Hashemian Blog: Hermit Crab Goodbye

Hermit Crab Goodbye

Not long after we lost one of our pet rabbits, our final remaining hermit crab died sometime yesterday or the day before.

The reason the time of death is vague is because hermit crabs are generally lethargic creatures, at least in captivity. They do move about from time to time and engage in all sorts of activities, only at a slower pace. But sometimes they just hide in their shells (especially during molting times) and it's hard to tell that they are alive unless you pick them up and detect motion in the shell. They are extremely easy to take care of and require little time to look after. Just keep their food and water fairly fresh and clean the tank a couple of times a year and keep their crabitat warm and humid.

We had already buried a total of three hermit crabs and this guy was the last. He or she lasted nearly two years, but about a month ago it developed a strange condition losing its legs or claws one by one, until he had lost it all at the end. A Google search revealed that this condition is usually caused by stress and some crabs can recover from it, but others succumb to it and die.

This morning I buried the crab, complete with its shell and its severed last two legs, near the buried rabbit outside the house. the kitchen seemed emptier tonight without the crabitat but, as it is with all beings, death is inevitable. I think we did the best we could to make our hermit crab's final days as comfortable as possible.
hermit crabs,rabbits,crabitat,pets
<Hermit Crab Goodbye>

// posted by rh

3 comments |

3 Comments:

By Anonymous, at 17/8/07 1:59 PM

oh my gosh this story made me want to scream!!!! hermit crabs are NOT lethargic, they do take ALOT of work to properly be taken care of and they should NEVER have those HORRIBLE painted shells that KILL THEM!!! it sounds like to me that you are neglecting your crabs TERRIBLY!!!

By Anonymous, at 3/9/07 7:16 PM

i love land hermit crabs. infact, i like all crabs. do you know what made him so stressed?

By rh, at 3/9/07 8:08 PM

captivity and loneliness, i suppose. we did all we could to make him/her comfortable. fresh food, water, sand, and sponges, etc. we could have bought new ones for company, but that would've lead to a perpetual cycle.

Hashemian Blog

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Hermit Crab Goodbye

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