Millions of hermit crabs are harvested from the wild each year. A great number of these millions die in transport from the wild to the boardwalk vendors that sell them. Of those that do make it alive to a store, a huge majority die because of filthy cage conditions and inadquate care.

Of those that survive and are adopted, a great number of these are STILL improperly cared for in captivity. Most people believe that they are "throw-away" pets because of their inexpensive cost. Sadly, those who buy hermit crabs usually do so rather impulsively and without the proper planning that should come with the adoption of a new pet.

Furthermore, many vendors are notorious for giving improper advice on how to care for hermit crabs. They typically over-state the simplicity of caring for hermit crabs, in the hopes of making a sale.

As a result of the aforementioned, the natural population of hermit crabs is being depleated at an exponential rate every year. Because hermit crabs cannot reproduce in captivity without the ocean in which to drop their eggs, maintaining an abudant supply of them in the wild is critical to their sustenance as a species.

Unfortunately, the urgency of this reality is not known by environmental protection authorities. If you would like to contribute your efforts to seeing that hermit crabs are kept in limited numbers at pet stores and abdunant in the wild, please consider becoming part of the Hermit Crab Conservation Task Force.

Membership is free and open to anyone who is not involved (whether directly or indirectly) with the harvesting, distribution, or sales of land hermit crabs.

Any time you can contribute is sincerely appreciated. If interested, please write to HermitCrabHappy@dejazzd.com and put "Hermit Crab Conservation" in the subject line.

Hermit crabs will become extinct if
we do not better manage our
harvesting of them.

Help the cause by joining the
HERMIT CRAB CONSERVATION
TASK FORCE for free! Please
read this page for more details.