Hello everyone! I am sad to say that my rescue hermit crab, Sebastian, has passed away, leaving behind his friend Earl.
I know hermit crabs are supposed to have many friends but I truly do not want anymore hermit crabs. I know this is selfish, but do you think he would be fine by himself as long as I spoil and pay attention to him? Or would it be best for me to adopt another?
Should i get another one?
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wodesorel
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Re: Should i get another one?
My little ruggie has been on her own for two years and I have seen no difference between her and my colony of PPs. I have no plans on getting her a "friend", she is doing fantastic.
They are colony animals in the wild because there is safety in numbers, but they do not help each other otherwise. I often wonder how much they really do have to be with others, given that the longest living crabs are those who are singletons and in pairs.
I don't know how the recommendation started that crabs had to be given friends, we don't have that information in our archives anymore, and it started way back in the Usenet days. I don't know if it was just because they were found in colonies so the assumption was made they had to have others, or if it was an excuse to be able to have more, or if it was a carryover of schooling advice for fish, or if a majority of the people at the time really did notice issues when they had just one. (And even then, those that start with one usually have improper conditions, the additional crabs come along with an upgrade in the environment, so is it the friend or the improvements?)
No one is ever willing to test it and put their crabs at risk just in case the advice is true, which I do think is totally understandable, no one wants to purposely do something harmful even if there is no reason given as to why or how it could be harmful.
I will say this though, if you don't want crabs anymore, you may want to consider rehoming. You could be looking at a two decade commitment or more on this one! Most of the single adoptables that come through our program are 10 to 19 years old.
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They are colony animals in the wild because there is safety in numbers, but they do not help each other otherwise. I often wonder how much they really do have to be with others, given that the longest living crabs are those who are singletons and in pairs.
I don't know how the recommendation started that crabs had to be given friends, we don't have that information in our archives anymore, and it started way back in the Usenet days. I don't know if it was just because they were found in colonies so the assumption was made they had to have others, or if it was an excuse to be able to have more, or if it was a carryover of schooling advice for fish, or if a majority of the people at the time really did notice issues when they had just one. (And even then, those that start with one usually have improper conditions, the additional crabs come along with an upgrade in the environment, so is it the friend or the improvements?)
No one is ever willing to test it and put their crabs at risk just in case the advice is true, which I do think is totally understandable, no one wants to purposely do something harmful even if there is no reason given as to why or how it could be harmful.
I will say this though, if you don't want crabs anymore, you may want to consider rehoming. You could be looking at a two decade commitment or more on this one! Most of the single adoptables that come through our program are 10 to 19 years old.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
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