As of right now I hate hermit crabs and mostly I'm upset that I can't keep anything alive! Sometimes I wonder how I have managed to keep two kids alive. So, in January we got Addy two hermit crabs. I should let you know that I went to the pet store a bunch of times to get the right supplies and researched everything I could about them, so that they would stay alive. I soon realized that crabs might be a bad idea because they smell and we are in a small apartment. But, I tried to have a good attitude. About three weeks ago Addy's favorite hermit crab, Gabrella, died. Well, it was all scrunched up in its shell and wouldn't move and did nothing for two days, so I decided it was dead. We had a little burial by our front door, and put a rock on its grave. Everyday Addy would put a new flower on the grave, and talk to me all about what Gabrella was doing in heaven. She was really starting to understand that the body was staying in the ground, but that Gabrella's spirit was in heaven. So, I thought it was a great lesson for her to learn right before Easter.
Anyway, we still had the other hermit crab named Hermie. Just this morning I noticed he wasn't moving and was hanging out of his shell. I thought it was weird, and immediately googled: "Is my crab dead, or molting". After reading for awhile I realized that nobody really knows if this thing is shedding its skin and trying to get into a new shell. You just have to wait and see what happens. Then, I found a wonderful video that said, "How to tell if your crab is dead?" I thought this is going to be awesome!!! As I watched the video I was in shock. The guy picked up his hermit crab and explained that if the crab is scrunched up in its shell and not moving than it is alive because it has the strength to stay in there and if it doesn't smell like a dead cow than it is alive. Basically, I was so sad to realize that Gabrella was never dead, and we probably buried her alive. :(
And, now I am just stuck with this other crab that looks and acts dead, but who knows, it might be molting...I'm going to wait and see if it starts smelling like a dead cow and then I will be okay to bury it.
Adelynn giving her buried hermit crab a balloon!
Soo... I guess you know what a dead cow smells like. ha ha Sorry, I can't help but see some humor in this situation except that you don't need one more thing to worry about. I have had plenty of animal trauma in my life. I guess it's part of life.
ReplyDeleteNext time just get a tortoise. A friend of mine said they are the perfect pet. They never stink are low maintenance and your kids will still have fun with it minus the worry of diseases and poop. She said they only feed it once a week and clean it's cage every three months or so.
ReplyDelete