Hermit Harbor

12/15/2023

Anyone near south Florida looking to get a free upgraded crabitat?

11/13/2023

Not just hermit crab food, we have specialty food mixes! No toxic pellet food here. Plus all the informational links you'll need to help your crab thrive!

10/31/2023

SHELL SALE!!!

15% off all shells, minimum order $20. Use code SHELLS at check out. Expires 1/1/2024.

www.hermitharbor.com

09/09/2023

I was asked to make a video about my favorite heat source, the Reptile Basics connected heat tape. I have this on my largest tanks and even my latest 20 gallon (high). It’s cheap, easy, available in nearly any length, and reliable.

07/24/2023

Have you heard of the new USPS Ground Advantage? If shipping costs turned you away from buying, check again with this new shipping option. It’s faster and cheaper than before.

07/16/2023

Been considering the CrabCon goodies? 🎊

I made toooooo much! 🙄 So let's have a sale! 🥳

Orders over $30 use code OOPS for 15% off. Plus FREE SHIPPING over $35 as always.

Valid on website only.
www.just2oldcrabs.com

07/14/2023

The used 125 gallon tank came with the ugliest stand. Not only was this stand ugly, it wasn’t built correctly. It was reinforced and got a facelift.

07/14/2023

My son (the one who wanted hermit crabs and got this whole rescue thing started) is helping mix substrate for the new 125 gallon tank. Thank you buddy!

07/10/2023

PRODUCT SALE! Use code HARBOR (on check out page) to save 15% off orders over $20

Expires 7/31/23

We still have to update inventory after CrabCon, please send a message if you need something not shown online.

06/24/2023

Show Me Snakes and Reptile Expo in Jacksonville today.

06/08/2023

It’s almost time for Crab Con!

05/11/2023

15% off orders over $25 now until 6/15/23. Use code SUMMER at check out.

03/16/2023

The topper is finished and in place. It’s a 130 or 150 gallon bridging 220 and 230 gallon tanks. The foster crabs have extra space to roam now.

02/19/2023

FEBRUARY SALE

Use code SAVE15 and take 15% off your entire order. Expires at the end of the month.

Need help measuring? Send a message before you order, I’m happy to help.

02/14/2023

We are going to be there, will you?

In addition to hosting a vendor booth, Evie is doing a presentation on preventing and eliminating pests in the crabitat.

CrabCon2023 is almost here! In todays video we give you all of the information you need to know about CrabCon! And yes… it is IN PERSON this year! Check out the video for more information.

01/09/2023

Where you measure matters. Here’s a shell that is sold at www.hermitharbor.com as a 1.10-1.19”. If you measure the outside of the opening, it’s nearly 1 1/2”

01/07/2023

New shells are in! My daughter and husband helped me get through some of the unwrapping, inspecting, measuring, and sorting.

New carved Petholatus in 1.10-1.19” and 1.20-.29” and 1.50-1.59” jades are online now. It’ll be a while before the thousands of new shells are added to inventory but we’re working on it 😁 www.hermitharbor.com

If you’re curious to know how the shells are arranged on the table, I sort them further than the 1/10” increments listed on the site. Example: 0.90”-0.99” are divided up into 0.90-0.93”, 0.94-0.96”, and 0.97-0.99”. This way, if shells are requested on the low, high, or mid range, or someone needs a mix in that size range, it’s easy to fulfill the order as requested.

01/01/2023

Crabs piled on top of crabs. I’m going to need to get more saucers!

10/01/2022

They get pretty excited about fresh worm castings.

10/01/2022

03/08/2022

5 crabs sharing the wheel, so cute! This wheel can be purchased from Amazon (link below) and cork bark attached with silicone. I’ve provided my crabs a few different wheels, this is by far their favorite.

Niteangel Silent Hamster Exercise Wheel - Dual-Bearing Quiet Spinning Acrylic Hamster Running Wheel for Hamster Gerbils Mice Degus Or Other Small Animals https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GQTHFFC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_4KHS2RHEJC68MY8F6WZ3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)

10/11/2021

REHOMING EMERGENCY IN RICHMOND, KENTUCKY

*Copied with OP's permission from the Hermit Crab Adoption, Rehoming, and Foster group. You can search that group or message us and we'll get you in touch with the current owner.

Purple Pinchers in need of rehomimg by last week of October or before. 2 med/lrg, 2 x-small, and one small. One of the x-smalls is assumed deceased, but not confirmed (has been under since late March) -- though no evidence of this actually being the case. All decor and food will be included. Willing to part with the Like-New 60 gallon for a very reasonable price. Bigger crabs have been with me for over 4 years, while all others were rescued within the last year or just over. Located in Richmond, Kentucky.

09/29/2021

I want to address a growing trend in our community that is becoming quite concerning.

