Christa's Favorite Crab-Related Links!
This is where I find the good stuff!


Groups and Clubs

The Hermit Crab Association
This is *the* place for you to learn about how you can do your bit to promote the humane care of hermit crabs. The HCA is a group of crabbers who both want to 'talk crabs' and take a pro-active stance regarding proper crab care. The HCA is moderated by a group of Administrators who have been on the site for a long time. People are treated fairly, even the "greenest teen crabber" is welcomed with open claws! The only requirement for registration is that you enter your city and state (or country if you are not in the United States).  HCA is the only online hermit crab community run by a group of people elected to their posts, not by a clique of friends. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the HCA is very flattered. Often imitated, but never equaled! Visit us today!

Landhermitcrabs.com!
Landhermitcrabs.com is the best kept secret in the crab care community! Members have been coming to this site for years and have established fast friendships. They love to meet new people and they love to talk about their pet hermit crabs! There are many forums and a wealth of archives dating waaaay back when! Landhermitcrabs.com stands on its own as the web's oldest hermit crab message board. It was set up by my good friends Asa and Roland who live in Sweden. They came to visit me in July 2000 when we had the first hermit crab convention! Asa and Roland ran landhermitcrabs.com for about three years, before turning it over to me in 2002.

The Administrators of landhermitcrabs.com are incredible and do a wonderful job promoting the community feel of the site. If you have ever been picked on unfairly in another crab-care forum, landhermitcrabs.com will treat you right!


Crab Care Information
Like any good webmaster, I must extend kudos to my 'web peers' in disseminating hermit crab information! So let's roll out the red carpet to: The Hermit Crab Patch!
The Hermit Crab Patch is one of the WOW! sites of the online crabbing world. There is so much incredible information and photos that you're just left with your mouth hanging open, saying "WOW!". It is run by my dear friend Tammy. I met Tammy in Sarasota Florida at the 2002 HCA Convention. Tammy is TOTALLY devoted to hermit crabs, she even had a "best crab" at her wedding. The Hermit Crab Patch is a great mix of everything that the best crab care sites need -- basic information for new crabbers, and real meaty science for those experienced crabbers hungering for more information. This site is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to go beyond the basic info and wants to get to know what makes our little guys tick. If you write her, please let her know that Christa says "Great job!" and ask her about her Sphinx cats. They are so sweet!


Crabotanicals
This site is the web's answer to everyone's question: Where can I find good quality hermit crab food? Every single ingredient in Crabotanicals' line of food is thoroughly screened for quality and wholesomeness and crab-tested for taste. The owner is a long-time member of the HCA: Hermit Crab Association and held in high regard by many online crabbers.


SHOPPING!!

Woo-hoo! Nearly every crab owner loves to go shopping for new crab toys! Here is where I buy most of my hermit crab food, toys and other crab maintenance supplies.


The Hermit Crab Patch! Believe it or not, but one of the best sites for crab care info also sells hermit crabs and crab supplies! Tammy sells really neat items, things you cannot get anywhere else -- don't miss her Exclusives page! She also sells hermies when the weather is right for shipping. Tammy carefully screens each prospective hermie owner to make sure each crab goes to a loving home. She will not sell to just anyone, only to those who genuinely care about the welfare of hermit crabs. Tammy is proof that retailers CAN have a business where the crabs' welfare comes FIRST!

The Hermit Crab Association's CafePress Store The HCA: Hermit Crab Association has its own CafePress store. Here you can buy one-of-a-kind items that only a true crab lover would appreciate. Who else would wear a shirt that says "Don't stress me out or I'll go naked!" You can find humorous items or very serious items that drive home the point that "There are no throwaway animals." The HCA does not charge a very large mark-up on our CafePress items, so they are very reasonable compared to many other CafePress sites. The money from the site goes towards hosting the HCA's website.

Sea Shell City
Sea Shell City is one of the wonders of the hermit crab owners' world. I have visited their store, and their crabs are treated well by the staff. They get their crabs through numerous friends in the Caribbean, their crabs do not go through the "middleman" part of shipping, so receive much less stress than most commercially available hermit crabs. Sea Shell City is dedicated to their crab's health: they do not ship crabs during the freezing winter months and expressshipping is mandatory. Sea Shell City has a shell collection to die for! Some of crabbies' all-time favorites are here, especially those tapestry turbos that our little friends can't get enough of! They sell brain-size sponges, repti-type dishes, and crab food and treat. A one-stop site for outfitting your entire crabitat!


Petdiscounters!
Petdiscounters.com is the one of the best sites on the web for buying hermit crab supplies. Here is the story behind this: About two years ago, I thought that perhaps if I compiled a list of everybody's hermit crab supply needs, and sent it to an online pet shop, maybe they would make a 'hermit crab' section. So I posted an email on Hermies Egroups, and on the Landhermitcrabs.com bulletin board, saying "If you could make your own perfect hermit crab supply store, what would it carry?" I got a LOT of responses! I put everything together into a neat email and sent it to Petdiscounters.com. The manager, Steve, wrote me back and said that yes they have most of these supplies available and will set up a hermit crab supply section online. So that's the story, in a nutshell. Petdiscounters.com is the 'custom-made' hermit crab supply shop of the online crabbing community. They sell a lot of FMR products that you can't get anywhere else.


The Naples Sea Shell Company
The Naples Sea Shell Company ROCKS! The owner, Frank, actually joined up at landhermitcrabs.com (that was his first stop) and asked what we, as hermit crab owners, needed the most in the way of crab shells. Then he went on to design a hermit crab lovers' DREAM STORE. When Frank says "We are here to help you," he IS NOT KIDDING!

Shell Horizons!
Shell Horizons has one of the most fascinating sites I've seen. They have TONS of things here: coral, sea fans, sand dollars, all types of shells and more. The great thing about Shell Horizons is you buy your shells in bulk. So if you have some small hermies needing some tapestry turbos, you can order a gallon of them for $15! That's less than $1 per shell! Their coral selection of fabulous, and very reasonably priced -- you can get an elegant large piece of coral for $4 or $15. That's a steal compared to the price you'd pay in a pet store. Check out their 'Gems of the Sea" collection for beautifully polished large shells for your treasured jumbo crabs.


Seashells.com
The place for shells for your Ecuadorian crabs! Look in the "medium shells" category. The moon shells are Ecuadorian favorites. The sweet violet shells are very small and only fit Ecuadorians about the size of a dime or smaller

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