About a week ago my sister-in-law gave our kids two hermit crabs as a pets. I’d grabbed an unused 10-gallon aquarium from a friend. Poured sand in the bottom, placed a food and water shell on the sand, and then put a cup on its side for the two crabs to seclude themselves into as needed.
I’m not one to be ignorant about pets. Did you know the average life span of a goldfish not kept as a pet is about 80 years? Yeah, being put in the goldfish bowl is like "Dead Fish Swimming" to them. I started reading up on hermit crabs and uncovered a wealth of website that are just loaded with information.
Here’s some of the information I’ve found out that have changed how I’m taking care of these guys.
- sand is actually a bit irritating to them, they like more mulch, debris coverage to dig down into
- they need much more water than I expected
- they enjoy company, we now have six crabs
… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg really. I keep reading and learning more. The more I learn, the more I like just sitting and staring at them in their "crabitat".
Here’s a list of the sites I’ve uncovered with information about hermit crabs and their care:
- How to Buy Hermit Crabs Online
- The Hermit Crab Patch
- Land Hermit Crabs
- Hermit-Crabs.com
- The Naturally Crabby Blog
- The Crab Street Journal Blog
- Hermit Crab Association – Online Forums
Whether you’re allergic to cats, too small of a house for dogs and just don’t like fish, give hermit crabs a try. They’re really cool and more active than you might think. Just do your homework and give them a good home and take care of them.
Image: strollers on flickr