The Happy Hermit Crab

Artist Aki Inomata

2015-04-03T13:02:00.001-07:00

Artist Aki Inomata has explored many relationships with animals in her art, and since 2009 she's been playing with beauty while providing shells for hermit crabs. I won't lie, these shells don't seem the most practical out in the wild, but Aki has also designed some sleek natural seeming ones as well.

For one thing, I like that she's stuck with it. I've been aware of others designing non-natural hermit crab shells to try to compensate for the lack of shells available in the wild, and I've also purchased glass shells for my crabs, so I have an idea of how hard it is to get a hermit crab to try on a non-natural shell. I expect this mission comes with more failure than success, and I'm excited to see that the crabs do try on and use the shells she makes. Her hermit crab projects have lasted from 2009-2015, which feels like a long time to me.

Inomata is a hermit crab owner and actually used the shell of one of her pets to assist in making her art:

I connected my study of the hermit’s transformation to the self-adaptation of humans, whether it be in acquiring a new nationality, immigrating, or relocating. In this project I wanted to explore whether we really can choose the place or country where we live. I used CT scanning to capture highly-detailed, three-dimentional rendering of an unoccupied seashell, which one of my hermit crabs had abandoned. Based on the tomography of the interior of the shell, I prototyped with rapid prototyping and produced several types of habitable shelters, Tokyo house-style and Paris apartments. I gave those shelters to my hermit crabs.

If you want to visit the artist Aki Inomata's professional art page, head over to http://www.aki-inomata.com/works/.

I can't imagine that any crab of mine would permanently adopt a shell with so much top-weight, or that I'd been all that impressed after it fills with coco coir and sand, but I do love that things are changing fast for the future of replacing the missing shell supply for hermit crabs. Now my next concern will be, will it even matter the way we're polluting our oceans?

In the name of Science

2013-11-01T17:31:00.001-07:00

A while ago it entered my mind that burying pets who have passed is wasteful and thoughtless, in its way.

Humans require learning and knowledge. It is something we must have, and our curiosity leads us to seek it out. We want to know about the natural world and to look closely at animals and handle them finding out new things. Humans have made a habit of dissection, vivisection, having zoos and keeping animals as pets. Millions of animals are raised or collected to be killed and mounted in various ways for classroom observation or home collections.

If your pet has passed away, its body still feels very important, and you want to give it proper respect. You can honor your loved one by donating it to science, like many humans do with their own bodies. Little Mr. Hermit would have wanted to save animals and teach kids science, right? Just think: if donating passed pets were a common event, it might save school districts tons of money, save many animal lives, and contribute to teaching children and adults science and compassion. I believe that science, like all things, should be done with compassion.

My departed hermit crab, sticking around to teach kids a thing or two.

Then comes the question: how do you preserve a pet's body? Well, this is a blog about hermit crabs, so I'll address them here. Hermit crabs can be dehydrated and mounted (like a butterfly), preserved in jars with a fluid preserver, or buried until nature leaves nothing but an exoskeleton. You can do these things, or perhaps a science teacher will be willing to do them in return for the donation?

I recently had a natural-causes death in my tank, and decided to do what I tell others is a good idea: preserve my little friend. I did my best. I didn't already own any formaldehyde, so I bought some online and put it in the jar with little Jimbo. It really squidged me out handling the vacant hermit crab body, but I did it anyway. Jimbo looks a little sad now, but I like to think he'd be proud of me, and glad to be of service. I will admit it was a bit unnerving, though.

Dehydrating was easier for me, which I did with 2 departed crabs on separate occasions. I used silica beads and left the ex-crabs buried in the beads for weeks before removing them. When they came out their fleshy rears had shriveled up and were hard, but their shelled bodies looked very much like they did when they were alive. This was a good plan because they were handle-able, which is great for curious minds. The down side was their delicacy and the gross-out factor. Dehydrated crab bodies are easy to break if not handled properly. But they're great for mounting, as long as you put them in a good mounting position before drying them.

Third option, which removes the flesh and just leaves your friend's exoskeleton: give your friend a backyard burial (no bag or box) and come back for them in a few months. The ecosystem in your soil should have taken what it could use and left the shell and exoskeleton to be marveled at by young and old. Check on them occasionally, because there is such thing as leaving them too long. The exoskeleton will disintegrate within the year for sure.

Now that you've got your darling ready to help educate the next generation, call up your local elementary, junior high or high school and ask when they'd like to receive a loving donation.

Magnaturals

2013-05-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Magnaturals is a line of magnetic terrarium accessories. You don't have to secure them permanently because they stay in place using magnets outside the tank. This is particularly awesome because bringing them right up against the glass like that can be very space saving, as well as affording us humans a great view. I've wanted to buy up a bunch of Magnaturals stuff for ages, but wasn't sure about the price tag. These puppies aint cheap.

So I finally put my money into a Magnaturals product. I was torn between some awesome ledges or a super cool hideaway. I decided to get the large hideaway, since I had more need for hidey-places than for climbing opportunities.

One thing I am excited about was how light my new hidey is. Really light weight, which I recognize as a safety feature since a coupla years ago one of my little crabs got caught under a heavy piece of grape wood and vacated his shell to escape. The poor caught Friend waited too long to ditch his shell, and was weak and dying already. Now only fairly lightweight bowls, huts, or other stuff makes it into the crabitat. So great job on that, Magnaturals.

Magnaturals hideaway in action. Can't see crabs? They're hiding away.

When I opened the Hideaway up, I was a little concerned because they're made of some foam-type substance and I feared the crabs might nibble on it. So far, no nibbles though.

Also, you might be curious about how strongly the magnets hold up. I am sure that this thing is not going to move unless someone tries to stand directly on it. And then I'd expect it to crumble with the magnets still in place. Not that I've tried it. Certainly have not tried it.

Note to others: read the directions before installing. Yes, its incredibly easy and any dummy can do it. But any smarty can do it wrong, too. I'm not gonna recap the directions here on principle. If you're old enough to have pets, you're old enough to read directions. 'Nuff said.

Loving the new territory.

I bought the Large Hideaway, which is really large, but my biggest crabs don't fit easily in and out. That said, my largest crabs are super big, wearing shells with 1 5/8" openings. Most crabbies will be able to get in and out of here just fine. There are four big openings for them to come and go from.

If you're considering putting some money into your tank that will make it more beautiful, keep it really natural looking, and enrich crabby lives (or other lives), I think Magnaturals products are a fine choice. I just ordered the ledges I wanted, and I'm pretty stoked about it.

Plants for Hermit Crabs

2013-05-03T22:54:00.003-07:00

I've had a terrarium full of hermies for a long time now, and I always want to keep live plants in it, because it is so beautiful and also for the benefit of the crabs. Here's what I've learned over the years:

Air Plants Are Great.

