Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
We are a mother-daughter team dedicated to providing a healthier, more natural food alternative to the commercial pellets commonly sold in pet stores. These mass-produced pellets often contain ingredients that can be harmful to hermit crabs and fail to meet the diverse nutritional needs they would naturally fulfill in the wild. That’s why we craft a wide variety of carefully blended food mixes designed to keep your hermit crabs both healthy and happy.
You won’t find “healing foods” here. While I previously used that term, ongoing research and discussions within the community have shown that no single food can heal a crab. Instead, they require a broad range of nutrients to support overall wellness. I’ve returned to a more natural approach, focusing on variety, color, and flavor to stimulate their interest and allow them to instinctively select the nutrients they need. This not only promotes optimal health but also encourages natural foraging behaviors, closely mimicking how they would feed in the wild.
Why A Hermit Crab?
Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
Who Are These 2 Old Crabs?
A few years ago, a friend who was moving out of state gifted me a little hermit crab in a beautiful murex shell. Like so many others, this crab had been purchased on a beach boardwalk as a pocket pet for her young sons. Unfortunately, his setup was far from ideal: no heat source, just a soda cap filled with tap water, and little stimulation. For two weeks, he sat completely still in his tank. I couldn’t understand why so many people bought hermit crabs—he didn’t do anything!
Curious and concerned, I began researching hermit crab care and was shocked to discover that much of the information provided at purchase is completely inaccurate. A simple Google search led me to CrabStreetJournal.org, which introduced me to the Facebook group Land Hermit Crab Owners Society (LHCOS). I found an incredible community full of knowledgeable, kind people who were more than willing to help and share their expertise.
Following the LHCOS guidelines, I created a proper tropical environment and began offering healthy, natural foods. That’s when Sherman Crab truly came to life! He wasn’t just moving—he was climbing, exploring, and playing. Fast forward to today: I now maintain over 500 gallons of crabitat space and care for dozens of land hermit crabs. They run on hamster wheels, climb, communicate with one another, and sleep in cozy cuddle piles. My colony includes purple pinchers, Ecuadorians, and strawberries.
Honestly, I find myself watching my crabs far more than the television these days!
If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend visiting CrabStreetJournal.org and joining the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society Facebook group. You'll find a wealth of information, a supportive community, and endless inspiration for your own crabitat.
Where Do Hermit Crabs Come From?
All hermit crabs you see in beach stores or pet shops across the country are caught in the wild. There are 500 to 600 species of hermit crabs, most of whom are native to tropical climates like the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Australia. Most of the hermit crabs sold as pets in the US are purple pincher crabs or Ecuadorian hermit crabs. Purple pinchers are native to the Caribbean, South America, and the Florida Keys, while the Ecuadorian crab comes from the coasts of Ecuador and Chile. Below is a video that shows what occurs once they are "harvested" from their homes. Please watch but be advised it is not easy see. However, these videos really need to be shown to help spread the truth about what these magnificent little critters that can live over 40 YEARS! They are not throw away pets, pocket pets or good for children. They require quite a bit of care just preparing a proper tropical habitat.
WARNING! GRAPHIC MATERIAL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSda2pzAMGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuwQKJCO9UQ
The Hermit House Captive Breeding Project hopes to change the current hermit crab pet trade by replacing wild capture with a sustainable captive breeding program. These captive bred babies are true miracles. The captive bred babies spend one year with breeder Mary Akers before they are big enough to adopt.
Adoption of Hermit House captive bred hermits crabs is now open to the public!
A few things to know before you apply!
- There is a fee to adopt.
- You are not required to be a LHCOS member to adopt but you must meet the minimum standards of care observed by our organization.
- You are committing to a life long pet when you adopt a hermit crab. Wild caught hermit crabs can live decades in captivity. Captive bred hermit crabs are expected to live even longer.
- Their shells will be about the size of a pea at one year old.
Only a couple of people have successfully bred hermit crabs and only ONE has successfully accomplished this in the United States. Many are now making false claims of captive bred babies, please do your research! I personally have several of these miraculous little babies that were born in captivity to Mary Akers. You can follow her journey on our facebook group and her instagram. Please support her cause! The more we learn, the faster we can help end inhumane wild hermit capture.
Here is a link to her Etsy shop!
Complete Guide to Proper Hermit Crab Care Can Be Found Here
If you’ve ever gone on vacation to a beach destination, there is a good chance you have encountered a beach shop with a cage or cages full of hermit crabs. There is also a good chance that you’ve found yourself compelled to bring one home. Why not? They’re hard to resist. They come in beautiful shells of all different colors and sizes. Their exoskeletons have varying degrees of purple, red, brown, lavender, and if you’re lucky—a strawberry red. Their sizes range from micro to jumbo. You can find them at just about every beach shop, pet store, and even the occasional toy store. Hermit crabs have become a common vacation “souvenir” for many beach-going travelers. They are marketed as “easy” pets and sold in tiny plastic containers with rocks or small metal cages. Most people do not know the plight of the hermit crabs. Most people don’t know that these unsealed homes ensure a long painful death by suffocation due to the lack of necessary humidity required to keep their modified gills moist. The average beachgoer doesn’t know that the pellets and “hermit crab food” mixes typically sold with them are full of preservatives and other toxins. Some lucky hermit crabs have owners that stumble upon information on “proper care” upon returning home. Unfortunately, much of the information readily available online is incorrect and pet stores also fail to provide proper instructions—generally placing profit above survival. If the hermit crabs are truly lucky, their owner will find The Crab Street Journal/Land Hermit Crab Owners Society and care enough to make the changes necessary for them to not only survive—but also thrive. - Written by Rose Marie Senary
Did you know the cute painted shells are toxic to them as well?
When you take a shell home from the beach, not only are you taking a hermits much needed home, but you may be taking home a marine hermit who was happily hiding. Please take only broken or pieces of shells!
Please click here to visit our group on Facebook called LHCOS, Land Hermit Crab Owner's Society.
LHCOS advocates to improve the lives of captive land hermit crabs and protect and preserve wild hermit crabs, their habitat and resources like shells.
There's albums of crabitat setups for inspiration, feeding ideas, complete care guides and so much more! Plus a bunch of really great folks who love to share photos and stories of our little crabby worlds!
If you're interested in adopting a hermit crab or six, please check out our adoption page! CLICK HERE
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It's CrabCon Time! Don't Forget Momma Crab's Shop!
Our store is loaded with CrabCon meals and carnival treats!
Momma Crab is linked in the pop up!