A New Pet

Last weekend, as we were out exploring garage sales, we came across quite a find . . . a brand new hermit crab habitat with sealed bags of sand for only 50cents. How could we pass up such a deal? With all my asthma/allergy fun, a "real" pet is out of the question . . . and we tried the fish thing . . . didn't last to long. So, we bought the habitat, headed to the local pet store and bought some hermit crabs . . . let me introduce you to Gem and Houdini . . .

And yes . . . they came in these ridiculous painted shells to look like they are carrying a penguin on their back at all times . . . I don't get it. In case you can't read the sign Hannah made and hung below the crabs it says, "THE BEST HERMIT CRAB HABITAT IN THE WORLD - Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and hermit crabs are too" . . . such a creative child. Houdini was originally called Mia until it figured out how to climb to the top of it's rock, grab onto the corner of a towel that was hanging behind the cage, climb up and out of the cage and cling for dear hermit crab life onto my candle holder . . . hence the name change. (And don't worry - I've cleared the area of all towels - no more escaping for that guy - I hope) We're all still in a bit of awe . . . they're definitely a little creepy (they look a bit like a tarantula to me) and yet also quite mesmerizing . . . they don't require more than a speck of food and a drop of water per day and you don't have to clean out a litter box or take them on long walks. I guess in the long run, they are the perfect pets for now . . . who knew what 50cents would get ya at a garage sale!!