Thoughts on purchasing painted shells?

[Crabsalicious]

Curious on what everyone's thoughts are about purchasing crabs with painted shells.

I know painted shells basically kill.

But I also feel like there's value in purchasing these crabs to give them a better chance (and of course plenty of shells to *hopefully* move into).

So, do people here steer clear of those little guys or does anyone "rescue" them from the pet store (or wherever)?



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[soilentgringa]

I personally do not believe that buying a crab from a petstore = rescuing. You're intentionally purchasing an animal. Yes, you may be giving it a better chance than someone else who is ignorant of proper care, but it's not a rescue.

If someone chooses to buy a crab in a painted shell, best thing to do is offer natural shells at home. I have never had a crab stay in a painted shell once offered naturals. I just remove the colored/decorated ones after they take them off.



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[jclee]

If you really want to help out hermit crabs in the long run, adoption is best. Adoptees have far better survival rates, and they do not fuel a pet trade that does not take care of the crabs while they are in the pet store.

That said, if you do buy crabs in painted shells, part of the concern is that they have been forced into those shells either literally, or through lack of alternative, and are therefore more susceptible to PPS.

With all of that in mind, the choice is up to you, and you know that we are all here to support and help you out with whatever crab care needs come up in future.

[aussieJJDude]

Even though i try not to support the pet store industry - to a degree - when i have purchased crabs i try to get ones in natural shells, instead of fueling the desire - and can result in larger shipments of painted shells.... but each to their own.

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[Crabsalicious]

Totally understand. And thank you for sharing your thoughts / beliefs. I guess my line of thinking was on an individualistic level for the crabs, meaning I feel terrible for the ones in petstores and would like to help the ones I can. Obv I'm limited in how many I can help lol, but they are there and it's sad and isn't it better if someone helps them vs. passing by bc of the principal of the matter? (Not being snarky, just thinking out loud(.

Anyway I didn't not realize they were forced into the shells awful! Makes sense though!!! So basically, if I did get one offer plenty of shells and hope for the best. That one I had that died had a painted shell so ugh yeah you're probably right about letting them be.

I've looked for crab adoptions locally, and don't see any

Thanks for listening to me think out loud

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[aussieJJDude]

If your up to it, theres a vid on youtube that shows crabs being forced into painted shells.

The major issue is that buying crabs from bad conditions basically encourages the business to order more... lets just say you (or a group of board members from HCA) purchases in total 5 crabs... and did this daily or a couple of times a week. The store looks at previous sales and just like any business, would order more due to it being a 'popular' item... this in turn places more crabs in bad conditions, removing more crabs from the wild and encourages the owner to continue abusing their livestock.

Instead, which may be hard, not purchasing stops all this from happening. There have been times when Ive seen animal cruelty, spoken up about it and if it something that can be rectified on the spot and isnt, I'll take my business elsewhere - as far as I'm concerned, if they cant treat their animals well, then i shouldn't give them the reason to treat my money well... which works great, since there have been a few cases of stores cleaning up their act, forced to change - either loss of sales, they stop ordering live animals or management get fired - or tge store has even closed down... which for me, is very satisfying knowing that one more - bad - dealer has been kicked out of the market.

~~~
I will mention just like you, these are my own individual views... just do what you feel is right.

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[jclee]

I've looked for crab adoptions locally, and don't see any

Thanks for listening to me think out loud

I've found adoptees a few different ways. I have adopted by reading Craigslist ads in the pet section for crabs that need new homes. I have posted pictures of my enclosure to craigslist, offering to become a home for a crab that needs rehoming. Both of those worked at different times.

I have also listed myself to this forum as someone who is willing to adopt in the area, and while I don't think anyone took me up on that, I did adopt through HCA when I saw their Facebook page post that someone living in my area needed to rehome their crab.

I have also taken in crabs from parents that I knew IRL, who got them for their children, who quickly tired of them, and who were not really interested in or taking care of the crab.

Sometimes it's just a matter of patience and persistence with online websites like Craigslist, but you may be surprised at how many people get crabs that they don't really want, or want, but cannot really keep and care for.

And again, however you get your hermit crabs, we're all here to help and enjoy them, right alongside you.