Hermit crabs are the best pets to have

Hermit crabs are great. I have two hermit crabs at home that are quite big at this point. We haven’t named them for some reason, even though we’ve had them for over a year.

These pets are easy to care for; they don’t need a lot of maintenance, and you can watch them grow peacefully. They are called hermit crabs because they are solitary and basically closed off from the world because of their strong homes — their shells.

They are great creatures to have if you’re training for the responsibility of a bigger pet, such as a dog. If you’re going to get a hermit crab, you need an aquarium, a sea sponge for drinking, driftwood or cholla wood with holes for climbing, sand every three months, salt water in a spray bottle (use aquarium salt, never table salt) and fresh hermit crab food. Care for them every day, and you will have a good and healthy crab. But make sure you get two crabs so they can socialize and not be lonely.

Now that you know the basics, head to your nearest pet shop and walk out with a new member of the family.

Janet Rumble and Sandi Yarow’s sixth-grade class, Great Neck South Middle School