Should I Set My Crabs Free?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:49 am

Hello all,The longer I keep these wonderful pets, the longer I feel sorry for them. Please do not take this the wrong way...I absolutley adore them as pets and will keep them and continue to give them the best of care if it is not possible to free them. I happen to live in Texas and know that there are wild hermit crabs at the coast. They must migrate or hibernate for the chilly winters though.Obviously I have not given this any research. I just wonder if any of you other owners have thought along the same lines?I know not to release the wrong species into the incorrect habitat and that after a certain period of time that many "pets" become too dependent on their human keepers to even go free any longer.I am starting to feel like keeping a wild bird in a cage or something.Maybe it will pass?Anybody want to share any thoughts without flaming me to a crisp? I look forward to the conversation.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:09 am

My thoughts would be that I would set them free in their natural habitat to only be taken again by crab farmers to be sold through the chains and then they would end up either dead or with new people. I also think once they are "used to" being in our environment, used to being fed, etc. it would be very hard and stressful for them to re-adapt. Personally, I think it's a bad idea to set them free.

KaraJo · Post by **KaraJo** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:15 am

To be honest, I would be against it. I know it is actually illegal to release even a native fish back into the wild. In captivity, they dont come in contact with every day diseases and things so their immune system is not strong enough. They also may find it hard to hunt down their own food since it is just handed to them daily. Now I know we arent talking about fish, but in a way, it can relate to the releasing of hermit crabs. I understand where you are coming from, but in my eyes, people are going to sell them no matter what, so rescuing ones in that are neglected, in bad shape, or just arent wanted anymore is the best thing for these guys. Providing proper care can be good enough as them being in the wild.Thnk about it, what if you release your crabs into the wild, they come on contact with a wild crab carrying some sort of disease, and they can't fight it off...or a natural predator gets ahold of your crab. even worse, what if they are collected up again to be shipped off to another pet store and the whole process starts all over again! I know thats just the way life goes, and you'll never know what really happens, they could go on to live a happy, healthy life out there, but atleast you know they are safe with you and getting the best care they can get in captivity. If you really feel this way about them, my advise is to adopt the ones in need, ones that people buy and dont want anymore, or even in a pet stores, ones that seem like the average person couldn't care for properly whether it be a badly broken shells, missing legs, or they are badly in need of a molt.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:47 am

I applaud your post and your concerns Leslieloo, and totally understand your sentiments. There are times that I too have wished they could all be set free. I would make great sacrifices if I could return mine to their source of origin and know they would live freely, and while I would miss them I would be happy to never crab again. Unfortunately releasing a few wouldn't change anything. KaraJo makes some good points additionally.What I'd like to see is harvesting stopped altogether and it would take a great many voices and actions to accomplish that. Only then would things change. Without stopping them from being taken from captivity, even if we stopped purchasing as some members here no longer do, there will always be new customers to keep supply and demand going.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:58 am

It's actually illegal in most if not all of the states to release a captive "pet" back into the wild...native or not. They make these laws to protect the wild populations from non-native parasites, diseases, and pathogens. Even if the crab you release is kept with others of the same species, there is a good chance it has encountered a non-native crab somewhere along the way and could have potentially picked something up from it. Once these animals are brought into captivity it is really our job and responsibility to give them the best we can.I do know how you feel though...the most we can do is save as many that have poor homes as we can. The only problem with this is it ends up supporting the wild capture of these creatures.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:22 am

Educating stores and new crabbers is one of the best things you can do to help crabs.

KaraJo · Post by **KaraJo** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:26 am

quote:Originally posted by Oran:KaraJ0 and myself have been throwing the idea around of making/printing care sheets for crabs and giving them to lfs's to hand out to customers who purchase crabs. That may help people who are mis-informed provide the proper care/environment for their crabs. Just an idea though... Actually, people on here do this....My problem is if you try telling the actual store that they arent giving proper care, they just dont care. They dont want to put anymore time and money into it and you have to realize, if they have proper care in the pet stores, it is likely they will dig under and molt, and they cant be sold then. Passing out care sheets so that after they leave the store they can get proper care is as good as it can get in my opinion, but even informing just one person can save the lives of many many crabs (take Homer & Dude for example...like 100 crabs are in awesome care because he took the time to research and do things right.)If we can breed them in captivity, then harvesting won't need to happen, and I think we are one step closer to that also, just not there yet. I think it will happen eventually.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:45 am

We helped our local mom and pop pet store to make changes for their crabs. They even had a moulter and it lived!! I agree with Karajo that it is hard to get them to change and if we never give up trying to inform people more crabs will be better taken care of. I too have thought about if you could set the crabs free. It is sad sometimes to know that before they were taken from the beach they could walk for miles if they wanted.We tend to not purchase healthy crabs and try to give the ones in need a home. Sometimes they make it but when they dont I know they have went from a better place than the pet store!