Death of the Hermit Crab

One of my son's hermit crabs died last week & it brought home to him the pain of losing a living thing that was close to his heart. I was not particularly attached to it because it bit me one time, so that was the end of my love for it.

He has another hermit crab that we have had for over a year & this crab that passed was one that we had purchased so that the first one would have a companion. I like the first one better, he is smaller & does not bite so of course he is my favorite.

My son came to respect the bigger, more aggressive crab because he could dig deep into the sand & there were days when we were sure that he had escaped his habitat somehow because he was so hard to find. He would dig out holes under the food & water bowls without disturbing them & then cover himself back up, it was pretty amazing I must say.

Then one day last week he crawled into the bowl that holds their salt bath & never crawled back out. At first we thought he must be really enjoying it but realized that night that he had died. The realization of that hit my son & he left his room & laid in the hallway & cried. Our cat, who he has a really deep bond with, came to him. It always upsets him when he hears him cry.

Our cat Tigger & my son love each other so much! Tigger will always comfort him by rubbing on his head & puts his paws around him. Sometimes he will lay right on top of him & rub his face...they are so great together.

My son turns 11 this week & we have had Tigger since before he was born, so my son has never been without him. I am glad that the crab has died because it is a stepping stone to learning how to deal with the grief of losing something you love. With Tigger pushing 13 years of age I know that day could be in the near future & it will be a much deeper grief, but maybe these small learning experiences will help with the bigger ones ahead.

So I want to send out my thanks & appreciation for Mr. Crab who gave his life to help my son learn about life & death. May he rest in peace!