The hermits love to climb them, eat them, shred them, push them around. It can take them a long time to demolish a whole large air plant, and until they are done, they will stop at nothing! I'm also convinced that there is something nutritionally wonderful about the air plants for them, because the crabs really dig into eating them. Plus, the plants are alive and even stay alive and hearty since the crabitat is a good temp/humidity for them. Air plants are from the bromeliad family and other bromeliads can do well, too.

Nom nom nom.

Sprouts Rock

Sprouting seeds and putting them in the terrarium with go over great. The hermies will eat them up over a series of days. Unfortunately, the sprouts don't really stand a long-term chance.

Plastic Plants Do Best of All

Investing in a few realistic plastic plants is your best bet. Fabric ones fade and the hermies might even eat them. Although it is a possibility that hermit crabs might eat plastic plants, mine never have. But they always eat their hemp nets, so I know fabric is risky. I look over my plastic plants frequently enough just in case someone has decided to ingest them. No prob so far. But aside from not being eaten, they also don't die. Any other plant you put in there and leave there will die. Air plants will actually do great until they are finally eaten up (and I do recommend you get them and let them be eaten).

Spider Plants Are Worth A Try

I've seen spider plants do well in crabitats. You can throw small ones in your fresh water bowl and they will live there. But I can't promise they'll grow, because in my experience the heat wilts them and crabs eat them up quick. It was nice seeing you, spider plant.

Some Things That Do Not Do Well

Failures include: carnivorous plants, and basically any regular houseplant (the heat and humidity kill them). Never put real ivies in there. I've been told they are poisonous to hermies, and I'm not gonna kill a crab to verify it. Also, if you can't be sure that something was grown organically, grow it with only fresh, clean treated water in clean non-fertilized soil for a coupla months before putting it into the vivarium. Once again, poison is bad.

Moving with a 55 gallon crabitat?!

2013-05-03T22:10:00.001-07:00

So, the time came when I finally had to relocate the giant crabitat. I have no idea what it weighed when full, only that it was more than I could budge using all my strength. Even with helpers, we could only skoot it an inch.

Although I really didn't want to remove all the crabs so my moulters (if I had any) would not be disturbed, it seemed obvious that moving it still full was a non-option. I thought long and hard about it, considered paying piano or art movers, and my choices were only to leave them behind or empty the tank for moving. The right choice was pretty obvious when you put it like that.

I loaded the kids into a temporary crabitat, only a ten gallon. It took me about 3 hours to get all the crabby kids out, empty the big tank, and move them all into an SUV.

Mid move.

At the new place, it was much faster to re-set their home. I kept their coco coir, but I didn't bother bringing the play sand they'd had, since none of my crabs had ever moulted in it, and they seemed to greatly prefer the coir side of the tank.

In their new residence, with all the books they could need.

It turns out that with the emptying-the-tank method, it only took three people and three hours, which is really not that bad. I had feared it would be much harder on the humans and the crabs.

And the moral of the story is: things aren't as hard as they look. Whatever just came to your mind as the exception to that rule, that isn't as hard as it looks either.

Crafts and Crabs

2012-07-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Fake foliage that is far more epic and likely cheaper than what's at the pet store.

Are you a crafty hermit crab owner? I'm not sure if I'm just more aware of crafts than I used to be or they're more popular than they used to be. Maybe Martha Stewart has changed our world, because I know a lot of crafty people. I am one of them.

As a hermit crab care-taker, there are plenty of things you can craft for your little loved ones. Here are some ideas of things you can make:

crocheted or macrame hammocks from natural hemp
coco-huts by cutting or smashing coconut shells
Painted, fabric, or collage custom back-drops for behind tank(s)
braided climbing ropes from coco-fiber rolls, hemp, plastic plants or some combo.
additional "stories" in the crabitat by making magnetic shelves, similar to magnaturals. You can glue magnets to almost anything to make a balcony in your tank.
if you're really looking for a good project, you can make a fountain or a waterfall in your tank.
By layering sand and coco-coir along the perimeter of your tank, you can create visible strata that are really interesting and attractive.
By placing a flourescent tube behind your tank, you can light up your backdrop for a dramatic look. Just be sure you light is facing up, down, or in from the sides, but not directly toward the tank unless it's a good distance back. This way the heat is less intense and the light will be more even, not just in a flat line.
You can make hermie huts out of terra cotta flower pots by cutting doors into them or breaking them into shards. To make one that looks like a house (sort of), cut a door into an overturned pot and then place the matching saucer on top as a roof.
If you're into ceramics, you can make great food dishes or pools for swimming.
Using fishing line, you can make all sorts of stuff out of glass or plastic beads that will do well in the crabitat. Hammocks, climbing walls (with different sized beads), whatever you can think of.
Make a lean-to out of cholla wood and zip-ties.
You can make climbable structures out of fake foliage available in craft stores.
If you have a dremel tool, you can buff and carve the surfaces of shells.
The crabs may never properly appreciate it, but it can be pretty awesome if you do a portrait of them! Maybe on a plate like I did?

My Hermit Crab Patch Dependency

2012-04-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

I recently realized something: I have a real dependency on the Hermit Crab Patch website. As in, I cannot do proper hermit crab care without them.

Hermit Crab Patch, I just realized, makes it possible for me to take appropriate care of my crabs. Nowhere else has been able to furnish me with coco huts that my clawed darlings can fit into. This is more important that it sounds. Old, shy jumbo crabs who want to hide will stay underground more than is good for them if they have nowhere safe feeling to be above ground. I want my Lovies to be happy and move about freely. It is kind of a bit deal.

Got my sweet house at Hermit Crab Patch.

Now that my largest hermit crabs have grown into the realm of needing very large shells, I have found no other reliable source of shells their size that are actually usable. I know when I buy shells of any size from HCP that they will have smooth edges, be solid and continuous, and feel good inside, in other words: they are homes that crabs will want. No holes, no cracks, no jaggedness. I've bought from them repeatedly and been super pleased every time. In all truth, my three largest crabs might not be alive now if I had not been able to access appropriately sized shells for them through the Hermit Crab Patch. The stress of being in too-small shells for extended time might have killed them.

I don't work for these guys, I don't even know them. They're not giving me money. But they ARE giving me refunds on shipping costs if they could ship for less that they quoted me. And they ARE my resource for great organic foods and supplements. It's certainly not necessary, but I love it that they write nice little notes on my invoices. I know of no other resource anywhere for specifically hermit crabby things where the items for sale are as high quality and reliable.

So this is my public letter of thanks to The Hermit Crab Patch. I would mourn your loss if you ever went away, and I would find my role as Hermit Crab Guardian much more difficult if you had not been here. Thank you.

Un-Painting Shells

2012-04-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

After boiling, with varnish on it.

