Pet Store Truth

                          Although the following paragraph may talk a lot about hermit crabs, it is aimed at all animals. I wrote this for the Hermit Crab Association. The Hermit Crab Association is a hermit crab forum.

Many hermit crabs are bought from pet stores daily. Don't you think that it is sad when people buy from pet stores? Their conditions are less than perfect in any store. There is no perfect hermit crab store. Hermit crabs are better off in beaches than in pet stores with terrible conditions, although there are quite a few great pet stores.


When all of the hermit crabs are sold out at a pet store, they're replaced in a few days. If you adopt, you'll slow the pet store supplying process down a lot. Think about it. Most members here at least have 5 hermit crabs. Imagine if you can save 5 more by adopting. Don't forget that hermit crab owning can be quite addictive. If you persuade friends, family, etc., to stop buying hermit crabs from pet stores, you'll be saving a lot when they're addicted.

Some people have 20+ hermit crabs, and many replace them. Poeple with 20+ crabs probably AT LEAST had 40 hermit crabs throughout the years, because they go to pet stores and replace them. Imagine if those hemit crabs didn't come from pet stores, but instead came from places that adopt hermit crabs? Yes, it would take a while to find a hermit crab, but isn't it worth it? If you are really addicted, you can go to places that are 2 hours away to adopt hermit crabs.


PITTY BUYS- Pitty buys are one of the most horrible things I have ever heard of. Sure, the hermt crabs you find there are cute, helpless, hurt, etc., but if you really think about it, there will be other hermit crabs that come beaches that will be hurt from being shipped across the country, and in terrible stress when all of the hermit crabs are bought out of the pet store. Do you support this? If you don't, you shouldn't buy pitty buys.

Sheltered animals- Many of the animals in pet stores end up in shelters because people think they know how to care for it, get bored of it, have no time for it, can't train it, can't give it correct care, etc., and then think giving it up to a kill shelter is right. If you buy an animal from a pet store, this will happen to more animals, because pet stores will be ordering more animals as soon as the supply goes out, or there are barely any animals are left. There is already an overpopulation of many species, and thousands of animals end up in shelters that kill their animals if they are there for a certain number of days. This number isn't always long, and there are many animals in shleters. Do you support the overpopulation? If you don't, then you shouldn't but from pet stores.

If you happen to know anyone who can't care for their animals any longer you should either offer it a home, or tell them to give it up to a no-kill shelter.

Spreading the word It is rather easy to spread the word about adopting vs. pet store buying. You can e-mail all of your friends, families, etc., talk to any that don't have a computer, post youtube comments, etc., about why buying a hermit crab or any other animal from a pet store is wrong. Make sure you support your reasons for disliking this horrible process.