HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi, I'm just reentering the world of hermit crabs and am planning on getting 3 hermit crabs soon. I was wondering which pet store treats their crabs good. Is Petsmart good or Petco?

I think it depends on the specific location. Some of them have ok conditions while others are terrible, but it is a very small minority that actually has good conditions.

I personally do not buy from pet stores however and encourage others to adopt. I found all of my crabs on Craigslist or on here (for free) over the course of a couple of months and was able to save most of them from bad conditions. In this way you are not supporting the wild harvest of hermit crabs and the poor conditions that they were most likely shipped, housed and sold in Plus, there will always be unwanted, uncared for hermit crabs in the world, just like any other animal.

That's just my two cents and I'm sure you'll get more replies from others with more info on the pet stores!

Ellysara wrote:I think it depends on the specific location. Some of them have ok conditions while others are terrible, but it is a very small minority that actually has good conditions.

I personally do not buy from pet stores however and encourage others to adopt. I found all of my crabs on Craigslist or on here (for free) over the course of a couple of months and was able to save most of them from bad conditions. In this way you are not supporting the wild harvest of hermit crabs and the poor conditions that they were most likely shipped, housed and sold in Plus, there will always be unwanted, uncared for hermit crabs in the world, just like any other animal.

That's just my two cents and I'm sure you'll get more replies from others with more info on the pet stores!

This!

I second to what was said above ^^ it really depends on location. I work at petco and even though I see the policy on how we need to set up our tanks and how we need to care for them and with my own store we are pretty much to the T with care, and I am really proud of how well my store takes care of our crabs, its not perfect I know and its not the best but they have heat, humidity, fresh fruits and veggies almost everyday. and I know part of that was me and how I pushed to get some of these things constant. but then I when I go and visit our other stores in my area and they do not hold the standards that policy states. which I do not understand because the same regional manager who beats down on my store that keeps us on track is the same RG for those other stores and they are not as good as my store. so even though Petco and I am sure Petsmart lays down standards and policies does not always mean that the store will abide by it.
I prefer to rescue and adopt. I check craigslist when I have the room, and I keep an eye on HCA facebook page. but I also have customers who will just drop off crabs because their kid got bored of them or sometimes I get the most bogus or crazy stories. but this I where you can save a life that previously did not have a good home.

I got mine from petsmart, and they seem to be doing fine at the moment c: I do often see a lot of hermies for sale in the pet section of Kijiji (craiglist in the us). It really saddened me to see all these hermies being given away D;

My mother bought me 4 baby hermies from petsmart and brought them straight to my house. 20 minutes away in an airconditioned car. They didn't move around on the way here like every other crab I have ever had has done. I have 27 too. She got here and they wouldn't come out so I figured the would come out in their bath. Nothing. I keep looking and I decide to smell them (when did I become a hermit crab sniffer?) each and every one of them was dead.i was horrified. They were cooked alive at petsmart. Since then I purchased 3 there together. 1 died because I think I stressed him too much during my tank move. The other 2 are crazy healthy little ones. I think with crabs at petsmart it is hit or miss.

This is Persephone

This is Hermes

This is Hercules. I couldn't find any pictures when he was out exploring. He is the one that died.

I bought all mine at Petsmart here outside of Pittsburhg and they have all been good. Big, big eaters, very lively, very friendly.

Thanks guys, Craigslist doesn't have hermit crabs for adoption in my area and the local animal shelter almost never carries them. So there is a pet store in Alameda that takes great care of their hermit crabs (My local Petsmart doesn't carry them) Petco does but the one in Alameda has fantastic living conditions for crabs

[*3 pp] Mr Krabs, Kermit The Hermit and Sparky,
3 cats, Sparky, Kit Skui
1 dog, Zoey
3 hamsters Bibbles [longhaired syrian,] Tiny [robo] and Biscuit [Russian Dwarf Hamster]
5 goldfish
1 turtle, Myrtle