Wee wants to be big so bad

In: FAQ
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A hermit crab’s shell is his life sustaining home and his protection from predators and desiccation. Hermit crabs take up residence in discarded gastropod shells and can not make their own shell. “For the vast majority of crustaceans which we call hermit crabs, the behavior patterns by which individuals utilize empty gastropod shells as shelter are critical to the crab’s existence. Orientation to shells, selection of a shell to enter, entry of a shell, and subsequent living the shell are all behaviors which directly affect the Darwinian fitness of an individual crab. Failure to find or efficiently enter a shell at all can rapidly andRead More →

Pet Store Letter Writing Campaign

In: General
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Our pet store letter writing campaign is a simple way you can advocate for the proper care of land hermit crabs in pet stores. Pet Store Appeal Packet In our Pet Store Appeal packet we have a pre written letter that anyone is free to use. It is a form letter that allows you to add your name, signature and contact info to make it more personalized. This is perfect for anyone who wants to work one on one with their local store to make improvements but needs some help opening the door. This letter comes with a special two sided caresheet that can beRead More →

In: Painted Shells
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Painted shells are inhumane, unnecessary, and destroy a much needed natural resource. Please speak out about this to your local pet shops who continue to order hermit crabs in painted shells just so they can charge more for them. Hermit crabs are forced out of their natural shell. One method can be seen in the video below, the crabs are placed in a vice and their natural shell is destroyed. Other methods include heating the shell so the crab abandons it, drilling a hole and poking the crab with a wire until it abandons the shell. Hermit crabs are often forced into the shells whileRead More →

In: Crabitat, General
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written by Kerie Campbell 2005 Two months ago, during deep clean, I took my largest compressus,Houdini, out of the tank, turned him over to have a look, and a red…thing fell out of his shell. I couldn’t believe it! Mites!Huge, red mites. Houdini had a few, Fifi had some, and poor Ghidra,a pre-molt rugosus, was covered with them. I was appalled. I inspect new crabs when I get them for mites, and have never seen any. The only explanation I have is that these mites, being a bright red color, must have snuck in on some of the perlatus – they are the same colorRead More →

In: FAQ, Food and Nutrition
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This article is no longer being updated. Please use the new, comprehensive hermit crab food list! Hermit Crabs are beach scavengers and they can and will eat a wide range of things. General rules: Avoid chemicals, pesticides, table salt, moldy foods, plants that are toxic to animals. For hermit crab nutritional needs and the foods that provide them, download our hermit crab nutritional food chart as a PDF. Written by Kerie Campbell Fruits – Fresh or Wrinkly? I’ve read a lot about fresh fruits being in their diets, which I use a lot of BTW. But I’ve read a lot about people putting in fruitsRead More →