Plz explain
REDRUM
Submitted 2 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
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Comments
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
Shelbyeileen@lemmy.world 2 days ago
They’re complex and awesome creatures. I had one, named Alfredo, who lived for years, because I did the research.
Nearly all hermit crabs have been kidnapped from the beach, and that made me feel so guilty… I didn’t know when I got him from a mall.
They can’t just go in a tiny aquarium, or they’ll get depressed, malnourished, and die.
They need heat rocks to remember basking in the sun; they love snacks (Alfredo adored cheez-its covered in peanut butter); they have gills, so their shells must have water in them, or they’ll stop breathing; they love exercising… you can get the hermit crab version of a hamster wheel and they will play on it all day. They’re also really social. They want friends, places to hide, places to dig, to roam and explore, and if they do, they’ll live a long life.
Fondots@lemmy.world 2 days ago
My sister is the hermit crab expert in my family, I mostly only have second-hand knowledge through her
But for starters it is really damn hard to breed hermit crabs in captivity, so basically every one you’ve ever seen in the pet trade is probably wild-caught.
They also have really specific habitat needs, high humidity, warm temperatures, access to fresh and salt water, deep substrate that they can dig and burrow in, vertical areas they can climb on, I think you should ideally have like 10 gallons of space per crab, and basically no hermit crab kit out there actually meets these needs.
And while a lot of people think of them as sort of throwaway pets that will only live a few months, with proper care they can actually live years, even decades.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 days ago
rozlav@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
amazing rabbit hole thx so much
flora_explora@beehaw.org 1 day ago
Wow, great article!!
fireweed@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Fascinating article, definitely worth the read
dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
I actually have a good friend who got into hermit crab rescue, it’s pretty cool.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 days ago
I had some hermit crabs I won at a carnival once.
JizzmasterD@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
I pinch?
LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I had two hermit crabs when I was a kid and I adored them. My parents, my dad especially, was super into exotic animals and insisted that we go all-out on the lil dudes. We made them a crazy extravagant tank and they lived for like 5 years. They were unfortunately victims of a crazy snowstorm that left us without power for 9 days. Our 2 gorgeous saltwater fish tanks also died from that storm. I was devastated.