Iggy, my large hermit crab, on any given day: I *hate* you and I am prepared to pinch you at all times for any reason!!! I will run to a corner when you enter the room bc you are big and scary!!

Iggy when I break out the catappa leaves: LEAF??? MOTHER HAS PROVIDED LEAF???? I LIKE LEAF SLIGHTLY MORE THAN I HATE MOTHER!

A few things I’ve learned from keeping hermit crabs

So, back in October, my family took a weekend beach trip. At one of those beach shops there was a big hermit crab pit where you can pick out a free crab with purchase of a one of those little “pet” container. We’ve kept many different animals and little critters over the years. Hermit crabs were on my list of trying out one day, so I let my two daughters pick out one crab each.

On those few hours it took to drive home, I started doing research. It was basic hermit crab care. The more I researched, the more I realized that hermit crabs are NOT easy to take care of. They require so many specific supplies and care. Here’s some things I’ve learned-

Hermit crabs live a very long time. Up to 30+ years of taken care of correctly.

They require two pools: saltwater and freshwater. It can’t just be ANY water. It has to be dechlorinated. It can’t be just any salt. It has to be marine salt.

They need like a TON of sand to dig in and also molt so they can grow.

They need like so much protein and calcium and like four other types of minerals to just survive.

They have modified gills, so they need humidity like ALL THE TIME. (This was something I slacked on for the first 2 months I had my crabs. I’m hoping I didn’t damage their poor little gills beyond repair 😩)

They love climbing. That’s another thing I have lacked on, but once I get them moved into a bigger tank, I’ll have more climbing space for them.

They are cute as all get out! I love watching them (when they’re awake).

They use one of their little claws to pick their food and eat it. They also do that for water.

Hermit crabs are NOT throwaway pets!! They go through hell to become peoples pets. They’re taken from their lovely woods (bc they don’t live directly on the beach). Ripped from their shells. Forced into shells are most of the time toxic (do NOT use a paint shell). Placed in an environment that does not provide the correct humidity. People buy them as pets for their kids. Leave them in those little plastic containers to starve (bc that hermit crab “food” is not good for them) and slowly die.

It’s awful how hermit crabs are treated. Ive become way too passionate about this. But people need to know that they are not throwaway pets, and that they are treated inhumanely. If you want to keep a hermit crab, do LOTS of research. Even after 3 months, I’m still learning new facts about caring for them and I’m trying my best to give them a good life.

Btw, Crab Central Station is a great YouTube channel with so many helpful videos in hermit crab care. https://youtube.com/c/CrabCentralStation

Here’s my two hermies, Tamatoa and Shelly, when they were still in the temporary crabitat.

Hey everyone! I want to ask for help spreading the word about this. Stacy runs Crabstreet Journal and the Facebook group I use most, Land Hermit Crab Owner Society. The website has been around for years and Stacy has done tons of work trying to increase our knowledge of hermit crab care, advocate for them, and do educational work. She runs a program to help teachers get better supplies for classroom crabs. She does a lot! Here's her current project.

So aother woman in the group lives in New Jersey and has spent years trying to stop the sale of hermit crabs with awful supplies, trying to educate the shops, trying to share info with tourists buying these crabs on vacation. The shops aren't interested. Thousands of crabs are sold every year to die in just a few months due to bad information and lack of care. Hermit crabs can live for 20+ years with proper care! Jonathan the crab is more than 40 years old!

(Picture by Mike Vukoder)

The group is trying to purchase a billboard for the tourist season to educate about hermit crab care and try to decrease sales. There's still a long way to go to meet the goal, so we really need help! Even if you can only give a dollar, please consider it. And please share to spread the word! Hermit crabs get overlooked so much and deserve so much better. Thank you for reading! 💙

I’m super curious, how did you decide you wanted the pets you have? My first exotic pet (a turtle) was basically brought in by my dad bc he’s has no impulse control but after reserching that pets care I decided I liked caring for hands-off animals who needed varied diets. (Also turtles make horrible impulse buys kids don’t do what my dad did lol)

I’m glad the turtle ended up working well for you! Definitely not a good impulse purchase, oof. And uhhh I ramble a ton, so this turned out really long. So I’ll put the long stories under a read more and the tl;dr version is:

Hedgehogs - wanted small animal pet to be my very own, but wasn’t interested in small rodents at the time. Hedgehogs were new & interesting, and I stuck with them because I loved their personalities & that for the most part, they just snuggle with you while you read, watch TV, etc.

