X-Entertainment | New Article: The Hermit Crab!

New Article: The Hermit Crab!

New Article: In the past, we've taken a look at mantis shrimp, Siamese fighting fish, and even chinchillas. Now it's time for the amazing hermit crab to have its day in the sun. Review includes pictures of the crabby pair I just picked up, their cage and food, and the peculiar cartoon character painted on each of their shells. These guys are actually pretty cool -- I'd recommend 'em to anyone looking for the ultimate in "easy pets."

WORST. LUNCHBOX. EVER.

Posted by Matt on 07/24/2003. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 51 comments

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Great article on the Hermit Crabs, Matt! A lot of my friends had them growing up, and I always found them boring, but you have just given me a newfound interest in them. Especially since they’re so easy to care for (or get rid of them when they meet their fate). And, yes, that is a pretty heinous lunchbox.

Chestnuts roasted by Starving_Artist @ 07/24/2003 7:14 PM

Hermit crabs rule. I think you were a little hard on Jim though. He reminds me of me in high school.

Chestnuts roasted by Hellpop! @ 07/24/2003 7:19 PM

I don’t think I could eat anything that came out of that lunch box. It would be like eating what Randy Savage rejected. Or ejected.

I have always thought that hermit crabs are pretty cool. The painted shells remind me of some ASPCA-boggling things that people used to do to turtles in pet stores. Difference? Painted turtle shells lead to a slow painful death. Painted Hermit shell crabs can be altered anytime. Even more fun, really big ones will live in tin cans and tennis balls (cut a hole out first).

And most bug-pets drink water the same way (from a sponge). Unless drowning tarantulas is your thing.

Chestnuts roasted by Sean @ 07/24/2003 7:28 PM

Thank You, Matt. I have been a card carrying Hermit Crab Man/Woman (care to guess?) for many years. I was so happy to discover that you knew of the fun and wonder that Hermit Crabs provide. Short of Twinkies, nothing lasts longer than Hermit Crabs. Speaking of long-lasting, how are Ms. Chinny-Chin Chilla, your Japanese Beta, and Mr. Pacu? You haven’t made any mention of them for awhile. Could this be the return of the Animalia or Cryptozoo? I hope so! Thanks again, Matt. And don’t forget, I am technically edible too!

Chestnuts roasted by Bansheex @ 07/24/2003 7:57 PM

I have to say it. Bettas aren’t Japanese. They aren’t Chinese. They are Siamese, meaning Thailand, meaning SouthEast Asia.

Sorry, I worked in pet stores for 9 years, and that just really bugs me.

Chestnuts roasted by Sean @ 07/24/2003 8:34 PM

Thank you for ridding us of that Comedy Central Pop-up. I was sick and tired of hearing about the special relationship that woman and Officer Danko had….I never once let it play through all the way and have no interest in seeing the show because of the annoyance of it.

Chestnuts roasted by Garrison @ 07/24/2003 8:34 PM

Garrison – I agree 100%. I’ve argued many times that I could do more for some of these promotional through actual editorializing than the obtrusive pops — and really, X-E’s readers are understanding enough to not just overlook it if I ever asked them to check something out. It’s not UGO’s fault, as some have complained. It’s just what the clients want and believe will work, so it’s an endless compromise. Hopefully it’ll end up on the side of virtue.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/24/2003 9:20 PM

Sean: you learn something new every day! =D

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/24/2003 9:21 PM

Sean, you are so right. I couldn’t remember the name, and I didn’t have time to go back and check the article, so I tried to BS my way through it, but failed. I am useless as a human. Has anyone else been playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? Damn fine playin’ Matt, don’t you like me? Why do you never answer my questions? Have I offended you? I’m sorry if I have. I just wanted to know how your pets were doing. Sorry for caring. Just kill me. And shove your ass into my shell. Haha

Chestnuts roasted by Bansheex @ 07/24/2003 9:25 PM

Sorry Bansh, we just drank fourteen carafeferessaes of sake and I’m SO WILD AND WOOLY

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/24/2003 9:26 PM

I’m sure if I have something clever to contribute, or a question worth asking, one day Matt will speak to me.

Until then, I’ll continue hiding my own Randy Savage lunch box from you people’s view, because APPARENTLY it’s no longer stylish to snap into Slim Jims.

While wearing bandanas.

Okay, screw you all.

Chestnuts roasted by Otaku Queen @ 07/24/2003 9:31 PM

I still think siamese fighting fish are the best pets ever! I have seen those ones at my local mall with glitter on the shell. That lunchbox blows.

p.s. matt do you ever go on aim?

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 07/24/2003 9:34 PM

Again, an excellent article. I now have something to say that has nothing to do with it!

I have a friend who is a ridiculously dedicated to this site as anyone who would ever comment in this blog and her computer won’t let her come here this week! At all. She’s going completely insane, and I keep forgetting and saying things about "charming wooden pineapple bowls."

