Martin B Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 (edited) I was particuarlly alarmed today by the conditions of a crabitat in their Leamington Spa store. I asked out of interest to see the crabs to make sure they were all healthy and in the end I rescued 2 Purple Pincher's that I felt particuarlly sorry for. I spoke to the worker about the crabs and how they should be treated etc, and I have followed it up with a letter to their customer service department. I think it is important to remember that Hermit Crabs are a relatively new thing over here, but with all my knowledge from books and this forum I feel my knowledge was much better that theirs and I raised the concerns and told them how to improve, hopefully in the near future people will be more widely educated regards the crabs and their conditions will improve. Here is the copy of the letter for your general interest. Dear Sir/Madame, I am writing to express the deep concern that I have regards the conditions of the hermit crabs in your L******** **a store. As a hermit crab keeper myself, I understand the basic and advanced needs of the hermit crabs. When I visited the store today (13/10/07) the hermit crabs had no water in the pool and the drinking sponges were as dry as a bone. The humidity in the habitat was not to the required 70% which is essential with this type of crab, if the humidity is not 70% or above then the fragile abdomen of the crab may dry out and the crab will die. Another recurring problem in the stores I have visited is that the crabs do not have enough substrates (sand) to bury themselves in when they feel the need to molt. Molting is a very fragile time for the crabs and when they are molting they should not be disturbed. In the crab habitat there needs to be sufficient levels of sand for this process, in most books it is said that at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank should be 3 inches deep with substrate, any less and the crabs will not be able to submerge themselves. In your ******** (************) store it seemed as if a crab was about to moult but he did not have enough sand to bury into so he was lay on the top in a heap, surface moults are particuarlly dangerous to the crab and it is not uncommon for them to go wrong and for the crab to result in an early end to it's life. When I asked to see the crabs they were particuarlly nervous and none of them would come out their shell, normally if you tilt the shell or tickle their claw they come out of the shell, today they did not. The person who served me was not particuarlly knowledgeable on the subject and I think that this a recuring problem in your stores. Potential crab owners may continue the lower than required welfare standards if they ask for advice. I hope that the staff can be informed about the basics in hermit crab care, and I hope that the conditions within the crabs' habitat can improve. I will be going back to check in the near future to make sure that the animal welfare standards are being met. Yours Sincerly, Martin B Do you think I did the right thing? I will upload photos of Dora and Diego the new crabs when they eventually come out of their shells! Despite only having crabs for a month on monday I now have 9, and we spent £60 on their tank 5 weeks ago and I almost have enough money to buy another one so the crabs can be a bit more spread out. Martin Edited October 17, 2007 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairy&cake Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Oh GOOD FOR YOU!!! Pets are home ! GRRRR!!!! They arent briliant here either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Very good letter Martin, well done. I love the bit at the end 'I'll be back...' very Arnie! I was in PAH the other week earwigging on a conversation between a young girl on the shop floor and a couple wanting to buy a pet rat as a companion for their exisitng rat. The girl wouldn't let them buy one as they only sell them in pairs because they are sociable. It didn't matter how many times the couple argued that they already had one rat so only wanted one more, she practically accused them of lying so that they could buy a solitary rat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 A very good letter Martin - I hope they take notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well done you - I suspect their staff don't get much (any) training, and as you rightly say in your letter, anyone buying a hermit crab for the first time will take their guide from the way they were kept in the shop. Let us know what response you get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Good for you Martin. It is very worrying to think that these creatures are not being kept in ideal conditions, and that the assistants will probably be giving poor advice to prospective owners. Follow it up won't you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 Very good letter Martin, well done. I love the bit at the end 'I'll be back...' very Arnie! I was in PAH the other week earwigging on a conversation between a young girl on the shop floor and a couple wanting to buy a pet rat as a companion for their exisitng rat. The girl wouldn't let them buy one as they only sell them in pairs because they are sociable. It didn't matter how many times the couple argued that they already had one rat so only wanted one more, she practically accused them of lying so that they could buy a solitary rat. They do a similar thing with the hermit crabs, simply because they are sociable creatures aswell. I don't mind though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well done Martin - Pets@home are a horrible shop - we've complained a couple