Hermit crabs - commonly neglected pet, which I’m a sucker for. My mentality was “well, I can provide better than like 95% of people”. I’ve stuck with them because I love to feed them & they’re amusing to watch…and I’m going to keep ending up with them bc I can still provide better than like 95% of people so I have a hard time saying no.

Ball python - commonly neglected pet & I’ve always wanted to get into reptiles since my mom wouldn’t let me before. Got Charis specifically because previous owner was my roomie’s cousin & horribly neglected her.

Cats - I love cats & wanted more since losing family cat when I was 19. Fell in love with Ebony specifically at wildlife rehab & got her as soon as I had a full-time job secured (I literally called from the parking lot to give the news & arrange to go get her). Ditto chose us bc we’re suckers!

If you want to read more of my ramblings, look under the cut! :)

I got into hedgehogs because when I turned 18, my mom agreed to let me get my own pet that would be just mine (as the dog/cat were family pets). Couldn’t be a reptile, I wasn’t terribly interested in fish, and it had to be fairly small - she ruled out rabbits & ferrets. So I was looking at hamsters, mice, rats, etc. I wasn’t very interested in hamsters, mice, & other small rodents at the time, so kept looking. I found out about hedgehogs and was fascinated. So I ended up getting my Lily! I didn’t do nearly enough research before I got her, unfortunately, but luckily she was forgiving of my mistakes & I spent the first year I had her getting things fixed & doing my best to spoil her. I still love hedgehogs because they’re fairly chill and don’t absolutely need tons of hands-on handling time, but they’re still good for bundling in a blanket and snuggling with you while you read, watch TV, etc. 

When I moved out, I hadn’t had a hedgehog for several years by that point & was desperate to have them again. So I ended up in contact with a rescue in the KC area - who I ended up befriending, and now he’s my bf (and his husband is my partner too)!! ♥ I got Bindi and Pancake both from him & he also has my Bassy boy too.

For the hermit crabs, I read an article about them sometime in college, about how they’re all taken from the wild & about the shell shortage in the wild. It went into a bit of detail about how their needs are often unknown or overlooked as well…and I was hooked. I’m a sucker for commonly neglected animals! I did some more reading & decided I wanted to rescue hermit crabs eventually. I ended up getting the chance shortly afterwards because I was talking (infodumping) to a classmate about what hermit crabs need & it turned out she had two that she wasn’t providing all this stuff for. She wasn’t really interested in improving things & offered them to me. When I posted about it on FB, a neighbor who only had one left after losing the second offered me theirs as well. So I spent 2 weeks in a flurry setting up a 40g tank & brought home my first three crabs! 3.5 years later……a 130g tank of 19, and a 55g tank of 5. Sigh. XD I still like having hermit crabs because again, they’re hands-off & I love feeding them! They have a massively varied diet and that’s my biggest interest within my animal interest. Plus they’re fun to watch because they’re dorks.

Charis, my ball python, I got because I wanted a ball python for a few years, again due to the commonly-neglected type thing. They’re so common in the pet trade that people don’t always do enough research, and there’s so much misinformation out there on how big of enclosures to give them & that they “don’t need enrichment”, which is bullshit. My roommate’s cousin had Charis & was NOT taking care of her at all. Seriously - she was in a 20g tank with one open hide, one water bowl, no heat, and no light. Prior to that he was keeping her in a PILLOWCASE for at least a month because he didn’t have a tank set up for her. She has scars on her because when he first got her at a couple years old, he didn’t know better & she had access to a heat bulb in her tank - which of course she wrapped around & got burned. It was just a mess and I’m so glad she’s safe with me now (though she lives at my partners’ house bc of apartment rules). Once I’m living in a bigger place where snakes aren’t banned, I would like to rescue another ball python & perhaps some other snake species as well! It’ll depend on how much room I have to work with though, and it’ll be slow due to wanting to purchase good sized cages prior to getting the sneks.

The cats…Idk, I love kitties! I missed having a cat around after we lost our family cat when I was around 19, I think. I was still around them a lot from petsitting & working at Wildside. I fell in love with Ebony at Wildside & told the rehabber there for years that she was mine & I was taking her home someday. She was quiet, but loved when someone would come over & give her attention, and liked to climb up on your shoulders to purr in your ear & lick your cheek. So literally the day that I was offered a full-time job at my workplace here, I called Wildside from the parking lot & asked if I could still have her & made plans to drive up & get her at the end of the month.

Ditto….well, she chose us because we’re suckers. XD Gotta feed the poor skinny stray cat…and pet it…and shit, she’s friendly….oh look she came straight into the living room….crap she’s really lovey and adorable and oops, she’s ours now.