Is there anything else I can do?...

[kittyosu]

Went to Petland (first time in this store) this evening and I couldn't believe the conditions of their hermit crab tank. It was like a hermie cemetery... I am not trying to upset anyone here but there were parts of crabs (legs) under this climby thing in a pile. I didn't see any access to water and they had forest wood chips for substrate. I saw what I think was the food bowl (empty) and there was a crab just sitting in it. A lot of the crabs were in shells (painted, of course) way too small for them and I didn't see any larger shells for them to switch into. The stench was awful. I was so shocked! I didn't know what to do... I left the store in disbelief. When I got home I emailed the Operations Department of Petland explaining what I saw, telling them which store it was and demanding that someone address this situation. I don't really get it because their other animals were in clean tanks with atleast food and water. Why did the crabs get forgotten? I'm thinking about going back tomorrow and giving them a piece of my mind because I feel like I left those helpless crabs, like a chicken! I don't know what else to do? Any suggestions? I probably won't even get a return email from the company.

[kittyosu]

Update: email from corporate office got returned via mailor-daemon. Not a valid email address - shocker!!! Gonna call corp office on Monday. We'll see how that goes...

[vckums]

That's pretty bad for a store. Keep hounding them via letter and talk to management. Just make sure to keep calm and bring in caresheets.

[kittyosu]

Thanks for the advice. Care sheets - good idea, I never would have thought of that. Its hard not to get mad, but I know it will not help the situation. They probably just need some education on hermit crabs and I'm very happy to give it to them. Wish me luck!!!

[kittyosu]

I just talked with the manager of Petland and here is what she said...They "box feed" feed their hermit crabs twice a week that is why they do not have food in their tank. She said that they do this because the food gets soggy in their tanks and attracts flies. She said they don't have water in their tanks because the crabs are "soaked" daily. When I asked her about the dead crabs she said that they didn't have enough shells in their tank and they must have been fighting over shells. She told me that the tanks are checked daily and that no one had checked the crabs on Friday (the day I was there). It sounded like a load of bull to me, but I was nice and said "thank you" and now I am stirring about it.

[Hermie's rule]

People die from lack of knowledge... Seriously. Sounds like some one desperately needs to be informed about hermit crabs.

[vckums]

Bring in the caresheets. I can't stress that enough.

[krackersmom2]

Think about all of the bad information we come across in learning to care for our crabs. A majority of the bad information comes from the pet store where most of us purchase our crabs. When we see a place not caring properly for their crabs, they obviously need to be educated. I agree with offering them a caresheet with good information. Take them a whole stack and tell them they can have extras to offer their customers.