At the end of each tourist season, we see at least one person who has taken on far more hermit crabs than they can handle because a vendor, shop, or carnival told them they were going to put the crabs in the trash or turn them loose. While that individual’s heart is in the right place, we (as a group) are being taken advantage of and overloading our adoption program.

LHCOS aims to end the wild capture of hermit crabs for the pet trade. Our approach has always been to educate the public so they don’t buy a hermit crab in the first place. Decades of imploring stores to change or improve their practices has proven fruitless, there is a demand and stores want the money from meeting that demand. However, if no one is buying hermit crabs, and they sit in the shop for months, the store will not order more. Stores don’t stock products that don’t sell well and stores don’t restock products that are still on the shelves. These stores see animals as a product just like food or bowls. When they can’t move a product any longer they stop carrying it. It doesn’t happen overnight but it does happen. They don’t care HOW the hermit crab leaves the store, only that it moves off the shelf and now there is room for more.

Boardwalk shops, vendors, and carnivals are now engaging in what I see as destructive and predatory behavior. When they encounter someone who clearly cares about hermit crabs they use that to their advantage. They know you are a kindhearted person and they tell you they are going to put their unsold crabs in the trash or set them free, knowing full well you won’t stand by and let this animal that you so clearly love die. Now they’ve solved their problem this year, you have taken on the burden for them. Next year will they order fewer crabs? Nope. Why would they? You happily took the unwanted crabs off their hands this year and you or someone else will do the same next year. Problem solved―for them anyway. They are using our caring natures against us, causing us to bear the burden of dealing with dozens of hermit crabs. Hermit crabs that were taken from the wild but cannot be returned there. Hermit crabs they will have forgotten all about when next summer arrives and it is time to order more crabs for the season.

If you are told by a seller that they plan to release or dump hermit crabs you should calmly gather some information. Their name, business name, contact information etc. If you can get video footage or audio of them threatening to dispose of the hermit crabs that would be helpful. Don’t engage them or tip them off to your intentions, simply feign interest and collect the information you would need to get back in touch with them.

Now, contact your local Game Warden or Dept of Natural Resources and report this vendor.

Putting live animals in the trash is illegal.
Releasing non native animals is illegal.
Releasing an animal in a habitat in which it can’t survive is illegal in many places.

Encourage them to please go and speak to the person about the fate of these hermit crabs.Your local police department may not want to deal with this but the Dept of Game and Fish or Natural Resources WILL care. A visit from the local authorities or local news will be far more effective than you taking home 40 hermit crabs. Now they will be under scrutiny. Now they may think twice about ordering so many hermit crabs next year if they are forced to ethically deal with dozens of leftovers from this year.

No one person in our community has the ability to rescue large numbers of hermit crabs year after year. Our adoption program is not equipped to process that many crabs, nor will we devote our time and resources to aiding distributors and wholesalers of wild-caught hermit crabs. I cannot tell you what YOU should or should not do, but if you bring home dozens of hermit crabs, please do not do so with the impression that our adoption program will take on the burden of rehoming them all. Our program exists to help hermit crab owners, not wholesalers and distributors.

We must stand fast and be resolute in our convictions and our mission. We must stay focused on the larger mission.

I know it is SO HARD. SO VERY HARD to say no, I will not ‘rescue’ these crabs to help you. I will not feed the cycle of abuse.

LHCOS will not—and logistically cannot—serve as a dumping ground for masses of unwanted seasonal, carnival, or kiosk hermit crabs. That undermines all of our hard work spent educating the public and reducing sales. Why bother reducing sales of hermit crabs if we are just going to swoop in at the final hour and take all the crabs anyway? That just makes us an accessory to abuse and neglect and gives these irresponsible vendors an easy way out

09/27/2021

I ordered new dishes for the crabbies and let me tell you, they are stunning! You can find these and other gorgeous products here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthWaterFireStudio

Bonus, your purchase helps support Mary Akers captive breeding program, Hermit House Breeding.

09/18/2021

Wrapped up day 1 at the Show Me Reptiles and Exotics in Grovetown, Georgia. It was great representing LHCOS, interacting with and educating attendees. If you’d like to come out, the show wraps up tomorrow at 3.

I finally got to meet Becca and Meredith. They were a tremendous help in both preparing for the show and running the booth. Thanks you two!

We unexpectedly encountered a LHCOS approved adopter who took home a buddy for her single and lonely crab. The babies were a huge hit, they really showed off their cuteness. A family needed to place 3 little crabs, they will be heading back to Florida with me.

08/19/2021

Crabs on wheels, just can’t get enough of them and their antics.

08/09/2021

Got a late start taking care of our pet crabs and walked in on this guy going nuts on the saucer. 🥰