Save the Hermit Crabs

There are over 500 to 600 species of Hermit Crabs around the world, many of which are stolen from their homes of South America, Ecuador, and the Caribbean, to be packaged and transported over a 1000 miles away to be caged up behind suffocating walls and resold as house pets. What these pet stores and pet owners may not know is that these "pets" are not animals who can be simply thrown into an aquarium tank.

Hermit Crabs have very specific and unique behavioral and physical needs that are imperative in order for survival. Hermit Crabs require a controlled, highly humid, environment so their modified gills are able to breathe, but if the climate is too hot or dry, along with not being hot enough, they will slowly suffocate and die. Giving hermit crabs tap water, painting their shells with toxic decorative paint, not having an appropriate type/depth of substrate to facilitate the molting process, not maintaining their demanding diet, and cleaning their tank with chemical based cleaners will cause fatality amongst these innocent crabs. Along with the slow torture these crabs experience as house pets, even if these essential needs were sustained, hermit crabs do not live long in captivity. They need room to grow, companionship, fresh salt water, and places to explore that only a native habitat can provide. In the natural habitats of the tropical seashores,

Hermit crabs can live for more than 30 years, but after being purchased, their life expectancy decreases to only a couple months. Hermit Crabs are not meant to be caged, or kept as pets. They thrive in large colonies, highly humid climates and areas to explore and forage, not behind plastic walls and painted shells.