A hermit is a person who lives apart from society. Traditionally, this has meant living alone and self-sufficiently, but not always. The word "hermit" is derived from the Greek eremia for "desert," in reference to the Desert Fathers of the fourth century; and eremos came to mean solitary. The Latin equivalent is solitarius.

In every religious tradition, the individual has been advised to withdraw within the self, separate from the world, in order to achieve inner peace, if not insight. What has differed among these religious cultures is the degree to which this inwardness is permitted, even cultivated. Eastern cultures have encouraged, respected, even admired the decision to become a hermit. In the West, the primacy of social and external life has often opposed or put strictures and sanctions on hermits.

Externally, simplifying one's life is the best path toward peace of mind, and peace of mind is a prerequisite to solitude. At that point, solitude can begin to enhance and strengthen the conviction of how external things are precisely that: external. In the Zen tradition, one is bidden to begin practicing (i.e., meditating) at once, not to begin by trying to analyze one's responsibilities and entanglements and present life situation or predicament.

Hermit days are days when the brothers put more emphasis on solitude and silence. We have them for the community on the first Wednesday of each month and during our annual retreat. After morning Lauds and Mass until afternoon Vespers there is no community schedule. The brothers are free to spend the day doing pretty much what they like as long as the atmosphere of silence and solitude is maintained.

Hermit crab may leave its shell for many reasons - the important thing is to get the animal back in it. First, you must boil the empty shell and rinse it with cool water. Then, fill the clean shell with cool water. Finally, dip the naked crab in water and gently push it into the shell, abdomen first. You can threaten it in further by tapping lightly on its head so it will quickly draw back into its shell.

Hermit crabs are nocturnal, so they are never going to be as active as cats or dogs. However, there are several things you can do to promote activity. First, you must start with healthy land crabs and a warm environment. Second, water induces activity in the form of bathing or misting. And third, make their habitat a playground setting with a dry bottom medium and plenty of coral, driftwood, sea fans and lava rock for climbing and exploring.Back to Top

The comfort zone for hermit crabs is 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit; that is when they are most active and healthy. If the temperature drops to between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, dormancy and hibernation will occur. A long hibernation may permanently affect the hermit crab. When you lower household temperatures with air-conditioning or energy-saving winter thermostat settings, heat the hermit crabs' habitat with a light or a special heater that warms the bottom medium.Back to Top

Despite their name, hermit crabs are actually very social, community oriented creatures and are rarely aggressive. It is perfectly all right to have various sizes of hermit crabs living together. The larger ones won't pick on the smaller ones. Any aggressiveness has to do with a fight over a favored shell rather than territory. Providing a large enough habitat with plenty of extra shells for playful switching and growing into should reduce fighting.

Although not usual, parasites can sometimes invade the hermit crab and its environment. If you notice parasites on the crab's body, follow these steps to eliminate them. First, break down the entire tank and discard the bottom medium. Thoroughly clean and rinse the tank itself. Boil all other objects in the habitat, including extra shells, food and water dishes, and climbing items like coral , rock and wood. Rinse the items and allow to air dry.

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In the continental United States, there is only one native species of land hermit crab, the purple pincher, or C. clypeatus. Most people do not consider that species, at least, exotic. However, many people do refer to less commonly found species, like strawberries (C. perlatus) or indos (C. brevimanus) as exotics - and since they're not found natively in the US, they are!

While a hermit crab can live alone, they do fare much better if they're kept at least in pairs. In the wild, hermit crabs gather in large numbers, and they do appear to engage in at leat some basic social activity when kept together in captivity.

They do mate, in a manner of speaking, but they cannot breed in captivity, so this should not be a major concern for hermit crab owners. When hermit crabs mate, the male hermit crab positions the female hermit crab in front of him and passes spermatophore packets into her gonopores, where the female hermit crab's eggs are fertilized. In the wild when a female hermit crab is ready to release her eggs, she releases them into the ocean.

Hermit crabs do have blood of a sort, but it is not like mamallian blood because their physiology is so different. It is very unlikely you'll ever see blood on your hermit crab because any time a wound is bad enough that it doesn't quickly clot, the hermit crab tends to drop the wounded limb to avoid bleeding to death.

Mites can certainly be hard to get rid of. The most common method is to completely remove any substrate, and very thoroughly clean the crab tank, especially any corners or trim where they may be hiding. Substrate should be temporarily replaced by a thin layer of sand or another inorganic substance.

Like humans, all hermit crabs are going to like different things, but here are some of our crabs' favorites: natural honey, raisins, sweet potatoes, tahini (sesame seed paste), rose petals, shrimp, and coconut. They are also big fans of freeze dried crickets and krill.

Hermit crabs find food largely by smell, so they tend to find smelly foods faster than other foods. Since they smell with their antennas, you'll often see a hermit crab checking out food antennae first. Usually then they will use their larger claw to break off pieces or hold chunks of food and their smaller claw to bring pieces to their mouth parts.