HCP isn't as wonderful as everyone thinks

[KellyCrabbieLove]

It shouldn't be difficult. I Google greenhouse indianapolis and up popped places. I called the one closest to me and they had it.

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[SachOfSCP]

They may be having issues & as the biggest HC supply retailer it's hard to keep "good" sizes in stock (as a seller, I understand that some of the wholesalers require a 100-1,000 minimum order) but I promise you *their* foods (as opposed to some of the other lines they carry) are solid.
On an aside, I sell worm castings in my store as well as shells, organic foods & other supplies, so......

[wodesorel]

Someone I order from on Etsy had that happen with the shells. When she contacted them they responded with "They'll grown into them." Seems more and more is coming to light. I trusted them and fed almost exclusively their foods since the beginning. I wish I hadn't.

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Their foods really are okay. Something is going on - when they stopped selling hermits they said 'big changes' were coming. Sounds like they got stretched thin, maybe? I've been here since 2009 and these are the first complaints I've heard. In the past they bent over backwards to make things right.

[KellyCrabbieLove]

They may be having issues & as the biggest HC supply retailer it's hard to keep "good" sizes in stock (as a seller, I understand that some of the wholesalers require a 100-1,000 minimum order) but I promise you *their* foods (as opposed to some of the other lines they carry) are solid.
On an aside, I sell worm castings in my store as well as shells, organic foods & other supplies, so......

I thought so until I had 2 bags contaminated with broken bits of plastic from who knows what.

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[CallaLily]

I've been here since 2009 and these are the first complaints I've heard. In the past they bent over backwards to make things right.

First for me too.

[megmaholm]

I've never had any issues with them either, fortunately. I feed a lot of their foods plus their mineral supplement, and place orders fairly regularly. I always joke that if I stop feeding their foods, my crabs will riot. The few times I've contacted them they've replied quickly and are super helpful. The only incident I've ever had was with a piece of metal/plastic in a bag of Colorado Critter Co kibble - but the packaging wasn't done by THCP, so I just went straight to CCC to get it resolved.

I wonder how big their customer base is, and if it's just the 2 of them trying to keep up. I assume they still keep crabs as pets, and I can only imagine how busy they must be. They seem to sell out of shells quickly, but I don't know if they're not ordering enough or if their suppliers just can't keep up with demand. I don't get my shells from them anymore, but the sizes were always spot on when I did order some from them.

[wodesorel]

Trying to find proper sized shells wholesale is IMPOSSIBLE. There is a severe shell shortage and it's starting to affect supply lines. I can find one place that can do large Tapestries, they only order once a year themselves, and they want $3 per shell plus shipping (which can be another 25 to 75 per shell based on the size of the order. And this is wholesale. I can only imagine what they must be doing to try and find shells that are the right size at a price people are willing to pay. They're lucky they're big and can do large orders, which brings the prices down more.

[kornchaser]

I've never had any issues with them either, fortunately. I feed a lot of their foods plus their mineral supplement, and place orders fairly regularly. I always joke that if I stop feeding their foods, my crabs will riot. The few times I've contacted them they've replied quickly and are super helpful.

I can only imagine the riots when not getting their favorites! I've never contacted them personally for problems because I haven't had any problems with orders.

... I wonder how big their customer base is, and if it's just the 2 of them trying to keep up.

... I don't get my shells from them anymore, but the sizes were always spot on when I did order some from them.

Always spot on, yes. But that's not what I was talking about...

Someone I order from on Etsy had that happen with the shells. When she contacted them they responded with "They'll grown into them." Seems more and more is coming to light. ...

How I see it as there's not enough shells in the world for human consumers/customers. There really should be protected environments for snails to grow and breed in their own respective natural habits for use of their shells for souvenirs and pet hermits. The snail and wild hermit population is hurting, we're all just seeing it. So that's why businesses like HCP are hurting in sales / what's on their shelves.

Their foods really are okay. Something is going on - when they stopped selling hermits they said 'big changes' were coming. Sounds like they got stretched thin, maybe? I've been here since 2009 and these are the first complaints I've heard. In the past they bent over backwards to make things right.

My crabs haven't tried their food but stretched thin sounds accurate. Demand/service goes hand in hand. If there's not a healthy and sustainable way to sell so many shells for tourist souvenirs, crabbers, collectors etcetera and crab owners (in general) demand more for the sake of their beloved pets (we all want to keep them happy) then there would be conflict. Some of you longer lasting crabbers are probably shocked because you didn't see it coming?
P.S. Contamination issues aren't on purpose, bad for business, accidents. The rude replies from anyone in the business just a sounds like their worn thin from the in-demand conflict.
My 2¢ hope it helped!


Mommy of 12 PP babies - Baby, Toby, Sid, Matty, Junior, Kaylee, Aries, Adrian, Turbo, Flower, Boo and Freckles.
RIP Octavius

[wodesorel]

If there's not a healthy and sustainable way to sell so many shells for tourist souvenirs, crabbers, collectors etcetera and crab owners (in general) demand more for the sake of their beloved pets (we all want to keep them happy) then there would be conflict. Some of you longer lasting crabbers are probably shocked because you didn't see it coming?