After buffing off varnish with nail-care tools.

A lot of the "hermit crab shells" we encounter are painted or varnished. Sometimes we can avoid that all together, but occasionally a new crab comes home in paint or a shell you acquired reveals itself to be varnished after boiling. You can tell it was varnished if it comes out of boiling cloudy after going in shiny.

A high percentage of the crabs I rescue/adopt come in painted shells, so over time I've grown a collection of the painted shells they discard when they get to choose from natural or glass shells here. They always choose natural or glass over painted (although they have yet to have the option of makerbot shells).

I went ahead and let the painted shells pile up in my shell pot (a big, pretty ceramic pot I let the shells wait in between offerings to the crabs. I rotate their available selection from this pot). The other day I noticed that the "bad shell" population had gotten kind of out of hand, so I started working on cleaning them up.

There may be other great methods of getting toxic paints and varnishes off of otherwise good shells, but this is what I do.

First I boil them, since this makes varnishes easier to see (cloudier) and sometimes makes paint bubble or chip, which is helpful kind of like someone "starting" an orange peel is: you can get an easier grip on the part you're manipulating.
I use a tool with a small, flat end to get up under the paint/varnish. I happen to use a tool designed for cleaning out from under fingernails, but a small screw driver, a butter knife, or anything else similar will work. Metal tools will do better than wood or other soft ones. Chip the varnish stuff off. Chip, chip, chip.
If the chipping is going slow because the coating is thin, filing or buffing it off will be easier. If the coating is thick, stick with chipping. For thin layers, you can use sandpaper, a nail file, a nail buffer, or other similar stuff on the large areas. In cracks you'll still have to chip, sadly.
While you're here with these tools, run your finger all over the inside surface of the shell. If there are any pokey or sharp places, chip them off or file them down.
If you've made the outside of the shell into a rough surface, smooth it out with very fine grit sandpaper or a nail buffer. Not only will this get more paint off, but reduce drag for your crab when they dig and make the shell shine pretty!

This process will make a powdery mess, but it's nothing I drop cloth can't prevent or a vacuum can't solve. I find it creative and fun, but even if you don't love doing it, it's a great idea. Re-introducing these shells into the available selection for your crabs is good for the environment because it prevents the shell from becoming trash and prevents you from having to acquire new shells removed from the wild. Also, your hermit crabs will be excited to have now options!

Glass Shells in my Crabitat

2012-03-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

The three glass shells I just bought!

I finally got my very own glass shells for the crabbies. I was super exited when they arrived, all neatly tucked into a presentation box with tissue paper! I got three different sizes, and put them in the crabitat right after rinsing them off. Apparently the hermit crabs were just as stoked as I was, because within a few hours the largest of my three new shells was inhabited.

The lucky new homeowner hasn't come out in daylight to show off her new digs yet, but when they do, I'll be sure to grab a photo. The shell they picked is gorgeous: not just a clear shell, it has orange and blue and other color stripes and flecks in it. I can't wait to get a view of one of my little loves in it.

Update: the glass shells have been in my crabbitat for four months now, and they haven't found an inhabitant yet. What happened with the shell that I thought was inhabited was the crabbies had rejected it enough to bury it. In fact, they have buried all three of the glass shells every time I wash and replace them. They are definitely rejected. I think it's related to their shape, not their porosity. I'm thinking of taking them out and putting them in terrariums or something.

Update again: It's been over a year and no one ever tried any of the shells. The hermit crabs hate them. I took them out last week and am not going to waste their limited space offering the glass shells again. They are beautiful things, but I recommend them for human appreciation only.

What size is your hermit crab?

2012-02-25T20:04:00.003-08:00

Hermit crabs are generally referred to by certain size descriptors among crabbers. The way you know what size your crab is is by observing what their leg span is from where each outside walking leg is when they are fully out and walking. Basically, it's the diameter of the circle you'd draw if you connected the dots where their feet are.

Jumbo - over 3″
Large - 2.5 - 3″
Med. - 1.5-2.5″
Small - 1 - 1.5″
Teeny - 0.5 - 1″
Micro - under .5″

No need to measure these ones.

How much space should each of size crabs have in a tank? Well, it's arguable and depends if you just want you crabbies to survive, or thrive. The minimums are generally agreed to be about: 5 gallons per jumbo crab, 4 gallons each for large crabs, 3 gallons for each medium crab, 2 gallons for each small crab, and 1 gallon for each "teeny" or "micro", as they call them.

Land Hermit Crabs can grow as big as a cantaloupe in the wild, and up to the size of a baseball in captivity if they are kept in an optimal environment with sufficient nutrition, exercise, seashells and environment. How big a hermit crab will grow is often dependent on the availability of seashells.

Quoted from the Crab Street Journal

Hermie Coco Huts

2012-02-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

As I continue to care for these sweet creatures, and I change around their home looking for new ways to engage and entertain them, I have found the value of secure-feeling hiding places.

When I set up my first few crabitats I was resistant to the hermit crab coco hut. I wanted my crabitats to have a different aesthetic: less like a pet home and more like a natural environment. I avoided obvious shelters, synthetic looking bowls, and things like exercise wheels because I thought it would look and feel less natural and healthy for them. So I hat no coconut huts. But I've figured some things out since then.

A tank is not their natural environment, it is drastically smaller, even my 55 gallon crabitat. Putting space-efficient methods of shelter and exercise is life enriching for them. In my tank I just couldn't create enough nooks and crannies for crabs of every size to hide in. Since adding coco huts, my crabs spend more time above ground and putzing around. They visit different huts and spend time together in them. When I first added huts they were all occupied almost immediately.

The neighborhood.

There are surely other shelters that would make hermit crabs feel safe. The key seems to be fit: They want to be able to get in the door easily, but also be able to go far enough back in it to hide completely or stand in the doorway. If the door is too big, they can't hide completely because the view is too open. Obviously, if the door is too small they can't get in.

Because my hermit crabs vary so greatly in size, I need a few different size huts. That's just fine since I have so many sweet crabbies, I need to have a few huts anyway. I noticed that huts are hard to find in pet stores, especially huts for medium, large, and jumbo hermies. The hermit crab patch stocks a good variety of these large ones (also, they have excellent customer service).

Websites that sell coconut huts tend to list them as "decoration", although they are clearly part of the care a crab requires.

Shellter project update

2012-02-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Project Shellter is continuing on its mission to make world-friendly shells for hermit crabs. These will be a dream come true for vegan hermie owners, parents who want colorful shells to please their children, but don't want to put painted shells in the crabitat, and those who love human ingenuity.

I'm hoping that it's only a few months or less until your average Joanne can buy some Makerbot made shells and donate their natural shell collection to the beaches.

