These poor hermit crabs at Petco were struggling to survive. Luckily, they found their guardian angel. In an unexpected sequence of events, a few crabs about to pass got a chance at a second life with the help of a kind woman.
Hermit crabs are not the most popular pet, but they are sold in major pet stores like Petco and PetSmart. They are also sometimes sold at beachside gift shops as souvenirs. TikToker @theamwsfamily is a hermit crab-loving mother whose crab content has gathered her over 78,000 followers. She shares with viewers about a recent rescue mission.
While at Petco, @theamwsfamily notices a few hermit crabs that aren’t doing too well.
“I’m about to talk to these people to see if they’ll give me these hermit crabs and not charge me for them because they look like they finna [pass]. They do not look healthy at all. I’m so sad. I can’t believe this. … I’m very heartbroken,” @theamwsfamily says.
She admits that she used to have her hermit crabs in a “shack,” but has since learned better.
“Once you learn and you grow, you really see that these animals are—they are being messed up, jacked up, and abused,” she says.
@theamwsfamily goes up to a Petco representative and expresses their concern about the state of the hermit crabs. She tells them they look like they have passed or are about to pass.
“Yeah, most likely. We’ve got someone managing this side of the store that we’re not really happy with,” explains the representative.
“So, my question is, is there not a way you could give me at least two of them without chagrining me so we could possibly save them?” asks @theamwsfamily.
“Yeah, that’s not a problem,” the representative says.
Then the representative goes inside the tank and reviews the crabs to see if they are alive. Some of them have already passed, but a few are still moving. The TikToker goes home with four hermit crabs to rehabilitate.
“I don’t know what I’m about to do and how I’mma get another tank, but I done adopted four hermit crabs for free,” says @theamwsfamily.
The video has 1.9 million views and 145,100 likes.
In an update video, the TikToker mentions that the new crabs are thriving and enjoying getting to know her other crabs.
Folks in the comments section are happy that @theamwsfamily is helping these crabs and are impressed by the employee’s willingness to help despite the store’s challenges.
“So you are running a hermit crab rescue,” points out one comment.
“That’s a great employee and [you’re] an angel for trying,” says another.
“A lot of it is not the employees. I have worked at Petsmart and we want to take care of these animals but we get in trouble because we aren’t doing what corporate wants us to do,” someone else says.
“Petco just needs to stop selling animals … like just focus on food and accessories,” another comment with over 17,000 likes states.
Is there any validity to concerns about animals being mistreated at Petco? Well, according to PETA, yes.
PETA claims mistreatment of animals at Petco is nothing new. The organization has been fighting with the store since the early 2000s to end its sale of live animals. It cites inhumane conditions that animals allegedly endured at the breeder that Petco gets its animals from, Sun Pet Ltd. An undercover PETA investigator says they witnessed animals being packed into cages, handled aggressively, kept in dirty living conditions, and even violently killed.
Another article by World Animal Protection states that Petco and big box pet stores are negatively impacting the biodiversity of wild animals, despite their claims of sustainability.
However, it does seem that grassroots efforts to have Petco do the right thing have been working on some fronts. In 2025, the advocacy organization Rabbit, along with several other hundreds of animal advocacy organizations, got the company to agree to stop selling rabbits in its stores due to their frequency of being surrendered at shelters and a general lack of proper pet care rabbits often endure.
@theamwsfamily’s qualms with her local Petco store may not be an isolated incident. However, it seems that some agents are trying to make a positive change. Agents like employees, animal advocacy groups, and concerned citizens like @theamwsfamily are all working together to promote animal safety at big box pet stores.
AllHipHop has reached out to Petco for comment via email and to @theamwsfamily via email and TikTok comment. We will update this article if they respond.
@theamwsfamily Thanking this beautiful worker for turning over 4 of the hermit crabs for free so that we can try and give them a better life! I may not be an expert and I may not have the biggest set up but I’m gonna rescue these babies and provide them as much as I can like Arlo & Alabaster! Somebody tag @Petco and tell them to do better! #hermitcrab #hermitcrabs #hermitcrabsoftiktok #exoticpets #rescueanimals ♬ original sound – TheAMWsFamily
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