For several years now, Declan has been begging for his own pet. He really wants a puppy, but one dog is headache enough for me. We can't have cats because of allergies, and rabbits and birds are too much work. Fish die like flies in my house, and ferrets are smelly and expensive.
Which is why Santa brought Declan his very own hermit crab for Christmas, and the household was joined by Hermie (very original, I know) and later Hazelnut (because hermit crabs are apparently social creatures, despite their name, and Aislin wanted one too).
Santa was misinformed though - hermit crabs are not exactly no maintenance pets. They require a finicky balance of temperature and humidity, fresh and salt water changed daily, and a wide variety of foods. Plus they are nocturnal, so we don't see a whole lot of them. But at least they are still alive, and Declan is thrilled to have his own pet. He's taking them to school tomorrow to show all his friends during show and tell. I guess we'll see if they survive the trauma. If not, we'll have to sneak in some replacements.