Wai wrote:I'm not too sure about the pet shops in other countries, but some of the ones in Australia are horrible, especially to hermit crabs. If you have a help question, don't just rely on one of the employees there. They probably haven't done any in-depth research at all, and all they've been told are the plain basics. Don't expect much from them. Ask the forums or experts in the web. Just remember, most pet shop owners are there to sell hermit crabs. No research, no care whatsoever.
I've noticed that many inexperienced hermit crab owners in Australia are strongly influenced by pet shops. They'll listen to every word given by the pet shop owner, then returning home with a tiny kritter keeper with woodshavings, deep bowls and painted shells. If you were to put in all three bowls in that container, the crabs wouldn't be able to move at all.
And talk about the care sheet in Mebourne by Happy Hermits. DISGRACEFUL! It only has a few sentences on moulting, didn't mention that humidity was important, and they said ALL hermit crabs love to eat their hermit crab food. Well, I've tried it and my crabs were only interesting in getting out of the dish as fast as they could. Not that they weren't hungry, I changed the food to another brand and my crabs began eating like mad.
So please. don't be influenced. I know the members of this forum aren't, because we are the ones who actually research and care about hermit crabs. Unfortunately, there are many crabbers out there who don't bother researching at all, and many innocent lives are lost in a few months. If you do see people adopting crabs, tell them to research and join a few hermit crab forums like this one.
Totally agree with you! They have no idea at all here in oz, they are hopeless! I have educated a few of the pets paradise stores, and since I manage a pet supplies store myself, I have been educating people as much as I can as well! At least there is one pet store in melbourne giving out the right advice
Here in Winnipeg, The Petland at Crossroads St. Boniface to be exact, is pretty good. Plenty of shells to choose from, no commercial food, plenty of plants and hideaways, lots of climbing toys that looks really natural. Fresh and salt water, heat lamp, deep Eco Earth substrate, good stuff. The only thing that sucks about it is that is says this.
HERMIT CRABS
Day time temperture: 25 - 30 C
Night time temperature: 24 - 28 C
Feeding: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Plain Meats and Occaisonal Dairy.
Food schedule: Should be avalible at all times
Water: Dechlorinated fresh and Dechlorinated salt. Water sohuld be deep enough to submerge the crabs for bathing.
Humidity: 50 - 55%
GRR!!!!!! Humidity is life or death for hermies
Its weird tho, cause in the tank it looked really wet, and there were sponges and damp EE. A typo perhaps?
Whatever...Petland Winnipeg, not bad
As for the humidity being listed at 50-55% - no doubt they were referring to Exact humidity. I just stumbled across this myself recently, and found that most of our hygrometers measure Relative humidity, which is the number for humidity we are most familiar with when reading crabbing care sheets. I was told that the hygrometers that read exact humidity are usually the high end, more expensive ones, so the ones you get at Walmart and such measure Relative, so it looks like they were sharing accurate information, they just needed to specify. It would be best if we all mention relative humidity when we are sharing our crab care knowledge to help educate people I think.
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
Wai wrote:I'm not too sure about the pet shops in other countries, but some of the ones in Australia are horrible, especially to hermit crabs. If you have a help question, don't just rely on one of the employees there. They probably haven't done any in-depth research at all, and all they've been told are the plain basics. Don't expect much from them. Ask the forums or experts in the web. Just remember, most pet shop owners are there to sell hermit crabs. No research, no care whatsoever.
I've noticed that many inexperienced hermit crab owners in Australia are strongly influenced by pet shops. They'll listen to every word given by the pet shop owner, then returning home with a tiny kritter keeper with woodshavings, deep bowls and painted shells. If you were to put in all three bowls in that container, the crabs wouldn't be able to move at all.
And talk about the care sheet in Mebourne by Happy Hermits. DISGRACEFUL! It only has a few sentences on moulting, didn't mention that humidity was important, and they said ALL hermit crabs love to eat their hermit crab food. Well, I've tried it and my crabs were only interesting in getting out of the dish as fast as they could. Not that they weren't hungry, I changed the food to another brand and my crabs began eating like mad.
So please. don't be influenced. I know the members of this forum aren't, because we are the ones who actually research and care about hermit crabs. Unfortunately, there are many crabbers out there who don't bother researching at all, and many innocent lives are lost in a few months. If you do see people adopting crabs, tell them to research and join a few hermit crab forums like this one.
OMG! I live in Melbourne too and I don't shop in Pets Paradise or anywhere like that anymore. Yes, they gave us a care sheet but thankfully I did my research. They offered me a tiny little plastic cage with a couple of bowls and PAINTED shells, I refused and didn't even purchase the lil' crab. They looked so unhealthy in there and some of them were actually DEAD! They were out of their shells just lying their while the others ate it. No it wasn't an exoskeleton either. So people don't trust employees!