If you haven't heard of Project Shellter yet, check out the video and links below. If you happen to own a Makerbot, sell me shells! :)

http://www.care2.com/causes/project-shellter-update-hermit-crabs-accept-printed-homes.html
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/progress-made-in-hermit-crab-housing-crisis

Hiding Cords in the Crabitat

2012-01-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

I pride myself on the balance of functionality and beauty in my crabitat. It is a center in my home where we often gather at late hours watching the little ones go about their business in the light of a heat lamp. I don't think I'd enjoy it so much if it were unnatural, messy, or cluttered looking.

Because a healthy, happy crabitat does require some cordage (for heaters, lights, maybe a fountain or perhaps an air line for a bubbler) it is nice to have some tricks up your sleeve for hiding such cords. I re-arrange my crabitat really frequently, partially because I get bored, partially because I assume the crabs must get bored, and partially because I'm already in there cleaning or feeding anyway, so might as well. That being said, I find that I want to hide cords in new or different ways.

Generally, you won't need to have actual cords in the crabitat, since most light and UTHs go outside the actual tank, but some folks with use heat rocks or fountains or misters that might use cords, and that can be okay as long as the cords are totally non-accessible to the hermies. Plastic tubes sold for pet-proofing or tough plastic straws can add a layer of safety to the cords, then you can run them behind coconut fiber walls or encase them in plastic plants. Whatever you do, it should protect your cords from water and pinchy claws.

From here, I'll assume we're hiding air line tubing inside the tank and cords outside the tank.

One pretty good air-line tubing trick is to push the tube through a natural sponge. Not a "natural-looking" sponge, but a real natural one, since the crabbies with eat bits of it. This works great for the bottom half of a cord, but it may look silly with a sponge so big it extends to the top of the tank. You can either feel good about having disguised most of it, or use another trick on the top half.

My favorite is using plastic (or real) plants that dangle. Some pretty dangling ivy or spider plant can disguise airline tubes in a crabitat or wires outside. Crabbies love to climb the plants, too. As your air line leads into your water pond with the plastic plants on it, it also provides an escape ramp for crabbies who went swimming over their heads. There's nothing wrong with using real plants, except they will be eaten up.

You can also tape tubes to the corner, where the silicon sealant is. This is actually not much of a disguise, since it's in plain sight, but it's super un-obtrusive, and people don't see it unless they're looking for it generally. Don't use any tape that might be tempted to peal off or fall off. Electrical tape or packing tape are good, masking tape is bad. If your pond is in the corner, the tube can lead straight to it, or it can follow along the substrate under a fake (or real) plant.

Another you-see-it-but-you-don't-notice-it option is strewing a climbing net so that it's over the tube. Yes, it's right there, but you won't likely notice it.

One of my favorite places to put any ugly thing is behind a statue. I usually have Buddhas in my tank, but sometimes there are other structures like houses or bonsai trees that I get from the aquatic decor section at the pet store. Many of them are almost as tall as the tank, so they hide tubes well.

External cords will come from lights and UTHs (under tank heaters). You can situate most of them to come out on the backside of the tank, and then a "background" purchased from the aquatics section or any other poster or graphic fit to your tank will cover cords falling behind the tank.

Under the table where your tank is may be littered with cords (like mine). Masking tape actually works wonders to make these invisible against an off-white wall. The key is to tape them individually flat against the wall, not tape them together in a big vine.

Plants sitting directly on top of your tank might be bothersome when cleaning, but they do happen to look awesome. They can block the view of your lighting hood(s) and cords or tubes exiting the crabitat. Another option is having a garland of fake ivy or something across the top glass if that helps disguise some of your lid chaos. I don't recommend plants, fake or real, on top of your light fixtures since the fixture needs air to circulate around it and the plants shouldn't get that hot.

Carnivorous plants in the crabbitat

2012-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering if putting a few pitcher plants or Venus fly traps in the crabbitat would be a good idea for managing flies, and had decided to go ahead and be the first to try it when I found a reference to it online. I was reading about "tank custodians" on Absolutely Crabulous, when I saw that they mentioned keeping carnivorous plants with hermies for the same purpose.

I've kept and cared for carnivorous plants before, and they can be complicated. Luckily, they are suited to the humidity and (I thought) temperature of a crabbitat. Often crabby substrate can get some salt in it from salt pools, and that can kill any plant, so it's wise to keep your carnivorous plants in pots within the crabbitat. Also an issue is minerals in the dechlorinated water, which are fine for hermies but can be lethal to carnivorous plants.

To read about some crabbers' experiences with carnivorous plants, including venus fly traps and pitcher plants, visit the AbCrab Forums. It seems like Venus Flytraps don't catch things in the size range we need, and pitcher plants have been tried, with one person expressing that they made it work.

I didn't want to put a plant to death experimenting, so I decided to check in with the experts: the staff at California Carnivores, a renowned nursery where they grow an astounding array of carnivorous plants as well as knowledge about them. A co-owner is also the author of The Savage Garden, which has long been considered the best book around on carnivorous plants.

I filled in Peter of California Carnivores with some details about crabitats, and he said "Unfortunately there aren't many if any plants I can recommend for hermit crab habitats, mostly because it's too warm and most CP (carnivorous plants) need cold winters or cool nights. None will catch pests except perhaps fungus gnats (some sundews). Also light levels will need to be very high. D. capensis might work, it's easy, but the nights should cool down. Also, the crabs may damage some smaller CP like rosetted sundews"

This is a picture of the Cape Sundew, otherwise known as D. capensis:

So, I take from this the lesson that to use carnivorous plants as a balancing part of your eco-system, you'll need to be sure that you have plant-worthy fluorescent lights on a timer and keep your plant potted separately from your substrate, both so that it's soil can be watered exclusively with distilled or reverse osmosis water (water without minerals), but also so that the (CP appropriate) soil can warm under the fluorescent tube a bit during the day and cool at night. Or, of course, you can remove the plant at night and put it somewhere cooler. Keep the pot above-ground though, since putting your pot buried in substrate would expose it to the 24-hour heat of any UTH you might be using. That heat would harm the cape sundew, which is of course the first plant we'd try because Peter knows what he's talking about!

I'll let you know later how my sundew is doing in there :)

Sport Crabby Gear!

2012-01-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Ranjot showing off his hermit crab daddy pride.

I already went on about the coolness of hermit crab art once, and I'm back to say my piece on having functional hermit crab stuff around the house. Clothing, calendars, journals, clocks, and such. I don't have hermit crabs from floor to ceiling in my house, but I do have some cool hermit crab gear. It starts great conversations, but also just makes me smile.

buy it at http://www.etsy.com/listing/89267469/shirt-men-women-hermit-crab-light-blue-t

Hermit Crab Art!