(9:57:00 PM): Going to do more filing, BECAUSE OF THE TORTURING NON-X-E LIFESTYLE I LIVE.

Chestnuts roasted by Kate @ 07/24/2003 10:08 PM

I just looked at the word count of a paper I’ve been writing for two days. At eleven pages, it’s 2,777 words. I’m suddenly very impressed that you can churn out one of these articles one a semi-daily basis.

Chestnuts roasted by Basil @ 07/24/2003 10:21 PM

Why’d you pick Jim for his name?

Chestnuts roasted by Jim @ 07/24/2003 10:27 PM

Whatever happened to your chinchilla? He was a cool lil fella…I miss him. Or her. Whatever…I still miss the fuzzy thing.

Chestnuts roasted by hippo_crates @ 07/24/2003 11:11 PM

The always irrelevant "G&W" here, this time reporting from his BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW Dell Axim X5, and I would like to say that this site looks pretty god-awful on a Pocket PC.
It’s like Freddy Kruger came up and shredded half the site. Any way to fix that?

Chestnuts roasted by "MR.GAME & WATCH" @ 07/25/2003 1:40 AM

Matt, exactly /how many/ pets do you have now? What, a fish… and shrimp… and stuff… do you even have a pet license for your flat? Crazy. It seems suspicious that we don’t hear about them after one article… PET KILLER!

Chestnuts roasted by Melanie @ 07/25/2003 1:57 AM

Damn you, Matt! You’ve also got "Comin’ Out Of Our Shells" stuck in my head!

Maybe Jim’d relate with TMNT more than the King?

Chestnuts roasted by Melanie @ 07/25/2003 2:05 AM

I’m very glad about the video being taken off and the fact that you care enough about your reader’s predicaments/connections and hope that in no way was I being offensive to you or UGO. Any way, great article on hermit crabs, I must agree that I found your animalia sections interesting esp. your mantis shrimp article ( I once went to visit family in Bolivia and found out that the "magnum" type was infamous for not only its danger but its use as a means of torture by some narcotic gangs very interesting ), and your observations on Coenibita clypeatus or Paguristes frontalis, I can’t tell, were quite good. I hope you do more of these in the future. It was almost as entertaining as my hero Stephen Jay Gould but alas I was never able to take his class due to his sad death, I recommend any of his books to readers interested in zoology or funny writing as he was a great writer and a bit of a comic. Have to comment on that lunch box, it is indeed very shitty and that Poffo was never cooler then when he was bitten by Jake Robert’s snake, one of the coolest angles ever. He’s now reduced to suing his ex-valet for using the Gorgeous George moniker while making porn. By the way, Slim Jims suck steroid pumped ass.

Chestnuts roasted by Happnin' Mojo @ 07/25/2003 2:14 AM

Slim jims are gross(seeing as theyre 99.9% grease) but i still eat them every once in a while just because part of my brain craves them…

Maybe I’ll get some hermit crabs when my current hamster decides to die…o_O

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 07/25/2003 2:28 AM

Hey Matt, I loved the article. Just thought I’d share a story of my own experiences with hermit crabs…I had a few when I was younger. One day I was putting them into a new cage, and I accidentally dropped one on to the kitchen floor. It fell out of the shell and then was scrambling all over the floor like a lunatic looking for the shell. It was fucking amazing. So if you want to see what they look like without the shell, don’t wait for them to change, just drop them. Or use one of those things you use to eat a lobster.

Chestnuts roasted by Vagina Junction @ 07/25/2003 2:58 AM

hehe bravo matt! We used to have hermit crabs, I remember when my sisters died I swear to god it smelled like cheerios! Nope just a dead crap because my sister drawned him when she *misted* him to much. My mom loved those damn things, dunno why. She just loved saying *we got crabs* and when we wanted to get rid of the damn things she asked people at work if they *wanted her crabs* needless to say she got some odd looks until she explained lol!!!

Chestnuts roasted by Katie @ 07/25/2003 3:42 AM

I love the way you raw us in with kids cereals and toys and then BANG!!!! you educate us about animals when we least expect it.

i remember you mentioned them in a previouse article, they were in a vending machine or something i think?

Don’t you think hasbro made a biiiiiiig mistake by not making hermit crab transformers?

a whole set where the shalls and crabs both transform?

or is it friday and the fumes from toilet cleaner are making me go strange?

Also, are "slim jims" te same as what we brits call "pepperami". cos why do the americans get macho man in the adverts, but we only get a silly plastice dancing sausage?

Chestnuts roasted by little James @ 07/25/2003 9:11 AM

Indeed, hermit crabs were in fact The Shit. Looking back they really do have personalities don’t they; my medium one would come out and be social but was fairly laid-back and liked to hang about by the damp sponge; my little one was kind of high strung and would the sprint around the aquarium. Sort of wish I had a big one; I could give him shell selections of Flinstones vitamin bottles, Black Mammy saltshakers, all kinds of crap

Chestnuts roasted by Krappy Kat @ 07/25/2003 9:47 AM

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