New Crabber! Where do you guys get your crabs?

[Paradi]

Hello everyone! I'm Paradi (pronounced Pair-Ruh-Die in case anyone is curious)! I had a hermit crab once when I was very little and unfortunately knew nothing about their proper care which I realized later when my little buddy didn't last too long and I did a TON of research on them.

Well...more than ten years later here I am SUPER excited to get some hermit crabs! I have been cruising around on this site for the last couple months and I'm finally ready to get some little buddies for my 20 gallon long tank.

The only question I have is where do you guys get your crabs from?? I know some people go to petco and petsmart and others order online but I'm just curious as to whether anyone knows of any places to get them from where they may be getting better care. There is a petco near me that takes somewhat decent care of their crabs (aside from low humidity and painted shells). I live in Southern California btw! There is a very nice fish and reptile shop a little south from me that takes very good care of their animals but I've never seen hermit crabs there, however I've never really looked for them. (I've been going for the tropical fish which I've been keeping for a very very long time lol)

Anyways! If you guys have any input as to good places for acquiring crabs I'd love to hear! I'm super excited to be here and talk to everyone. It'll be great to make some friends who appreciate LHCs and their proper care like I do! Thank you!!

[Rawrgeous]

Hi, Welcome to the HCA! I suggest checking out craigslist and our adoption section, oftentimes you can find crabs for free, or cheap, and sometimes they are nice and throw in the supplies they have for them as well. If you haven't had a chance already you should check out our care guide! It's a great starting place to getting a new 'tat set up. viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457

[Paradi]

Thank you Rawrgeous for the response! I already have my crabitat set up and it's completely ready for crabs. My temp ranges steadily from 79-82 (whether it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night) and my humidity stays around 92%


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[Crabinski]

As Rawrgeous said, your local craigslist is an excellent source for potential rehomed crabs. People often acquire hermit crabs on a whim or thinking that they'd be easy to care for fun first pets for kids (no and no, as you know); once they realize the depth of care required and/or the kids lose interest in a pet that hides most of the time, they post everything on craigslist. My two newest PPs were adopted from craigslist almost two years ago -- the owners wanted no fee for them, just to be sure that they were going to a good home with an established crabitat and friends for their crabs. Most of the postings require some sort of fee as they're including all of their "wonderful" supplies: CritterKeeper or wire cage that served as the crab's home, pellet food, water bowl no more than 1/2" deep, colored calcisand, etc. If you explain that you have a large established tank and are looking to adopt only the crabs, you may be able to get them at no cost or for no more than the local pet store sells them for.

Also check our Adoption section and consider adding your credentials to the California page of potential adopters in the section.

As far as ordering crabs online, there are few legitimate options. There is a vendor, ReptileCity in Texas, that ships PPs and a few members have successfully ordered from them but it's not something you'd want to do most of the year due to temperature extremes. The vendor way too many people try to order from, LHC.com, is basically a fraud. Many years ago the business may have been legitimate but now no one receives the crabs they ordered, there is no communication beyond order acknowledgement and many never get their money back -- there is an insanely long thread on our site devoted to the wiles of this company.

All of that said, most of us start with at least two hermit crabs purchased from a local pet store. My other crabs were obtained from PetSmart -- in my area, PetSmart clearly beats Petco in both the set-ups and care of all of their animals species.

Good luck and welcome to HCA!

[Paradi]

I've been checking Craigslist and have found only one ad that's a little too far away and offering too many crabs. I also checked the adoption forums and the last post I saw in California was a couple years ago several hundred miles away from me :/ I'm looking for just two small crabs to keep in my tank for now. Petco and petsmart get new livestock every Thursday so I'll most likely check them out later today. Thank you for the information!


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[Paradi]

So I've called all the local pet stores and no luck! I'm thinking maybe because of the hurricane there's such slim pickings? Thankfully the local petco has two left so I'll pick them up later tonight when I have time. Fingers crossed they'll still be there! I guess I just can't be picky about which crabs I get and their size but that's okay as long as I get to save two crabs and bring them home to a nurturing, attentive environment. If they're still there tonight and I manage to get them I'll post photos for everyone and maybe ask a couple questions


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