Chomper's beautiful molt-the story of a Hermit Crab's life

Chomper's Beautiful Molt- A story of a neglected Hermit Crab

Chomper was adopted by me two years ago, from a Beach Shop that did not understand how to take care of Hermit Crabs. It was October 18th, the middle of Winter. I knew that if I didn't rescue these Hermit Crabs, they would freeze to death.

Hermit Crabs live in the Tropics, usually on the Caribbean, and they live for up to 40 years. However, in captivity, they see at most 1 month to 1 year. They require saltwater, freshwater, humidity, Enrichment, a varied diet, and heat, as well as six to nine inches of substrate to be able to molt in.

When Chomper, as well as four other neglected Hermit Crabs came home with me, I had done nine months of research on how to take care of them. Hermit Crabs are not a short-lived pet. If they are taken care of properly, they can live up to 20 years. Chomper is probably 10 years old now, since I got him two years ago. On October 18th of 2023, I will have had him for 3 years.

When I first went to the Beach Shop to rescue these Hermit Crabs, I had no idea what I was going to see. When I saw how severely neglected the Crabs were, it instantly broke my heart. I nearly cried, but had to hold it in. They were in a large, long mesh tank with no substrate at all, dirty water, dead Crabs, and no fresh food. I was speechless.

When the Crabs came home, Chomper was nothing like what he is today. He was extremely shy, cold, and scared. All of the Crabs were. He had just suffered through a rocky two hours in the car home, in a shell that was not his size. When he was placed in my tank (seen on the cover of this story, that is my Crabitat), he instantly changed his shell, and has not changed shells since. I decided to name him Chomper after Plants vs. Zombie's Carnivorous plant, Chomper, because I was so surprised at how purple he was. It almost didn't seem real to me at first. Chomper is not purple anymore, his color is now more of a Maroon color.