Hermies: To rehome or not to rehome. That is the question...

485 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Jess, Mar 14, 2012

Jess

Discussion Starter · Feb 24, 2012

As you can tell from the title of this thread, I'm not really sure what I should do with my hermit crabs right now.

I still have 6 of them I believe: One of them I bought from a pet store about 4 years ago, and the other 5 I adopted from the humane society 3 years ago.

It's not that I'm neglecting them or anything... I keep the humidity at 80%, they have a new heat pad, good quality sand, good food, and I even have little fruit treats that I give them once a week for variety. I really don't handle them or take them out at all, but they seem to lives longer this way. And that's why I'm not really sure what the best thing to do here is: They seem perfectly happy and healthy and they obviously don't need or want human contact. I adopted my last ones a couple months before I got Wink, so at that point I never planned on having any other herps besides them and Squishy.

But since I've started keeping my reptiles, I'm just not as "into" them as I used to be. Like, when I was younger (I started keeping them when I was 9!) I would take them out every week, give them little baths, ect. and even when I had 14 of them, I knew them all by name LOL. Now I just spray them and feed them a couple times a week and make sure they have water.

If I did choose to rehome them, I know it would be very difficult... Most people just want them for a "disposable" pet for their kids, and there is no way I would do that to these guys. I do have a potential candidate in mind: There was a lady who bought my extra hermie set-up from me a few months ago, and she just getting started with hers but she seemed really excited about them, and wanted to take great care of them. But I don't know... Again, they don't seem unhappy, so IDK what is right here.

Thoughts? TBH I'm tearing up here just thinking about this.

I feel bad doing this to them.

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Sasami

· #2 · Feb 24, 2012

Honestly, they're not going to care about how much attention they get. If you're able to keep them in a healthy environment (which is the case at the moment), I'd just keep them. It's painfully difficult to find people willing to adopt hermit crabs that are going to keep them properly

.

My snakes don't really get "attention" or anything. And I don't think I'll be getting more, they're decent pets but I've found that I prefer lizards and turtles when it comes to reptiles. So I can relate to you. But I'm keeping my snakes because at least here I know they're getting great care and I have a good reptile vet

. And they don't care if I don't spend much time watching them or taking them out for pictures...I bet they're much happier being left alone :lol:. I've never handled them much, anyway.

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Jess

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 24, 2012

I guess I'm just not sure if I want to keep them anymore too.

I feel horrible saying that, but I just don't get that much enjoyment out of them anymore like I used to. Like, I feel like if I'm going to have another tank, I would rather adopt another gecko or something. When I look at their cute little curious faces I always have to re-think that, but I feel so unsure about the whole situation right now. Sigh. Other than my temporary rescue bird, I've never re-homed a pet before.

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Nibbler

· #4 · Feb 24, 2012

if you feel that they would be more greatly enjoyed in another home, then how about putting an ad up make someone fill out an adoption forum, to be able to help better determine a good home for them,if by chance you don't find someone who you think would be a suitable home, then keep them, theres no rush in deciding who to rehome them to. you can also go check out there homes before rehoming them if youd feel more comfortable with it.

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urofan

· #5 · Feb 28, 2012

What about offering the hermit crabs to your sister or another family member? Jess, take your time and think about it before doing anything.

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Jess

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 28, 2012

My sister/family members wouldn't want them anyway, unless they were a pet for their kids, which is what I'm trying to avoid LOL.

I'm just keeping them for now. I'll keep an open mind to potential homes, but I don't want to decide anything for sure right now.

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BarkingPup

· #7 · Mar 9, 2012

I completely understand where you're coming from. Although, my reasons are from wheezing, asthmatic and hive allergies rather than losing interest. For an animal that is more content to be watched I think you should also consider the cost. Can I afford keeping them healthy and fed? Vet bills? Or, if you might be going off to school or moving out eventually, do I keep them until I need to move?

The biggest setback for hermies would definitely be finding a dedicated owner. I'd keep your options open, prepare an intense interview/application, and if one comes along then you have no worries as they've been thoroughly tested by you. Not jumping into it right away is the best advice I can give you, unless you can't afford them right at this time.

I ended up putting away most of my fish stuff after several years of keeping them because I just didn't feel that the payoff of watching them was equal to the expense and time maintaining them. However, mine all died of old age in the end so I didn't have to worry about new, knowledgeable owners. My old fish tanks ended up given away or are being re-used into gecko habitats and plantariums (oh, if I had windows!).

Good luck making a decision

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Jess

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 9, 2012

Since I've had their set-up for forever, the only cost for me is buying a $4 container of food every few months so that isn't even an issue. It's just a matter of whether I want them or not, I guess. If I found the perfect person I would feel good about re-homing them, but that's definitely the hardest part.

I felt the same way about fish... I just stopped replacing them when they died until they were gone, but it only took a few months before they died (My tan had some kind of parasite that I couldn't get rid of). I stopped replacing the hermies 3 years ago though!

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Purple-Hops

· #9 · Mar 13, 2012

Nobody judges you since you've taken the precautions of waiting to find a perfect candidate for adoption. Since they aren't like dogs and therefore are not attached to you, try to not feel too bad about re-homing them. It's fine if you've "grown" out of them because you're still taking care of them.
I know it's hard to give them up because of the time and money commitment gone in thus far. But if your heart's not in it, I say re-home.
Bless and good luck!

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urofan

· #10 · Mar 13, 2012

You've had them for a long time, and it sounds like you're burned out. With gas prices going up, we all need to be more careful on how many animals we have. We're not only having to take care of our animals financially, we also have to take care of ourselves. I'm not judging you, because I know that you care about animals. Take your time on deciding whether or not to keep your hermit crabs.

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Jess

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 14, 2012

Just the other day, I saw someone come in my pet store with a teeny critter keeper that they were making two hermit crabs live in... It was barely big enough for a water dish! That kind of disturbed me into keeping them right now. I did just buy them some new moss and filled half their tank with it, and they are having a blast burrowing in it so they are happy for now at least. I'm definitely not in a rush to get rid of them or anything.

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