2012-01-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

buy at http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=hermit%20crab&order=9&offset=72#/d3gfu2b

Not long after I acquired my first rescue crab (aka my first hermit crab ever), I started wanting to have crabby art. When I love someone or something, I say it! I want my home and maybe even my tee shirt to say it too, sometimes.

So, no surprise, I love getting cute hermit crab pop art and prints. I love drawing them and having paintings and suches of them.

buy it at http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=hermit%20crab&order=9&offset=48#/d2kxnrd

I also love that when you buy hermit crab-themed things, they are almost always from cafepress or zazzle, etsy, or deviantart meaning that another hermit crab owner out there designed them and is earning a little money from your purchase. It's great to support like-minded animal lovers.

buy it at http://www.etsy.com/listing/88971830/crustacean-beaded-hermit-crab-swarovski

Hermit crab art is almost always enchanting, haunting, silly, or some other flavor that just makes me love it. Just by the nature of the beast it is foreign looking, somehow emotionless yet emotional. It's connected to nature, yet at home in city crabbitats. Insectuous, from the sea, able to climb and transform themselves by changing shells, grow back limbs and perform other feats we cannot. I can't tell you exactly why, but hermit crab art is uniquely appealing.

If you want to get some cool hermit crab stuff, check out cafepress, zazzle, deviantart, etsy, or any other cool indepentant art-type place you know.

buy it at http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=hermit+crab#/d2a6a31

Origami by Hermit Crab lovers

2012-01-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Origami is not a skill that comes easy to me. I once made ten peace cranes. These crabs are way, way out of my league.

There are many people out there that practice origami as an art and among them, many who have recognized the beauty of hermit crabs by designing original patterns to create paper land hermit crabs. There are origami competitions, which are a great place for these very difficult to create hermie portraits. As you can see, Jon Tucker, the creator of the first crab picture here, displays his origami hermit crab on a riser, which is exactly what I'll do if I ever make one. I'm pretty sure I won't be making two.

designed and executed by Jon Tucker http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon_tucker/3570890303

from the 2004 OrigamiUSA Annual Convention

http://www.langorigami.com/art/gallery/gallery.php?name=hermit_crab_2

The internet has many crease diagrams or patterns and instructions out there for making origami crabbies, but I actually decided against including a bunch of links to them because these little art pieces are not within the realm of your average person. If you happen to be either an origami wiz kid or extremely determined, Google will be able to rustle you up some patterns for sure. I don't suppose a first try with look as good as these, but I'd be mighty proud of you if yours did.

by Brian Chan at http://web.mit.edu/chosetec/www/origami/hermitcrabs/

by Nicolas Gerardo Henriquez at http://origamiweekly.blogspot.com/2009/12/hermit-crab-nicolas-gajardo-henriquez.html

How To: Rescue a Hermit Crab

2011-11-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

I've heard many people refer to "rescuing" an animal by buying it from a dirty, dank, overcrowded breeder or pet store. This is not pet rescue. This is voting with your dollars to keep such businesses in action and growing. Yes, your new pet went home with you, which is pleasing, but your money has gone to bringing more innocent animals into the position you found yours in. Buying pets from any source other than a shelter, rescue organization, or individual owner who is sincerely interested in you, your home, and the future life you offer their pet is part of a downward spiral. Many hermit crab owners are appalled and saddened by conditions in hermit crab tanks at pet stores, and want to take all the innocent crabs home, to a healthy tank. Buying the crabs in not the way to do it, though.

So what counts as rescuing animals? In a more broad sense, giving funding to spay and neuter programs and shelters, being a foster parent or adoptive parent for a rescue organization. Adopting from a shelter or individual owner who can't keep their pet. Getting animal testing labs shut down, refusing to buy products tested on animals. Spaying or neutering your pets. But also, taking pets from pet stores (to a much better life) without paying for them.

What could possibly be in there?

Oh, yes, I'm aware that I've crossed the line into controversial territory. Oh, my! That's evil evil stealing!

I do believe that stealing is wrong, but I believe than taking living things from places they are unable to live their lifespans safely and instead giving them that chance is not stealing. It's rescue, like the Underground Railroad was in the U.S., like aiding people fleeing genocide in the Holocaust. Many, many people would criticize this view because humans are so much more important than animals, humans have souls and animals don't, or some other idea I don't share.

If you were to rescue (steal) one crab, you could help it. When faced with terrible care at a pet store, do try to educate the pet store in question about how to care for their hermit crabs. If you succeed in improving their crabitat through conversations with them, you will have helped many, many crabs survive.

If they fail to improve conditions for the crabs, I am sure without a doubt that if you will care for your hermit crabs for the rest of their lives (up to 30 years) with the best level of care that is available, or at least far better than the average owner or pet store, then taking hermit crabs from pet stores is the right thing to do.

So how do you smuggle hermit crabs out of a pet store? I have befriended pet store employees who recognized the wrongness of care provided to hermit crab "stock" and asked to make improvements, but were told "No." Two employees in the same store both just opened the tank door for me and said "Take 'em" at which time I loaded my pockets with crabs and hurried home (just ten minutes from there). Having employees help you is ideal. But if the employee help doesn't happen, there is another way.

What follows are detailed instructions that may bore you, or may help you help animals:

Have a friend with you. Get a clean paper coffee cup from a cafe or gas station, with the lid and sleeve or a double cup. While you're there, get a drink for your friend.

Take the empty cup home and put moist coco coir or sand in the bottom. Boil up a little dechlorinated water and add some of the hot water to your substrate to create a good temperature and humidity for the crab. Stir the substrate with your finger to be sure there aren't hot spots. Spray the inside with a mister if needed. Put the lid on the cup to keep in humidity (if you can open a tab on the lid to drink, do it, this is the air hole). If you don't know the "feel" of proper crabitat substrate and air, have an experienced crabber help you (Hey, are you sure you're experienced enough to guarantee that life with you is healthier than life at the store? This is the point, you know.)

Once your cup is ready, it's time to go to the pet store. Your friend should bring their coffee also, and actually be drinking out of it. On the crab's cup, you may want to set the lid half on/half off, so it looks on but is not fully. If possible, get your friend to use your lid for just one drink so there are some lip marks or coffee stain on it, too. You could just put on chapstick and take a swig of air out of it, too.

The idea is this: let the employee know that you're experienced with hermit crabs and know how to handle them. As you kneel to hold crabs, put your cup down on the floor. If they think you're a beginner, they may watch you closely in case you drop or prod the crabs. Your friend should not express any hermit crab knowledge or interest early on. Ask to see them and take your time, picking up a few different crabs. Your friend should stand back on the other side of the employee and not be handling crabs. Now, your friend should ask the employee about hermit crab care, as though they're considering getting one too. When the employee turns and talks to them,wait until their conversation is rolling and put one or two non-distinctive looking crabs in your cup and put the lid all the way on. Don't jostle the cup against the ground. Get your hand back in the crabitat as soon as possible so you don't look like you're empty handed. Not in-and-out of the crabitat, just in. You can poke around in there and that way you don't make sudden movements. Seem unimpressed. Say something like "I was hoping you'd have some bigger (smaller, Ecuadorian, redder, more active) ones" and let them know you're done looking. Shop for a little bit, continuing to carry your cup around and leave.

