Adoption success stories.

[Huckleberry]

Thank you HCA!
My first crab adoption!
I picked up three lovely PPs, and a HUGE(Well, way bigger than before) tank setup!
When Huckleberry comes out of his molt, I hope he likes his friends!

Crab #1
Plankton

Crab #2
Crabford

Crab #3
Gertrude

They are lovely! Wish I had pics!

[MissFrost]

We adopted yet another crab through the HCA. He is doing very well, and has no health issues. Watching him interact with other crabs is interesting, since he has been by himself for a few years. But, overall, everything went well and I look forward to the next adoption!

[BrisHermies]

I was randomly cruising Craigslist and ran across an ad for a hermit crab needing a new home with friends. The lady's name was Megan, and she was very nice. I sent an email, and she seemed pretty happy with my setup. She didn't want her hermit to be alone after his partner died.

It's such a joy to get a hermit that is so vibrant and healthy! He's got beautiful coloration, and is very active and curious. She rescued the pair from a tiny plastic Kritter Keeper and cared for them for three years. He came all the way from a shop in Florida! He fits right in with his new family, and seems happy with his new home. I love my hermies!

[DBA1999]

I put my hermit crab up for adoption and it only took about a day for my adoption post to get a response. In less than a week, I exchanged my hermit crab to her new owner. The hermit crab is now living the good life and her new owner still keeps me posted on how my old hermit crab is doing.

[Rock and murry]

On December 25th I got my first set of hermit crabs with my sisters crab tank. They were the exact opposites my smaller hermit Murry is a small rambunctious fellow who explores and comes out the second you scoop up his shell when you want to take him out of his tank and try's to climb every thing in sight including off anything with an edge. He had a hard life at a pet store then he was bought by someone who couldn't take care of him then he was given to me. I have had him for about a year and he still prefers his painted shell to the more natural shells in the tank. My second crab is large shy and always sleepy. He is the kind of crab that is fun to have when you need a break. I got him from a HCA member who didn't have time to take care of him any more. Though they have they're differences they get along surprisingly well.

[BrisHermies]

Thank you to ridingswritings for trusting me with her three beautiful hermit crabs. Football, Daenerys, and Tyrion seem to be very happy in their new home, and they are an absolute joy to have!

[AndyCrabby]

I adopted two PP's from a user from this forum and they're doing great! My crab went down to molt so he doesn't realize he has friends yet. I have named these adoptees Dwebble and Tamatoa! Dwebble seems to love to change shells and to hide under the log, very active crab! Tamatoa (big guy) loves to eat and climb and just changed shells today! The user who adopted them out to me was super nice and the crabs have adjusted great. Makes me wish I adopted another one but my tank is only a 20 gallon high!

[CrabbyMommy2017]

Thanks to the HCA for our first successful adoption!

We started crabbing in February of this year. Our first four crabs came from a free ad on Craigslist. Over this past weekend we added one more crab to our family via the adoption thread on this message board.

The people that brought this crab to us found it in a critter keeper sitting beside a dumpster. They we're able to get in touch with us thanks to this board. We now have the new crab in an isolation tank for a few days. Our new crab, named Bo, has already changed to a new shell and is doing well. In another day or so Bo will be added to our main crabitat to join Beep, Bing, Bang and Boop.

Thanks HCA

[TXcrabby022]

And another successful adoption through the HCA. We just received Oscar and Aqua, two sweet crabbies from our neighbors in San Antonio. They will soon be joining Hermie, our resident PP, in a 55-gallon tank. For now they are relaxing in their 10-gallon home.

[Kaleighshermies]

On 7/11/2017 I met with whippettogether at a local Petco to adopt her large hermit crab she has owned for 10 years. She found me through the adoption section here at HCA and wanted to adopt her big guy out since his buddies have passed away over the course of those 10 years.

We live only one town away from each other and Petco being in her town made it an easy meeting place, especially since I needed to stop there anyways for some supplies. The ride was only 10-15 mins for me.

We found each other in the parking lot and we were both pretty excited to meet another hermit crab enthusiast. She was generous enough to give me all her hermit crab supplies including his tank, decorations and most importantly some large shells for him to move into. Being that I have all mediums and a small I was worried about finding larger shells for the guy but now that I have a small selection I have plenty of time to order some more from Naples Shell Shop.

It was obvious that the hermit crab was loved and well cared for. She got him 10 years ago from a closing mall kiosk who were so willing to get rid of the rest of their stock they gave her the remaining 18 hermit crabs they had and all their supplies for some crazy low price like $60.00. She had all 18 through out the past 10 years and lost the others due to molting issues. Being the last survivor she was ready to pass him along so he could have more hermie buddies. She loves him very much and I know he was a very cherished family pet and I admire that she wanted the best for him and didn't want him to be alone. Oh! And his name is Mr. Crabby. (Haven't asked if she sexed him or not so for now he is male, later I will check to make sure) She said her good bye to her buddy, deff a tear jerker moment, and we gave each other a big hug good bye promising to keep each other updated.

