You seem to have misunderstood me. What I meant was that until we figure out a way to keep them happy enough that they live out their natural lifespan in captivity I will not have any more.

As for enclosures, did you note that I said *usually*? I never said that YOU kept YOUR crab in a tiny enclosure. Also, My crabs all enjoyed being spritzed. They were active regardless, but they really liked to be sprayed. I don't feel that I was mistreating my animals by doing something that they loved.

I believe that once people have better learned the needs of these charming little guys they will make excellent LONG-term pets.

I am not, however, going to take an animal into my home if it is not going to be able to live out even 1/10th of its natural lifespan. Not only that, I do not believe in wild catching animals to keep as pets. Each and every hermit crab sold in pet stores was wild caught, as they do not reproduce in captivity.

Here's a link off of PETA's kid section on hermit crabs.

http://www.peta.org/kids/hermitcrab.html