Take the crabs straight home and into an isolation crabitat where they can get healthy before joining your others.

Of course if the hermit crabs are in a tank where you can just reach in and pick them up without an employee present, then it's much easier.

Obviously there are many other scenarios or plans you could use with the coffee cup as a tool. I got detailed in case someone was really unsure as to what to do.

101 things to know when you have hermit crabs

2011-10-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

There is plenty to learn about hermit crabs- they're fascinating and quite different from other pets in our lives. To get a jump start on hermit crab trivia and care, read this informative collection of tid-bits:

101 Things to Know When You Have Hermit Crabs

1- Don't name the crabs after the characteristics of their shells- they'll change or even trade them.
2- Take a good picture of each crab and write their name on it. This will help you alot with record keeping.
3- Get exercise wheels for them. They need to walk-walk-walk!
4- Have the crabbitat set up with humidity and temperature stable before you get the crabs!
5- Hermit crabs are escape artists. Plan accordingly.

6- They will be awake when you sleep, and possibly rowdy.
7- They will be asleep when you're awake, and possibly boring.
8- Don't feed them "Hermit Crab Food", it almost always contains chemicals and insecticides that are bad for your crabbies.
9- Do feed them organic fruit, veggies, meat, fish, greens and more. Learning what to feed takes research.
10- If you give one a reason to pinch you, you also have to give them a reason to let go: hold still and regain their trust. When all feels calm, they'll release.

11- Don't take shells from the sea shore! There's a shortage of shells for the ocean life.
12- Let some sow bugs move into your tank and your cleaning will largely be taken care of for you.
13- Put the terrarium somewhere away from vibrations. The hermies are very sensitive to that, and will be thankful for a solid table under them.
14- One hermit crab is a sad hermit crab indeed. Get three or more.
15- Have your terrarium equipped for climbing- lots of it. Hermies are natural climbers.

16- Hermit crab life spans do vary, and you won't know the age of the crab you've acquired, but with proper care you may have your crab for 25 years or more. Be sure you're ready for the commitment.
17- Get a timer for the vivarium lights- it makes your job easier and gives your crab-family a more regular sleep cycle.
18- Crabs can't have tap water straight from the sink! They need their water treated just like fish do, in fact they need one pond of freshwater and one of seawater.
19- Sponges in water bowls don't help hermit crabs drink- they grow bacteria and prevent hermies from getting in the water- which they need to do.
20- Wet natural sponges elsewhere in a tank are great as long as they are boiled frequently. The crabs will eat them for cellulose.

21- Aquarium gravel is all wrong for hermies. They need moist sand and/or coco coir deep enough to burry themselves (at least twice as deep as the largest crab is tall).
22- A stable temperature between 72 and 82 degrees F and stable humidity between 70-80% is absolutely required to keep crabs alive. Have temperature and humidity gauges.
23- Hermit crabs are not cuddly, no matter how much you work to gain their trust.
24- They molt- they take weeks out at a time to disappear and get a new exoskeleton underground. Just wait, they'll be back.
25- Hermies need foods that we don't think of as food: like tree bark, oyster shell, cholla wood, cuttle bone, and worm castings (poop).

from sophieffc

26- There is a lot of misinformation out there about hermit crab care. Don't trust sources that suggest it's easy or great for kids. Those are two big warnings that the information is false.
27- If you get a red light for night viewing, you'll probably enjoy your crabs a lot more because you'll see the really good antics.
28- Hermit crabs appreciate water dishes that are more like ponds or pools to them- they need to get in and fill their shells with water to regulate their salinity.
29- Sick crabs may drown in a water pool, but healthy crabs will be able to get in and out if you provide steps or a ramp.
30- Make life easy: get 2 one gallon jugs and premix dechlorinated fresh water and dechlorinated sea water, they'll last you a while and save you time.

31- When your sea water gets low, dump it and refill, don't just add more. If it's evaporated, some water is gone but all the salt remains, so salt levels get all messed up.
32- Regularly providing shrimp, crickets, or other animal food with edible exoskeleton helps prevent crab cannibalism.
33- If you share you food with your crabs, skip sharing anything non-organic. Common pesticides are designed to kill decapods; and your crabs are decapods.
34- If you put a bubbler in your water pools, expect a pool party to happen. :)
35- When you first bring a hermit home, he might die through no fault of your own. These guys are delicate, being captured and the pet-store experience is often traumatic for them, leaving them very sick.

36- All hermit crabs available in the pet trade are stolen from nature, not captive bred. Consider adopting instead of supporting that industry.
37- If you're worried about aggression between crabs, get ones that are widely different sizes. Most fights are between crabs who wear the same size shell.
38- Sand sold as "hermit crab sand" is actually not good for your tank. It rots and grows mold easily, and is usually too fine.
39- Water sold as "hermit crab water" is also not good. It's not different or better than other bottled water, and tap water that has been dechlorinated is better as a fresh water supply because it has a more neutral pH. And don't forget to supply sea water, too.
40- Hermit crabs can learn to come when called if you gain their trust.

41- Vegans can keep hermit crabs, too: buy them 3D printed or blown-glass shells and provide woods and high calcium greens for them. Having vegan hermies takes money and attention, though! Provide proper pre-moult nutrition and shell options.
42- When people find out you have pet hermit crabs, at least one person will just love telling others that you "have crabs"!
43- Some of the coolest stuff for your crabbitat will come from the reptile section of the pet store.
44- Look hard for a vet way way in advance. Hermit crab veterinarians are hard to come by.
45- Do not ask advice from pet store employees, seek out experienced crabbers on-line for your questions. There are exceptions, but I've never known a hermit crab knowledgable pet store clerk.

46- If you tend to be up later than your crabs want to be, you may want to get a cover for their tank so they can have dark when you want light.
47- At some point, most hermit crab care-takers get bored. Be sure to continue taking good care of them through this period. It passes.
48- You will benefit from making a good set of directions for crab-sitters, as few pet-sitters have previous hermit crab experience.
49- If you're crafty, there are many crafts you will enjoy doing for your crabs. You can crochet them hammocks, paint them backdrops, carve shells for them and more.
50- You will find that many adults you know will say "Oh, I used to have hermit crabs when I was a kid." and in most of their stories the crabs died quickly. That's because accurate crab-care info was (and still can seem) hard to find.

