Help me out

[MarieEvans]

my hermit crab does good os far been live about year new person

[Hildegarde]

I'm in another state visiting relatives. There is a book that was published at least 20 or maybe 30 years ago. I can't remember the author's name but it think it was Neal Psomething.

For example, he suggested that if you put a few of your more expensive decorated shells in the tank you might find that one of your crabs liked it and changed into it. If later you want to use the shell for some other reason, you should put the crab who had the unmitigated gall to use your favorite and most expensive shell to live in, here's what you do. You put the hermit in a nice spot in the freezer and leave him there until he's pretty cold but not quite frozen. When he's at the right temp (no temp given) you just pluck him up and put him back into the tank with a few shells.

Then the author tells us a few more ways that hemits can be tortured, not that anyone would ever do this to a crab. You can put your crab into one of your ice cubes departments and freeze it. Then, when you offer your guest a drink, take out the ice cubed hermit and put it into your guest's drink. What a howl!!!!

As I said, I'm on vacation this week. If you really need this information, pm me and I'll do my best to get you verbatim quotes and the author's name.

[Hildegarde]

I'm in another state visiting relatives. There is a book that was published at least 20 or maybe 30 years ago. I can't remember the author's name but it think it was Neal Psomething.

For example, he suggested that if you put a few of your more expensive decorated shells in the tank you might find that one of your crabs liked it and changed into it. If later you want to use the shell for some other reason, you should put the crab who had the unmitigated gall to use your favorite and most expensive shell to live in, here's what you do. You put the hermit in a nice spot in the freezer and leave him there until he's pretty cold but not quite frozen. When he's at the right temp (no temp given) you just pluck him up and put him back into the tank with a few shells.

Then the author tells us a few more ways that hemits can be tortured, not that anyone would ever do this to a crab. You can put your crab into one of your ice cubes departments and freeze it. Then, when you offer your guest a drink, take out the ice cubed hermit and put it into your guest's drink. What a howl!!!!

As I said, I'm on vacation this week. If you really need this information, pm me and I'll do my best to get you verbatim quotes and the author's name.

[Hildegarde]

I'm in another state visiting relatives. There is a book that was published at least 20 or maybe 30 years ago. I can't remember the author's name but it think it was Neal Psomething.

For example, he suggested that if you put a few of your more expensive decorated shells in the tank you might find that one of your crabs liked it and changed into it. If later you want to use the shell for some other reason, you should put the crab who had the unmitigated gall to use your favorite and most expensive shell to live in, here's what you do. You put the hermit in a nice spot in the freezer and leave him there until he's pretty cold but not quite frozen. When he's at the right temp (no temp given) you just pluck him up and put him back into the tank with a few shells.

Then the author tells us a few more ways that hemits can be tortured, not that anyone would ever do this to a crab. You can put your crab into one of your ice cubes departments and freeze it. Then, when you offer your guest a drink, take out the ice cubed hermit and put it into your guest's drink. What a howl!!!!

As I said, I'm on vacation this week. If you really need this information, pm me and I'll do my best to get you verbatim quotes and the author's name.

[Chuck_Norris]

What was the book about? You don't happen to remember the name of the book, do you?

[Emma Jean]

That sounds horrible! I gave the stores the packets on care and specices ID but I couldn't get t the store at a time that either one of the hermit people were there so I'll have to just give them the sites over the phone and talk to them that way. I'll keep you posted on what I hear and yeah I'd like to knw about that book.

[victoria]

I hate how they hert crabs to get them in painted shells. my 1st crab was in a painted shell I did not now how they got my crab in a painted shell till emma jean told me/us links.
I hate how some people get crabs in painted shells



my crabs are:victoria,spud

[Hildegarde]

The name of the book is Hermit Crabs by Neal Pronek, published in 1982. Unfortunately it is still available at pet stores and libraries.

The book is 93 pages long and is full of misinformation. For example, it states that handling crabs is dangerous and it doesn't matter very much if you use fresh water or salt water.

And I quote:

"You can decorate your hermit aquarium with many beautiful shells, even valuable shells if you are a collector. But how do you get your shell back from the crab? Put him in the cold for a short time until he becomes dormant, then simply pull him out of his shell. When he wakes up, have a new shell there for him." (page 52)

After spending 2 and a half pages giving reasons why you should not handle your crabs, the author writes:

"Having said all of the above, I know full well that you're going to ignore it. You're going to have a natural inclination to want to play with the crabs by putting them into action on your living room floor or kitchen table or someplace else. For all I know you're already making plans to put them into the bathtub to play submarine or maybe glue sticks to them and make believe they're jelly apples. Maybe you'll put small ones in ice cubes and drop them into guests' drinks. That's up to you. If you're going to do anything like that, though, I'd like to give you a few sensible ground rules to make things safer for you and the crabs." (page 73)

Illustrated by a photograph of a crab in a cube part of an ice cube tray. (page 53)

[alli'smommy]

OMG! That is utterly horrifying that petstores are selling this trash.

[Hildegarde]

There's one thing I'd like to point out about our outrage at how crabs are put into painted shells. How do you think hermit crabs get into what we call 'natural' shells?

What I think we really ought to be doing is waging a campaign against any shell the crab doesn't originally come in. They crabs can always change into a natural shell at their leisure.