Rescue crab success rate

[RamTech]

I've taken to rescuing obviously distressed crab from local stores and was wondering what sort of success rates anyone else doing the same may be having. So far, none of the PP's I've brought home have made it but my latest one is looking very promising. He (presumably, because I haven't handled him much yet) was missing 2 legs and was laying on his side when I found him. He languished in my ISO tank for 3 days, eating sporadically before finally going under. Hopefully, I'll have a molted and de-stressed crab soon. Anyway, has anyone else had any luck saving crab in this condition or am I just throwing away my money?

[CallaLily]

IMO, your efforts would be best put to adoption. I know it's hard to resist purchasing hermit crabs, especially ones that are obviously struggling, but it only supports their sale. Every one you purchase is replaced with another. I know not everyone agrees or they feel it won't make any difference but the more of us who stop purchasing hermit crabs, the less crabs being pulled from the wild. Think about focusing your time, energy, and money on adoption and education instead.

[RamTech]

Keeping them as pets wouldn't be so bad if people would keep them in a proper habitat and not those overpriced wire cages. I keep an eye out for adoptees in my area but haven't found any. Judging by the cages for sale, I presume a large number of crab are dying off from improper care.

[jarteta97]

Someone had the idea of posting a want ad on craigslist. They got a response within 48 hours. Also skimming the for sale/want ads on craigslist help

[fraksocks]

There is not a single hermit crab available for sale in a pet store today that wasn't captured from the wild. With a few exceptions there are no collection limits or regulations on this process. The collection process in and of itself is very difficult and hard on hermit crabs. They are collected from the beaches where they live, placed in cramped containers (which causes stress and injury), not given appropriate substrate, in some cases they are forced from their native shells and forced back into painted shells, usually shipped at least twice - once to a holding facility or middle supplier and then a second time to the pet store. Every time that they are shipped it's stressful, they may not be provided with food or water (if the package gets delayed this is obviously a bigger issue than if it gets to its destination as quickly as planned) and the conditions in the shipping containers are probably not ideal. The hermit crabs are often shipped regardless of the season so they may be exposed to extreme temperatures which can show up as PPS weeks later. This is further compounded by the fact that once they arrive at the pet store the employees often don't provide appropriate care for the crabs and they don't provide appropriate care info to people interested in them as pets. Many, many hermit crabs must be collected initially just to ensure that the few that you see in the pet stores actually make it there (since many do not survive through the stressful collection and shipping process). Purchasing hermit crabs just supports this entire process.