Pets need heaters, too.
By Whitney
My husband and I are self-aware enough to know that having a cat or dog is not right for our family at this time. Our kids are two and five, and we are finding that our need to nurture another being is fully saturated by our darling preschoolers. The other day when Scarlett dragged a red crayon across the pale cream wall while simultaneously looking up at me and saying “I’m sorry, Mommy,” I was not really upset – but I was thinking, “A dog is the last thing I need.”
Ergo, Herman and Chance, two land hermit crabs, have entered our lives. They live in a small terrarium on our kitchen counter and were a birthday gift approved by me from Julian’s former preschool teacher. She saw how he loved her classroom hermit crabs and thought he’d like to have a pair of his own. He had specifically said that he wanted a pet he could hold, i.e., not a goldfish, for his fifth birthday, and thus a match was made. Off we went to the pet store the next day … ok, it was two days that passed before we dealt with them … to learn what Herman and Chance need in order to thrive in our home. Food, water and heat are the answers.
Hermit crabs need humidity, which can be challenging during the winter when you have the heat running in your house. So, we bought a spray bottle with which to keep the crabs and their accoutrements well-moistened in the tank. The main maintenance task required to care for them is to spray them with water daily.
They also need to stay warm. The heater designed for hermit crabs simply sticks onto the side of the tank, but it must be plugged in. This means that the tank must stay within a few feet from an outlet. On the plus side, this means the kids will not be carrying it all around the house. I was glad to see that all the heaters to choose from in the pet store had the UL Mark. Right now,I am pretty confident that the cons of taking care of these crabs outweigh the pros, but like I said, I’m not in need of a pet for myself. It’s for the kids.
Do your pets require any special equipment? Is it a safety issue?
What a hot topic to choose, good reading.