Getting Crabby





Quick. When I say "family pet" what do you think of?

 

A friendly, floppy-tongued dog? A sleek, sly-eyed cat? Maybe if you live rurally, the image of a handsome horse or frisky goat pops into your head. A Google image search for "family pet" returns a plethora of photos of people with their dogs; however, photos of kids with a duck, chicken and a giant boa constrictor also dot the first webpage.

 

My family currently shares our home with two dogs and two cats, wonderful but common mammals. Last spring we got a little adventurous and invited a lovely juvenile corn snake into our midst. Having successfully adjusted to reptile care, we recently branched out to hermit crabs. Our first hermit crab was a Christmas present for our preschooler. At the time, I thought that was a strange, potentially painful gift for a 3-year-old.

 

I was wrong.

 

Hermit crabs are not slimy, stinky or especially dangerous. They have distinct personalities and are surprisingly social. When we visited the pet store to pick out our first crab (named Gooby by our son), we handled numerous crabs in order to find the perfect pet. Most were shy and pulled into their shells with their large claw effectively "blocking the door". Gooby, however, poked out his legs and began climbing around my hand. He (we later learned) was cautious as we took turns looking at and petting him, but his retreats into his shell were momentary. The one and only pinch the kids or I have yet received was at the pet store on my thumb. It was more surprising than painful!

 

Hermit Crab races

Gooby has since been joined by a similarly-sized hermit crab named Crab (also named by the preschooler). When selecting Crab, we were more concerned with size than temperament, trying to reduce the chance of one of the crabs killing the other for its shell. Crab was initially somewhat timid, but has begun to "come out of its shell" with gentle handling. Crab's sex is undetermined at this time. While Gooby is a bit of an exhibitionist, stretching far out of his shell to reveal his lack of gonopores (the sign of maleness), Crab is still a bit more reserved.

 

Our curiosity will remain unsatisfied for as long Crab decides to stay close to home. There is no pulling a hermit crab from its shell against its will. Apparently it would rather die first. We are still waiting for the first shell upgrade which might allow us to glimpse Crab or Gooby’s full hermit crab body in all its glory. In anticipation of The Move, we have provided several empty shells with openings just slightly larger than our crabs’ largest claw.

 

In their natural environment, hermit crabs are primarily land dwellers. In fact, their primary requirement for salt water is to breed. Breeding in captivity is unlikely, so it doesn’t actually matter if Crab is a boy or girl!

 

In addition to being relatively easy to care for—our inexpensive all-inclusive pet store crabitat will keep our duo going for a while—hermit crabs are not known to transmit zoonotic diseases to people. This is in contrast to aquatic pet turtles and many reptiles which can transmit Salmonella bacteria to their handlers. Even so, we all practice thorough hand-washing after playing with our hermit crabs just to be on the safe side.

 

The hermit crab is a crustacean in the phylum Arthropoda to which insects and arachnids such as spiders also belong. This relationship information is important to me because while I admire spiders from afar I do not think I would like to cuddle a Tarantula. Yet I have found I absolutely adore playing with our spider-like hermit crabs. The firm, cool grip of their exoskeletal limbs, their cute beady on-stalk eyes and wiggly antennae, and their funny, friendly antics have made me a crab convert!

 

Is it a Yorkie? Is it a Pom? No it's a Rottie-Poo!

Designer dogs are all the rage right now. They come with as many cool and unusual names as physical appearances. As a sampling we've got the Cockapoo, Schnoodle, Shorkie, Labradoole and my current favorite -- Chiweenie (that's a cross between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund). Say it with me...Chiweenie. Too much fun!

Bull Mastiff and French Bulldog

Of course, these exotic designer dogs are not a new concept. Mixed breed dogs--some would call them "mutts"--have existed before the AKC purebred was even contemplated. The product of mating two totally different breeds has traditionally been considered either an "oops" or a part of the process of creating an new entirely new breed. For example, the cuddly petite French Bulldog is a descendant of the massive Mastiff breed with deliberate selection for size, shape and temperament being done over centuries.

Genetics is a fascinating subject. Sometimes a mixed breed dog shows physical characteristics distinct to its various ancestors--perhaps having the satellite dish ears of a Chihuahua, the thick stubby legs of a Bassett Hound, the brown ticking hair of a German Shorthair Pointer and the icy blue eyes of a Husky. Many times, however, the individual breed traits nearly disappear into whatever is the dominant feature. The ubiquitous humane society moniker "lab mix" or "shepherd mix"is a testament to the fact that many Heinz 57 dogs end up looking a heck of a lot like one these common ancestors. In fact, I currently see several Labrador Retriever-Springer Spaniel puppies in my veterinary practice. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were simply black or chocolate Labradors; you really have to search for the Spaniel characteristics.

A wonderful scientific development in the veterinary world is the Mars Wisdom Panel, an affordable genetic test that not only identifies the ancestry of a mixed breed dog but can also test for numerous genetic diseases. It is nearly always a surprise the breeds that pop up in this genetic test.

Grimm,
the Yorkie-Papillon-Cocker-Rottweiler

Recently, we tested a adorable black scraggly-haired small-breed puppy named Grimm. We guessed he was some kind of terrier, most likely a Yorkie. The actual Wisdom Panel results blew us all away. Grimm's genes reveal that his ancestry indeed includes a Yorkshire Terrier. He also can claim a Papillon, Cocker Spaniel--and get this!--a Rottweiler as his grandparents.

Knowing Grimm's heritage does not just satisfy the owner's (and veterinarian's) curiosity. It also provides valuable signalment that is useful in understanding his risk of developing certain diseases. Fortunately, Grimm tested negative for the genetic diseases included in his Wisdom Panel Professional. However, there are many diseases seen frequently in certain breeds that are not easily testable, and now as Grimm ages, we can use his breed information to predict his  susceptibility to these conditions.

It may seem implausible that a Rottweiler and a Cocker Spaniel reproduced and subsequently passed on their genes to a tiny Terrier. It really should not be surprising that raging hormones (in any species) can create some very unexpected situations. This summer I was privileged to care for a litter of Boxer-Cocker Spaniel pups. The mom (thank goodness) was a very large Boxer and the dad, a medium-sized Cocker. The pups are adorable, with the larger bone structure of a Boxer and the soft, floppy facial features of the Spaniel.

New owners of mixed breed dogs often seek an educated guess from their veterinarian regarding their dog's heritage. I have to be honest. Having witnessed the offspring from unlikely pairings and reading the jaw-dropping reports on official genetics tests has made me much less confident in my guesses. After all, I would never in a million years have guessed that Grimm had a Rottweiler grandparent.