A few months ago, we my wife invited four more pets to live in our home. Luckily, they are small, smell free, inexpensive, and have a short life expectancy. If you are keeping a pet count for our family, that makes 1 elderly German Shepherd, 1 fat hamster, 1 skinny hamster, and 4 hermit crabs. Well…now there are only 3 hermit crabs. One died. He is landfill.
It all started two weeks ago when I noticed one of the crabs hanging halfway out of his shell. Sometimes they do that, but not very often. I reached into the cage (with a sand scooper as opposed to my hand) and gave it a little nudge. He didn’t retreat into his shell. About this time, my son Ty walked up and explained to me that hermit crabs molt. I didn’t know what that meant, but I pretended that I did. He is 10 and I’m 36. I know everything. I picked up the spray bottle and misted the clawed creature with water because they like to be lightly sprayed, but still no movement. Gaining a little more confidence that he was dead, I reached my hand into the cage and flicked the shell. He came out…at least his head did. It was separated from his body. Ty was still maintaining that the crab was molting. I gave him a little biology lesson and explained that when a head is separated from a body, it results in death. He seemed to understand.
Ever had a pet die?
Poor little Wake Forest died. I was sad. I hope the other 3 make it through the molting process.
Our family has had more “Pet Funerals” than I care to remember. Dogs, Cats, Bunnies, Gerbils, Fish, Hamsters, etc., the list goes on and on. It is sad when they die, however, we continue to bring pets into our home knowing that death is part of the deal. We focus on the joy they bring instead! Here’s to many more years of “Pet Joy” for your family
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