He was just coming out from a molt. He still had exoskeleton bits around him (Full large pincher and a few legs) and was tucked into the corner of the tank. When I got him home I set up his tank to make him cozy while he was in isolation and recuperating from his molt. So far he has stayed under the log I gave him but he has been very curious poking his head out every now and then to check out his surroundings. This morning I peaked in and it looks like his exoskeleton is just about gone and I saw some dirt in the salt water dish indicating to me he got a drink and perhaps took a little dip in the pool.

Over all very good experience and I am so happy I was finally able to adopt!

[ROSIEonFIRE]

Today I finally met my first 3 hermie babies! I posted an add on this forum in the local adoptions section, not expecting much to come of it, and within a few hours someone contacted me telling me they had 3 crabs they were looking to rehome! We were only a few hours apart so we agreed to meet halfway to make the hand off. Everything went swimmingly and now i am the proud mama of 3 crabs! Cant wait to find the last 2 additions to my colony.

[broke669]

i got my first ever hermie back in april. i'd thought about owning a hermie before, but always stopped myself from getting one because either the local shops in my town didnt have any in stock, and also because i knew they were a high maintenance pet.
anyway, back in april i was randomly looking at the ads in the local classifieds and came across one for a hermit crab. i dismissed it, but over the course of a week i found i couldnt stop thinking about it. finally, i contacted the seller to see if her crab was still available. luckily, it was. after some questions about the crab, i decided to purchase it, which was totally an implulse move for me, since i had no real idea about what i was getting myself into. from the agreement to purchase, to the day i was to pick it up, i read everything i could about how to care for hermit crabs.
when i went to pick it up, i new i was definitely saving this crab's life. the owner had had him about 6 months, and the entire time had kept him in a tiny kritter keeper, with no direct access to food or water, and only rough aquarium gravel on the bottom to sit on. as inexperienced as i was, i knew that the poor crab was suffering.
i took him home and rushed to set up his crabitat asap. as soon as i got him into the tank, he went straight to both pools of water, and spent at least a good 10 min in each one.
it was a rough first couple of months with him. he was constantly digging holes, and kept me wondering if he would be moulting. then at one point he lost 4 legs in one week. honestly, i thought i'd rescued him too late and was waiting for the day i'd find him dead in his crabitat.
but he kept up his stength, bounced back, and finally at the end of august went down for a moult. he emerged after 5 weeks, looking bright and shiny and full of energy.
mr. crabs is a joy to watch, and each day i'm thankful i made the decision to adopt him.

[piratetoothgir]

Original Post
2/13/18

"I actually just found this thread for myself, so why not reply to it?

I have adopted once, and it was a positive experience! I got my crabs from Houston, which isn't but five hours from my location, so it wasn't too hard to get them shipped to my house.
It was during the winter, which wasn't ideal, but nobody was harmed.
They were being shipped in weather of 45° which is very cold, but the box was well packed.

I had to revive them to room air temperature, while sitting a few feet away from a space heater, they eventually came out
They are still doing well today, and I hope they live for a long time!"

Updated Post
8/15/18

My adoptions are doing really well, nobody has had any issues or complications being in the new tank.
I have experienced them going through several molts and shell swaps.
They have gotten along well, and taken to the change almost immediately.

[Motörcrab]

We rescued 3 md/lg PP's back in April, on my birthday actually! My wife was talking to coworkers about hermit crabs and another coworker overheard the conversation. That coworker just gave 3 crabs and 10 gallon tank to another coworker because they had kids that would like them. After my wife talked about what care they actually needed they gave us everything. They had painted and lacquered shells, a tiny bit of colored aquarium rock, sponge, and zero humidity. After getting them situated in better conditions they all went to down within a few days. After being down for a month and a half they all resurfaced from fresh molts and all changed to new shells! They were active for a week or two devouring whatever food was in the cage. 2 of them went back down early June. One of them just emerged last night after hiding for a month or so. The other dude is still MIA. The third guy has been active for the last month or so only coming out at night. From what I can tell they all seem to be doing well. I just wish I knew what MIA is up to.

[accidentalcrabbist2]

I found a purple pincher (I think) on our neighborhood golf course. The course had been abandoned and gets mowed 4 times a year. He was trucking it away from the mowed area. I checked around but it is safe to say he was dumped. He is set up in a 10 gallon tank now and is the most active hermit crab I have ever owned. He has changed shells from the painted pink shell at least 3 times. Once right in front of my family. I plan to throw the painted shell he arrived in away after a few more days but it has been an exciting week for him and us. Hopefully he continues to survive the week. Glad to have found this group as a care reference.