcony. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! It had the tiniest eggs in it and they actually did hatch. One day I checked the nest and the babies were gone.

[J.J. Walters]

Great story MPS! That's what I call dedication!

We have, on our tiny 50’ x 100’ beach lot, a wildlife habitat. It’s certified by NWF, HSUS and Audubon.

Neat! What kind of criteria do you have to meet in order to be a certified wildlife habitat?

[MPS]

Neat! What kind of criteria do you have to meet in order to be a certified wildlife habitat?

The basic requirements are to provide: food, water, shelter and a place to raise young.

We replaced most of our lawn with native California plants. We maintain a compost heap. We use no insecticides, so insects provide food for birds, raccoons, reptiles and bats. (These make up the food part)

We have a small pond (the water part).

The perimeter of the yard has tall, evergreen hedges and there is a 60 year-old tree in the center. We also have a couple of piles of rocks hidden in the corners (the shelter part)

Most of the plants and trees also provide a place to raise young. We have a squirrel drey (nest) and multiple bird nests right now. The reptiles use the areas around the pond and rock piles.

It works out very well. The animals keep the insect population down and are fun to watch. Right now, I have up hummingbird feeders because the hummingbirds are migrating through. In the winter we provide black oil sunflower seed and nyjer seed for the birds.

Since 5 of the 6 houses closest to us are doing the same type of thing, there is a synergistic effect. It's cool to come home from work and see what is hanging out in the yard. We have indoor cats who are always at the windows. It's like pet TV.