HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'd been meaning to get a few extra shells for my crabs. In terms of numbers, I had enough in the 'tat to meet the suggested minimum per crab, but there were a couple that no one ever seemed to touch, and my new guy is small enough that while I had shells that were adequate for him, it was worth getting some that are even better--I want to be confident that he has a good field of options. The problem was that shells at the local pet stores are three to four bucks each, and it's never a sure thing that they'll have the size or type that I'm looking for.

It occurred to me to check the nearby hobby stores, and sure enough, the local Hobby Lobby has bags of shells for five bucks apiece, so on my way home from work today, I grabbed a bag of smallish ones and a bag of mediumish. With the 40% coupon that Hobby Lobby always has on their Web site, I was able to get out of there for just over eight bucks once tax was factored in. Most of the shells are obviously no good--wrong size, wrong shape, a few that are just plain broken--but between the shells that my crabs can use and those that I can use as secondary food dishes, I ended up spending less than a dollar per shell.

I now have two crabs, a dozen extra shells, and I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

Glad you were able to find some good shells at Hobby Lobby! A few years back I got a bag of shells from AC Moore for my large crab. I was surprised to find that there was a better selection there than at the pet stores. I just adopted 2 crabs using this forum, and they are much smaller than my crab Beau. So it looks like I'll be off to the craft store to find some small shells for the new guys. I haven't been to Hobby Lobby in a while and I love that store. What a great excuse to go shopping there!

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I will have to check that out!!!

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