Feeling Crabby?

Try a ten-legged pet

They are long-lived, docile and sociable. They do not have to be licensed, neutered or inoculated. They make no noise and they don't bite. To many Americans who have shelled out up to $3.50 each for the critters, the tropical hermit crab (Coenobita Clypeatus) is by any measure the perfect pet.

The ten-legged, up-to-3-in.-wide crustaceans are being marketed nationwide by The Great American Crab Co., Inc. of Orlando, Fla., which boasts it will sell some 750,000 in its first year. They will eat peanut butter and jelly, dog food, cereal, lettuce or fruit, though GAC would naturally prefer to have crab fanciers feed them its "special dinner mix" at $2 per 3-oz. shaker. Many owners buy fancy shells to serve as crab pads, coral trees for them to play in and, of course, leashes. Though they have less personality than, say, dolphins, fond owners aver that they are never crabby and are quite unshellfish.

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