51- Hermit crabs are great conversation starters. Most people find them fascinating.
52- Once you've learned to tell healthy crabitats from unsafe crabitats on sight, you will get very very sad in pet stores.
53- When you're picking out shells for your hermies, it's all about smooth surfaces and edges, and opening shape and size. They won't even bother with jagged shells.
54- Hermit crabs do talk. They make a clicking sort of noise when they're ticked off. Hopefully you'll only hear it between crabs, not directed at you. :)
55- When one crab is trying to commit a shell-jacking, they'll often rock the shell of the victim. You should break that up immediately, as shell-theft can end in the victim being killed.

56- Crab bedding should always be moist. If someone tells you to use sand, they mean MOIST sand. If they say coco coir, they mean MOIST coco coir.
57- Crabs will bury shells they don't like. Finding an empty shell underground does not always mean a crab has disappeared or died.
58- Go to the craft store: many functional and fun things await your crabs there.
59- When your tank smells like delicious seafood, a crabby has died.
60- Hermit crabs will never accidentally reproduce like mice or cats will, so no need to worry about it.

61- You don't get to dress up your crabs in cute collars or t-shirts, but you may find joy in expressing yourself through their shells and their tank.
62- There are hermit crab leashes available, but there are questions about their safety. If in doubt, avoid it.
63- When you find yourself upset about someone or someplace's poor care of their hermies (it will happen), be sure to have compassion and assume they want to do what's best, but may need guidance.
64- If your terrarium is perpetually drier or wetter than it should be, or warmer or cooler, your crabs will not adapt to it. They are evolved for very specific conditions, and will suffer until you fix it.
65- When hermies are observing something or having a conversation, they wave around their feelers a lot, as though they are signing in the air.

66- Crabbies often appear to be having a "feeler fight" when they're having a discussion. This is entertaining and just fine.
67- Cooks will enjoy making soups, salads, "cookies", and other entrées for their hermies.
68- Hermit crabs do poop, and hermit crab owners do poop-scoop.
69- Don't use stinky things in or around the crabitat- that includes cleansers, hairspray, glue, air fresheners. Crabs are very sensitive to the fumes.
70- When you mist in your tank, aiming for the substrate and decor instead of the glass will save you lots of water-spot scrubbing.

71- Note: most crabs DO NOT like getting spritzed with the mister.
72- Scientists, artists, and computer programmers are all working hard to create man-made hermit crab shells in an effort to solve a world-wide shell shortage.
73- Although it is important to have a good hermit crab reference book, there are a wide range of excellent and awful books out there. Read book reviews from experienced crabbers (like the ones on The Happy Hermit Crab) before you buy what might be a book full of bad advice.
74- Some hermit crabs make noise by rubbing their legs together, called "striating". Think of a violin.
75- Birds are predators of hermit crabs, and most crabs will go into their shells when shadows pass over them, just in case it's a bird.

76- Also, birds poop on beaches, and hermit crabs love to eat it. You can even buy sea bird guano in cans to feed them.
77- Don't fret about whether your crabs are boys or girls. It won't affect their interactions or behavior, although if you just want to know for fun, you can check their sex.
78- Some crabbitats can be real eye-sores once you get everything your crab needs in there. Combat this by limiting the colors you use and hiding any power cords or air-tubing well.
79- Never clean the glass in your tank with chemicals. The proper way is wipe/scrub with a wet cloth, wipe/scrub with a dry cloth. Repeat until it looks crystal clear again.
80- If you have aquarium fish that eat frozen foods like blood worms or daphnia, you will find that your hermit crabs will love it if you thaw some for them, too.

81- Keep a "travel tank" set up ready in case you need to separate someone for moulting or because of illness or aggression.
82- At some point, you may have a "streaker" which is a hermit crab without a shell on. This can be pretty upsetting, so it's best to prevent it and know what to do if it happens in advance.
83- Don't give your crabbies new shells until you've properly cleaned them. You never know where they've been or what's deep inside them.
84- It's a good idea to keep a journal about your hermit crabs and crabitat, write down any thing that might be relevant later, like when moults happen, what foods they like, who got in a fight, etc.
85- Although you may not know many other hermit crab owners at work or school, there are many, many great places to meet and learn from other crab keepers on-line. You are not alone.

86- You may have seen wire mesh "hermit crab homes" for sale. These are a truly awful, horrible idea unless you live right on a humid beach. They are designed more for the purpose of containing an animal as entertainment, like a butterfly net, than as real homes. Be sure to have a glass or acrylic tank for your hermit crabs.
87- Hermit crabs are very strong, when they choose to climb or hold onto something, they will be able to grip it with more force than you'd expect.
88- No one really agrees or knows how long hermies can live in the wild or in our homes, but estimates range from the bizarrely low few months to a ripe old 30 years.
89- Your hermit crab's body produces hormones triggering moulting as a response to light levels. This is why appropriate lighting and light/dark cycles are important.
90- The hermit crab hasn't evolved or changed much in eons. Hermit crabs arrived on Earth during the Mesozoic Era, 190 million years ago.

91- Our pets are Land Hermit Crabs, but there are also Marine Hermit Crabs that live in the ocean or in aquariums.
92- Be careful with painted items in your crabbitat. Crabs will often eat the paint on purpose and on accident.
93- Keeping live air plants in your tank is great because it is beautiful, the plants thrive in the same environment as your hermies, and your hermies love to EAT them!
94- Hermit Crabs are not "true crabs", because they have a soft abdomen, among other reasons.
95- Much of your hermit crab care can be automated with the use of timers (lights), thermostats (heaters), and fountains or misters (humidity). This makes your job easier and their home more stable.

96- If your hermit crab is about the size of a golf ball, it is probably about ten years old!
97- In the united states, hermit crab owners tend to think of crabbitat care similar to that of pet cage care: clean it, clean it, clean it! In the United Kingdom, hermit crab owners tend to regard crabbitat care more like aquarium care: balance the ecosystem, balance it, balance it!
98- Most pet hermit crabs come from Florida, the Caribbean, Ecuador or Australia.
99- The way a hermit crab inspects a prospective shell home is genetically programmed, every crab does it the same every time.
100- Hermit crabs use gills to breathe, and although they live on land, those gills must be moist for them to breathe. If the gills dry out just once, they may have trouble breathing for the rest of their lives.

101- If you ever need help or inspiration for your crab or crabbitat, thehappyhermitcrab.blogspot.com is here for you!

Gonopores

2011-10-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

What are Gonopores? They are organs that only female hermit crabs have, that can be seen from the bottom of their abdomen if they are extended well out of their shell.

from http://hermit-crabs.com/sexing.html

What this means is that you CAN tell if your crab is male or female. Most of us have been told at one time or another that their is no way to tell the sex of a hermit crab. It's not true! You can, if your crab trusts you enough to fully extend while you look for them or if you happen to get a good look at their underside while they are occupied with doing something.