**Emili**
R.I.P to my beloved hermies who are no longer with us> Pinchy***Harold Zoid***Zoidberg 1***Zoidberg 2***Joe***Edna The Original***Boris***Popcorn***
I know! I was shocked at PetSmart. At PetSmart they only sold painted shells! They also had a huge log, with a small hole in it. Some how a lot of Hermies got stuck in it. The Clerk started banging the log on the ground trying to make them come out so she could show me a selection. Quickly, I said "That's OK. I'll find one in the tank." The Substrate in the tank was little pieces of tree bark! Called "Repti-Bark". And it was less than an inch-Half an Inch. You could see the bottom of the tank. The only good thing about the tank was that the tank was humid and had a lid that said "Please keep lid closed, they need the humidity." Also, we bought 2 more Hermies. I was upset in the Take-Home carrier. It was a small plastic tub with a lid- as if we were getting something to eat. The tub also had small air holes in it and my crabs were sticking their legs through it- I was afraid they would get caught.
(P.S-After trying to jam the crabs out, she placed the log on top of a Fish Tank that was on the side of the Hermit Crab cage that was a good 3 Ft. from the ground and said, "I'll just leave them right here and let them crawl out.")
I agree with the title-Don't be fooled by some pet shops.
I love all my hermies! They are all PPs.
Kawaii
Wasabi
Jake
Hermie
Peach
New plexi glas lid RIP Helena and Luna-Who died molting...
and Salt and Pepper, my first hermies that died to lack of proper care <3
Well it's no better in England. Bought some Hermit Crabs from Pets at Home, don't know if its got an American equivilant or not, but anyway, bought them and the advice was poor, and it was one of the senior staff that gave the advice. They were bunged in a 5-gal tank, a tiny bit of bird sand, they took all the crabs out and many were burrowing and they were in stupid painted football shells and i got given some stupid crabworx food which is no more nutritionus than cardboard. Most of the crabs were unhealthy and limp. I thought that was bad, but some of your experiewnces are horrific. Glad i researched after one of them died.
Regards, Stevo.
My names stevo These are my hermies: mangon, enco, cocon, theforestgiant. RIP sheldon and tobasco, may you forgive the humans who were treating you in those appaling conditions in the petstore.
Sounds like it's bad everywhere, no matter where you go. Poor little crabs. I believe it's going to take a very, very long time to educate pet stores and others about the proper care of hermit crabs. If we all keep at it in the little ways that we can, we will surely make a difference.
I was pleased to find a website that sells commercial hermit crab food without preservatives. The name of the site is a veterinarian doctor, and he advertises that the food contains no Ethoxyquin, which is linked to molting abnormalities in hermit crabs (to paraphrase).
We can make a difference, just keep trying!
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please feel free to share information from this website, but please be sure to give credit and a link back to the information. Failure to give credit is plagiarism. Don't take credit for someone else's information.
Unfortunately, the Crabworx food is confirmed to contain ethoxiquin, which may cause moulting defects (but pet store workers can argue that their hermit crabs seem fine, since NONE of them would live to moult at the store anyway).
There are Pets at Home stores in Australia. I hate how the store displays and catalogues depict other animals as happy and healthy, but the hermit crabs are being treated like crap and have no chance of living past 12 months unless they are sold.
Pets Paradise no longer has the lame Happy Hermits care sheet on their website and Pets at Home doesn't have any online hermit crab resources either. Why are these businesses selling animals that they cannot provide customers with proper care advice for!? >[
For those who haven't noticed, hermit crabs are rarely advertised or shown in catalogues (in Australia, they never are). Last time when I was at a Pets Paradise store, I had to stand in front of the stick insects (more expensive animals) display to get attention, because no-one came to greet me during my 30+ minute stand in front of the hermit crabs. I wanted to see how long it would take for a pet store worker to approach me voluntarily and I was no doubt unimpressed - not because I was ignored, but that the pet store workers knew literally nothing about hermit crabs.
Gladly Pets at Home no longer sell crabs in the store I went to now, I am guessing they weren't 'profitable'. I it isn't just the crabs that are treated poorly though. Those tiny little Spongebob and Dora the Explorer fish tanks make me sick.
Stevo.
My names stevo These are my hermies: mangon, enco, cocon, theforestgiant. RIP sheldon and tobasco, may you forgive the humans who were treating you in those appaling conditions in the petstore.
in the philippines its also horrible i ask them why is the substrate gravel and they said the pp's love gravel and the ee love sand? and i said that i heard that painted shells are dangerous and they said they use non toxic painT? and they also sell a kk about 350 php or 7 dollars with one hermit crab only! worst but other pet shops here are good
and i got given some stupid crabworx food which is no more nutritionus than cardboard. Most of the crabs were unhealthy and limp. I thought that was bad, but some of your experiewnces are horrific. Glad i researched after one of them died. 