of times about the standards they've kept certain animals in. the Edinburgh shop has hermit crabs as well, but I would never have been able to tell iof the conditions are right - I'll give them a check the next time I'm in, now you've given me a better idea of what they need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 I went to Redditch today and I couldn't resist having a peek in P@h. Fortunately I did not come home with anymore than I bargained for. I can see why they can be a very attractive or impulse pet (excuse picture quality) the way they market them is direct at children with the painted shells, the crabs habitat looks very attractive and the habitat is more appealing than that of a goldfish or hamster. From the pictures alone you can see a few problems, the sand is clearly not moist enough or deep enough for the molting of the crabs. For the first time ever I think there is too much food. There is a whole tub full at the least and the pellets go off really easily, they need to be replaced every day otherwise they smell and go mouldy! On the otherhand the vivarium looks very pretty and so do the crabs themselves. I bet you are all in awe at the amazing yet inadequate display. If you are in P@h and you think anything is wrong please tell somebody. If you are in a position to 'rescue' some, then why not? If you are P@H and you see something wrong with the crabs please tell me aswell as I would be very interested to hear what was/you thought was wrong. If you can sneak in a few sneaky pictures aswell I would be very pleased! The Gloucester P@H where I got my first 4 crabs was excellent, lots of hide outs, plants, climbing objects, deep and moist substrate. BRILLIANT! The lady who served me was also particuarly knowledgeable. Today in my crabitat, there are only 4 crabs above sand the other 5 are hiding or molting in the sand! I haven't managed to get a picture of Diego as he is very stressed and very nervous, he is a very big crab in a smaller than adequate shell, at lease being in my crabitat he will be able to choose from lots of other shells in various sizes if he feels the need to move. I managed to get 2 picutres of Dora the Explorer... Isn't she georgeous! She has the opposite problem to Diego a small crab in a big shell! Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Do they eat layers pellets Martin? It looks like it from the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 They are crab pellets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I guessed as much. What's in 'em? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 About the pets@home when i larst went in there the hamsters had green water Briony Thumper Freddy George Benjamin Pip Hally Reepacheep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Im interested to hear their response Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 What's in 'em? I think it is basically just fish pond sticks but with a crab on the front of the pack. Will look in more detail tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 Im interested to hear their response Martin ...and me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 good for you martin, that crab is gorgeous! you might of inspired me! keep us up to datewith the pets at home thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 No reply today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 Some good news. Although they have not replied to my email, I went to redditch today to buy a tank for some stick insects ( ) and I looked at the hermits and they have increased the amount of substrate in the tank and the humidity and temperatures were spot on! Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 They must have taken note then Martin - let's hope there is a reply in the post to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looney Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Well done Martin, it sounds like they have taken notice of you and made some changes....hopefully they won't relapse into old ways. It's so hard seeing pets in poor conditions. In the P@H where we used to live my OH used to play "spot the dead one" with the fish as without fail there were always a few that had expired. Quite often I would spot fish with ailments or diseases that were apparently being ignored. It also used to break my heart that the canaries all had ridiculously long toenails and were in quite shabby condition. We used to keep canaries and clipping their nails takes no time at all, leaving them to grow so long that the bird cannot stand on a flat surface is real cruelty Some of the staff were lovely and had a genuine interest in animals and their welfare however I think staff turnover was quite high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 did you ever get a reply Martin? DH was in one of these large chainstore pet shops once, I think it was Focus (who don't sell pets any more) and there were a couple who wanted a male budgie chick and the assistant was trying to sell them an adult female! DH chipped in and helped them choose the correct bird and gave them advice about a cage etc. Big chain stores should not be allowed to sell pets. We only patronise a small local pet shop which has been family run for years and they know their stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 Yes I did thanks, and they made the improvements and it is so much better now. The Leamington store admitted they were inexperienced with them and have stopped selling them (last I heard). They said they are investing in the correct training and research, I don't think any investing needs to be done, it is simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