Not that I didn't see it coming, but I am surprised about the species being affected. Many of the shells that our hermits like are the same species that are being farmed for humans to eat. The companies seem to be choosing to harvest sooner at a smaller size these days. Or they're not harvesting them at all because they were wild caught and can't be found anymore. Or they're coming from a different location that they used to and are slightly different in shape or size. (ie Magpies, which are native to the Caribbean but are being farmed now in India as a food crop, and yes, the Indian farmed shells look much different even though it's the same species.)

[kornchaser]

Not that I didn't see it coming, but I am surprised about the species being affected. Many of the shells that our hermits like are the same species that are being farmed for humans to eat. The companies seem to be choosing to harvest sooner at a smaller size these days. Or they're not harvesting them at all because they were wild caught and can't be found anymore. Or they're coming from a different location that they used to and are slightly different in shape or size. (ie Magpies, which are native to the Caribbean but are being farmed now in India as a food crop, and yes, the Indian farmed shells look much different even though it's the same species.)

Agreed, there's a big gap between larger tapestries and smaller camo/jade turbos that I know didn't used to be there (or so big). It's from 1 1/8th through to 1 1/2 that I've noticed. Smaller Gbrus too that's what I call green bruneus (sp??) silvermouth turbos. (Are you talking about picca shells with the magpie?)


Mommy of 12 PP babies - Baby, Toby, Sid, Matty, Junior, Kaylee, Aries, Adrian, Turbo, Flower, Boo and Freckles.
RIP Octavius

[wodesorel]

The green turbo family is a mess - there are four species that are sold under that name and the sellers all swap the latin names around between them. Only way to know what you're getting is to see the particular shell you're getting. Brunneus are supposed to be the ones with the severely defined spiral. Silvermouths are heavier with ridges (when unpolished). Striped Turbos are the lightweight ones that are greenish with a silver interior and are actually Fluctuosus from Mexico.

Yes, Pica and magpies are the same shell. They're also sometimes called Top Shells.

And yep, the Jade turbos are only available bigger because of the decorators - people want big shells for their homes and they fetch top dollar. They're worth more to grow out to a big size now than to harvest smaller for eating and then selling the shell as byproduct. That's why trying to find a nice 1 1/4 Jade turbo is almost impossible these last few years. It never used to be a problem when I started crabbing. (Incidentally - Camo, Jade and Pearlized are all the same shell, at different levels of polishing.)

[soilentgringa]

Snails are usually super prolific so the demand must severely outweigh the supply.

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[kornchaser]

The green turbo family is a mess - there are four species that are sold under that name and the sellers all swap the latin names around between them. Only way to know what you're getting is to see the particular shell you're getting. Brunneus are supposed to be the ones with the severely defined spiral. Silvermouths are heavier with ridges (when unpolished). Striped Turbos are the lightweight ones that are greenish with a silver interior and are actually Fluctuosus from Mexico.

(Incidentally - Camo, Jade and Pearlized are all the same shell, at different levels of polishing.)

Love these fun facts! I knew the jade one, and to see people's faces when I show them the brown or jade left over! Priceless!


Mommy of 12 PP babies - Baby, Toby, Sid, Matty, Junior, Kaylee, Aries, Adrian, Turbo, Flower, Boo and Freckles.
RIP Octavius

[SachOfSCP]

Too sick to do direct quoting so will thrown in what I can remember in response to the last few replies.

What you said about the farmers letting the jade snails get bigger makes perfect sense Wode; I just hadn't heard that & always wondered about the gap myself.

I'd be willing to bet that any contamination was in one of the products that isn't directly theirs (like the CCC stuff mentioned; several of their foods are now being supplied by other companies & even crabbers-there's a particular "brand" that I & a few friends were the original guinea pigs for before she took them to HCP).

I think with the better care info available now, people's crabs are growing bigger & that also makes the available shell sizes harder to come by; there's a range of what's become the average size that is literally always sold out in the wholesalers & so yeah when the sellers have to pay $4 each sell even ordering wholesale it doesn't leave us options on having competitive pricing & still making a profit.

My crabs have grown up on their mineral powder as I keep it in my tanks at all times & I have to say I wish I could replicate & sell it myself,hh.

I find that interesting that the magpies are being farmed in India since at one time the snails were protected in the wild in order to preserve the shells for the hermit crabs. (Did you know it's also a member of the turbo family?)

All in all, when you compare HCP to pet stores & LHC.....they're the bees' knees

[megmaholm]

Always spot on, yes. But that's not what I was talking about...

I'm aware of that, but someone else mentioned sizes and I wanted to just throw in my experience.

All in all, when you compare HCP to pet stores & LHC.....they're the bees' knees

Haha yes, good point on that!