Look for the first two legs that do NOT connect at the hub where the first four legs intersect. This is where gonopores will be on females, and not be on males. Although you may have African, Ecuadorian, Australian, or American crabs, they will all either have or not have gonopores in the same place.

Male and female hermit crabs don't behave any differently as pets or successfully reproduce in captivity (unless you have amazing expertise and a very well simulated ocean available to them). So, basically it doesn't matter if you have boy crabs, girl crabs, or some mix. But learning about your pets and getting to know more about them is fun.

This hermit crab is still not out quite far enough to check for gonopores.

This hermit crab is male, so there are no gonopores.

Taiwan Takes Action to Help Hermit Crabs

2011-10-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

As a hermit crab lover, I find it awesome to hear about all the small-scale community efforts that concerned people arrange to help hermit crabs. I recently found an article about a youth activity center in Taiwan that asked the kids to voluntarily collect sea shells from places other than the beach, and set up a "hermit crab changing room" area of beach with lots of clean, vacant shells and delicious hermy food to lure them to the shells. It sounds like they had some impressive success, too, getting the Taiwanese land hermit crabs to shed the human-made trash they'd been wearing in favor of real shells.

homeless from yevgeni krachak on Vimeo.

It's in all native lands for hermit crabs that sea shell shortages and trash overages have been forcing hermit crabs to wear trash as protection for lack of safer choices. Human produce a lot of trash and throw it seemingly everywhere, but also we have a ferocious appetite for sea shells to make night lights, wear on necklaces, decorate tables at weddings, put in baskets in our bathrooms, and more.

I don't live near a beach where hermit crabs live, but I do live near a terrarium (crabbitat) where they live. I can help the situation of wild crabs by always finding shells in places other than the beach, buying man-made shell alternatives (like glass shells), and of course seeing to it that my crabbies have plenty of housing choices.

If you want to read about these industrious youth building their hermit crab shell beach, check out: Taipei Times

photo from http://coastalcleanup.wordpress.com/author/seaotter/
is not the actual kids involved with this project.

Book Review: Hermit Crabs for Dummies

2011-10-30T14:04:00.003-07:00

Hermit Crabs for Dummies

by Kelli A Wilkins

ISBN 978-0-470-12159-7

Worth the cover price of $9.99 USD? No.

Good for basic care info? No.

Good for advanced care info? No.

Good for trivia/interesting facts? No.

Good for young readers (pre-teen)? No.

Good for adult readers? Yes.

Color photos? No.

If you could only have one book, would this be a good one? No.

Any bad information: Gives some contradictory information. Many website suggestions are no longer accessible. Fails to address concerns with pesticides in commercial hermit crab foods.Says bathing hermit crabs is necessary/ a good idea, which is debatable.

Any unique information:

Notes: This is a book about land hermit crabs with a photo of a marine hermit crab on it's cover: bad, bad first impression.

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Notes about my book reviews: I am not forgiving with misinformation as I perceive it. It is not easy to get a glowing review from me, and it is quite easy to get a unfavorable review if a book is incomplete or incorrect as far as I can tell. I am not a biologist or a pet book author, but I am a knowledgeable and successful hermit crab keeper. I hope my reviews are of help to other crabbers, and I write them without personal judgment of the author.

Book Review: Animal Planet Hermit Crabs

2011-10-30T14:04:00.002-07:00

Animal Planet Hermit Crabs

by Carol Frischmann

ISBN 978-0-7938-3708-3

Worth the cover price of $8.95 USD? Yes.
Good for basic care info? Yes.
Good for advanced care info? Yes.
Good for trivia/interesting facts? Yes.
Good for young readers (pre-teen)? Yes.
Good for adult readers? Yes.
Color photos: Yes.
If you could only have one book, would this be a good one? Yes.
Any bad information: There is a typo on page 51 that suggests that humidity be at least 50% instead of at least 70%.
Any unique info: Extensive biology and physiology information. "Family friendly" tips scattered throughout relevant to parents and children.
Notes: Great photos and layout. Compelling and interesting to visual learners.

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Book Review: Land Hermit Crabs

2011-10-30T14:04:00.001-07:00

Land Hermit Crabs

by Philippe de Vosjoli

ISBN 978-188277082-3

Worth the cover price of $3.95 USD? No.
Good for basic care info? No.
Good for advanced care info? No.
Good for trivia/ interesting facts? Yes.
Good for young readers (pre-teen)? No.
Good for adult readers? Yes.
Color photos? Yes.
If you could only own one book, would this be a good one? NO.
Any bad information: Recommends three times as many hermit crabs in a given size tank than any other source. Vaguely eludes to the fact that aquarium gravel is not a substrate that allows moulting, and is therefore a dangerous substrate choice. "Cannot find evidence that painted shells are dangerous", which suggests that they did not look for evidence, since the internet is full of it. Author recommends that painted shells (which he approves of) not be boiled for cleanliness because it might mess up the paint.
Notes: More misleading information that redeeming insight.

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Book Review: The All Natural Hermit Crab Sourcebook

2011-10-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

The All-Natural Hermit Crab Sourcebook

by Stacey Arenella and Summer Michaelson

ISBN 0-9755887-0-2

Worth the cover price of $14.95 USD? Yes.

Good for basic care info? Yes.

Good for advanced care info? Yes.

Good for trivia/interesting facts? Yes.

Good for young readers (pre-teen)? No.

Good for adult readers? Yes.

Color photos? No.

If you could only have one book, would this be a good one? Yes.

Any bad information: The authors have had success with moultings in "small" gravel, which is not clearly defined. Because aquarium gravel in general is a hazarous choice for beginners (or anyone?) if would be better if more information was given on this "small" gravel.

Any unique information: A hermit crab food recipe book with other 60 recipes. Excellent informaiton for identifying the species of crab you have. A log in the back of the book for recording health and general information about your crabs.

Notes: Amazing depth of information not found elsewhere, may be difficult to read for younger readers. This book can only be purchased through www.cafeshops.com/hermitcrabbook or hermitcrabsourcebook@hotmail.com

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The Happy Hermit Crab

Artist Aki Inomata

In the name of Science

Magnaturals

Plants for Hermit Crabs

Moving with a 55 gallon crabitat?!

Crafts and Crabs

My Hermit Crab Patch Dependency

Un-Painting Shells

Glass Shells in my Crabitat

What size is your hermit crab?

Hermie Coco Huts

Shellter project update

Hiding Cords in the Crabitat

Carnivorous plants in the crabbitat

Sport Crabby Gear!

Hermit Crab Art!

Origami by Hermit Crab lovers

How To: Rescue a Hermit Crab

101 things to know when you have hermit crabs

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