This store has many beautiful shells for sale, however I would not recommend buying hermit crabs from this store or asking the proprietor for advice on raising hermit crabs. Despite her many years of owning hermit crabs she offers much misinformation on diet, behavior, and proper housing for hermit crabs and fails to keep the crabs that are for sale at even the minimum level of care recommended by major pet store chains.

We bring our children's hermies back to the store every year to get a health checkup and advice on picking out new shells for them. We've been able to keep them alive for 7 years through the owner's advice which makes us feel really good. I am 39 and got my hermit crabs there as a little kid too, from the same lady! I feel the need to comment because major pet store chains are not the place to go for advice on natural care for any animal, especially an animal like a hermit crab and the owner of the store spends so much time going over their care. We look forward to out next visit in less than two weeks with hermies in tow!

The major pet store chains' recommendations should be considered the minimum level of care, not the best care. There are many different views on what is best for hermit crabs (and I am glad you have had success with your crab) but the standards have changed greatly over the years. The current most widely accepted standards among those that study hermit crabs are based on replicating the natural environment the crabs are taken from. This is a tropical environment and includes but is not limited to high heat, high humidity, and substrate for digging and molting. These conditions cannot be reproduced in the open air wire cages that the proprietor of this store recommends. Some crabs may be able to survive conditions that are not ideal, especially the more hardy crab species C. Clypeatus. The owner herself stated to me that she does not carry other species of hermit crabs because "they just die". Many hermit crab enthusiasts, both hobbyists and scientists, are able to successfully keep a variety of hermit crab species with great success by replicating their natural environments. If you are interested in hermit crab care please google "hermit crab care". While again there are many variations in the details nearly all enthusiasts now recommend trying to replicate tropical conditions.

If you've done your own research than you would know that it is impossible for us to recreate the hermit crab's tropical environment without introducing bacteria that will kill the hermit crabs because that would require each item in the cage being sterilized on a daily basis, not something normal people are able to do. Not to mention that their environment varies, they don't just live in the sand. This is why my crabs were dying year after year in a closed aquarium environment and live year after year in a wired cage where they climb and can be cleaned thoroughly every day. My goal is to keep the animals happy and alive. I love that the owner wants the crabs to live and doesn't sell all the extras that the other stores do despite the amount of money those other stores make from all the extras. I will stop by and let the owner know about these comments and see if she would like to comment with her expertise. I would like her to comment because so far your suggestions have been major pet store chains and random googling, not exactly the best places to go for advice on keeping exotic pets alive.

C. clypeatus are arguably the most hardy species of crab. Their ability to survive for long periods of time in improper conditions is not a reason to fail to provide them with the conditions that they need to thrive. To me, knowing how to care for any animal properly and failing to do so is animal abuse. Clearly, the owner of the store is aware of proper hermit crab care but is unwilling to provide it. It offends me as a hermit crab owner that she is unwilling to change her conditions although she stated that exotic crabs in her care always die. Personally, I have had great success raising several species of exotic hermit crabs and so have many others. Anyone who truly cares for the well being of their animals would try to learn as much as possible from people who have had more success with their care.
The owner of the shop and others on this thread appear to be very stubborn and misinformed. I do not know why a comment was made about needing to sterilize the tank daily. Doing a small amount of research on the matter would show that comment to be inaccurate and quite possibly absurd.
I think that a lot of people who do keep pet hermit crabs in improper conditions would love to believe that the "extras" are not needed. However, that is not the reality. Proper temperature and humidity and safe food and water are NECESSITIES. If you are unable to provide all of the necessities required to keep any pet healthy for the long term then you should find someone else to care for it.

i belive that u wrong watchcat9 I got my hermit crabs when i was 9 and now I am 13 and she has taken the best care of her hermit crabs