Cost of Hermit Crabs in Your Area

[AutumnFalls]

Hey guys, I know it's a random question but I'm curious. I was at my local Petland today and noticed that the cost of a hermit crab had more than doubled! They used to be between $6-$10 depending on the size. Now, a small hermit crab is $21! I'm guessing it's because the Canada-US border is basically closed and there's a supply issue. But, it got me curious. How much are hermit crabs in your area and how do they price them? They used to separate them by "fancy shells" and "normal shells" and charge more for fancy shells. Now, it's just large and small crabs at different prices.

Side note: I was very happy with their setup. Not only did the crabs have fresh food, they were also at 80% humidity.

[Spocktopus]

One of the main reasons I got back into crabbing is how cheap they are in my area. A small crab at a beachside store or gift shop is usually about 1.99, while at petsmart/Petco they're usually 3.99 or 4.99 USD. Jumbos can go anywhere from 10-15 USD in some places, and they're selling very large crabs at my local Petco right now for the flat rate of 3.99. The Petco I go to does charge an extra dollar for a "fancy" shell, but the employees didn't seem to mind charging me 3.99 for my fancy crab . It's all the stuff inside the tank that cost the big money for me.

[Theresa Howard]

I adopted all 7 of my crabs. The first 3 I paid 50usd and they came with a 40gal tank and some supplies. the other 4 were just given to me with a 37gal tank and stand and tons of supplies. The first group came from craigslist and the second came from FB marketplace. The hermit crab industry is horrible, that's why I adopted. Please look into adopting if you're getting more crabs.

[Pumpkincrab]

The local pet smart near me sells them for $6.29 each. Their setup is actually very correct and all natural shells used.

[wodesorel]

My local shop tries to order in natural shelled smalls, and sells all their hermits for $7. She found jumbos at an expo years ago and bought them for me to take and she said they were $15 each, but we were really tight on money at the time and I know she felt horrible for them so may have "rescued" them out of her own pocket. (None of the three made it though.)

[wodesorel]

Betta fish have gone sky high though! Our walmarts used to sell them for $4, but they all stopped. The local chain has their cheapest at $13 now up to $30, and our local shop regularly has $17 ones.

[Crabby7Crabber]

My local pet store sells them for 7 USD for a small crab, but 15 for the ones with painted shells (ugh).

[crabbycasey]

Topsail Island, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC both have similar offers of free crabs with purchase of one of those little plastic carriers for $11.99...or a crab only for $3.99, most were small-medium size. These were both beach shops with poor conditions and painted shells ...and of course you spend more on food, hut, water bowl and extra shell! Little did I know what I would end up spending once I learned what they needed, lol ! Worth it though!

My local Petco in Raleigh, NC sells them for $6.99 and they were all small-medium size too, also with the painted shells...but they had good tank conditions (unlike my local Petsmart, sad).


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[FJrocks003]

Betta fish have gone sky high though! Our walmarts used to sell them for $4, but they all stopped. The local chain has their cheapest at $13 now up to $30, and our local shop regularly has $17 ones.

Really? I just picked up one at a local pet smart for 2.50.

[AutumnFalls]

I adopted all 7 of my crabs. The first 3 I paid 50usd and they came with a 40gal tank and some supplies. the other 4 were just given to me with a 37gal tank and stand and tons of supplies. The first group came from craigslist and the second came from FB marketplace. The hermit crab industry is horrible, that's why I adopted. Please look into adopting if you're getting more crabs.

I probably won't be getting any more crabs. The more I've learned about it, then more I dislike it - as much as I love my crabs. I don't like the idea of any wild caught pets, really.

I probably should have mentioned that my prices were in CAD. It'd be about $16 US.