Crab died, leaving another alone

[littleneptune]

I've been keeping crabs for a while but made an awful mistake earlier this year. I quarantined a new crab for a fortnight, but he must have been carrying some illness because I can't think of anything else that would have taken out four of my six crabs at once. One of the two remaining has been quite a toughie, but unfortunately after about two months their tankmate died today, leaving her alone.

I'm not wanting to keep a new batch of crabs after Zelda, just because I work in a pet store and I've seen the way that the crabs in my particular area are treated before they get to me, and I'm still unsure on whether I want to support the way they're sourced in my country. Regardless, I know that hermit crabs do best in at least pairs, and can get lonely alone. I don't want to get a new crab because it could repeat the cycle again, but I don't want Zelda to be alone if she's going to be made of steel and live on for years.

My partner and I did discuss potentially surrendering her after we found her dead tankmate tonight, but aside from the emotional ties to Zelda herself, I don't know if I'd trust any of the stores in my area to look after her properly.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Would there be some strange way to make life alone okay for her? Or would it be best to brave the risks of the store not treating her right and surrendering her? Either way, there's risk to her welfare.

[JoeHermits]

We don’t know enough about crab disease to say for sure that they were plagued by pestilence but it’s always a possibility. In many cases it’s several factors at once so pinpointing a specific cause of death can be tough.

Hermit crabs do live in groups in the wild, but recent studies found that it’s more for resource exploitation than social bonding. Crabs in captivity have lived for well over a decade alone. Solitude was considered inhumane for a long time but that is slowly changing in the hobby.

With that said, the best course of action is more based on your preferences than the crab’s welfare, who will likely thrive with good care in any scenario.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[littleneptune]

Thank you, this has settled my nerves about the situation. It's good to know that if we do decide to keep her home she'll be alright. I've seen what happens at pet stores in my area including the one I work at, I once went on leave and my well-meaning coworkers completely forgot to check on the crabs the entire time I was away. The entire tank unfortunately died. So keeping her home is definitely my preference. Who knows, we may end up finding her a friend later on, perhaps.