Last January another homeschooling family was looking to rehome their hermit crabs. My six year old had been asking for hermit crabs periodically since he was three. I had been on the fence about them. Our research was conflicting about how much time was involved in their care. At three, he just wasn’t ready to do all of the care. At six, he was ready to handle at least some of it. So, we jumped in and volunteered to take them. We already had an extra aquarium and suitable aquarium sand. I studied aquatic ecology in grad school; we are not want for aquariums. The crabs came with an entourage of items for their care.
Of course, we stopped at PetSmart on the way home with Hermie and Benny (they were named before we got home) to pick up a bigger, more suitable water dish, an extra sponge, and a nice backdrop for them to climb. These crabs have everything they could possibly want.
It turns out that crab care really isn’t very difficult. The kids, with my help, make certain they have food (crabs aren’t very big – they don’t eat much) and water. Weekly, they clean out food dishes and wash the water dish and exchange the sponge. They give all sorts of treats to the crabs. Favorites have included orange, popcorn, and an animal cracker. They also get taken out for walks and exploration time around the family room. My husband has even gotten over his aversion to them and realized how friendly they are (as opposed to thinking they look like spiders).
Last month we added to our little crab family. Again, we adopted a little crab that a family no longer wanted. This crab was instantly claimed by my daughter, who decided she was a girl. I don’t know how to sex hermit crabs, so we’ll go with that – two boys and a girl. Pumpkin is quite a bit smaller than her adopted brothers. Hermie and Benny are Purple Pincher crabs and Pumpkin (so named for the pumpkin painted on her shell) is an Ecuadorian crab. She also came with a bag of supplies. We won’t have a need to buy any crab food for years at this rate.
We’ve had crabs for five months now. It is time to add another piece of equipment o their care – a pooper scooper. My son was disgusted with the idea of scooping poo when we first discussed bringing home the crabs. However, he has warmed up to the idea and doesn’t believe it is quite so disgusting now. Hermit crab poo looks like very tiny tootsie rolls. I used to buy a bag of tootsie rolls every Halloween for the nostalgia. They never tasted as good as I hoped, but I felt a compulsion, regardless. I think I’m over that, having seen poo which resembles them.
So, today after gymnastics, we will be headed for a pooper scooper. It’s currently quite a hilarious topic at our house. We may buy new sand, too. Our current sand is leftover cichlid sand – white and black. The tiny poo blends in.
