21/08/2025
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1141055781219575&set=a.392828322708995&type=3&mibextid=wwXIfr
For you, a hermit crab’s lifespan is measured in months. Your kid picks one out at a beach souvenir shop. Its shell is painted to resemble SpongeBob’s freckled face. Dutifully, you buy accessories. To the shoebox-sized tank, you add some sand, a plastic palm tree, a little dish of water with a sponge, and a sprinkling of food pellets. The crab proves an unsatisfying pet. It barely moves. It curls into its shell when you approach. One day, there is a smell.
Hermit crabs were meant for so much more. They are social creatures, who can live for decades in the wild—the hermit crabs for sale on the boardwalk were all plucked from beaches. A dedicated group of crab activists rescues crabs that are abandoned at the end of summer, spending thousands of dollars on spacious "crabitats" filled with enrichment activities like climbing walls and swings, as well as specialty food. One woman is even trying (and succeeding!) at breeding hermit crabs, with the hope that someday, we'll regard the humble crab as a pet akin to a dog, or even an exotic bird: a pet with a rich life, that takes time, resources, and dedication to care for.
Read more about America’s most misunderstood pet—and the humans are fighting to change their fate: https://slate.trib.al/bV0aXSE
