Current policies for LHCOS social media presence
Group Rules in effect June 2024
The LHCOS Board of Directors has agreed upon a mentorship-focused management policy for our Facebook group.
What does that mean?
That means that as a community, we want to be positive, welcoming, and helpful.
It can be hard to see crabs in an environment that we know is not good. That is why it’s so important that our interactions, particularly the first ones, are successful.
People are the most receptive when they feel welcomed and not judged. It can feel really negative when someone tells us we are doing something wrong, even if they’re right.
If a new poster’s first experience is negative enough, they will go somewhere else, or worse, stop looking for help and leave the crabs in the poor setup that we all want to help improve.
We have to take into consideration other obstacles as well. Financial obstacles, age-parent obstacles, time commitment obstacles.
How we should handle new members and new posts: Read the post, are they asking for help or just sharing?
If they didn’t ask for our help, don’t start off by making suggestions or trying to correct their setup. Say hi! Welcome them to the group. Give them time to explore the other posts and the care files on CSJ.
If they are asking for help, read all of the comments before jumping in.
Is someone else already helping them? If so, do not jump in (unless just to say hi or welcome cute crabs!). We are an enthusiastic and helpful group, but multiple people commenting on all different things can be super confusing for new people!
We are currently on POST APPROVAL now which means every post has to be approved by a team member. This helps us cut down on spam.
In some instances a moderator may post the TEAM MEMBERS ONLY graphic. We know it is a little restrictive, but in the past we’ve had new members overwhelmed with good advice, bad advice and all the advice in between which left them confused and uncertain which person was giving them the right information. So when you see that Team Members Only graphic, we request that you stand back and let the team help the OP until the member has the information they need, then they will re-open the post for comments and you can offer support or share an experience that may be helpful. We promise to work hard to keep the Team Members Only graphic up only until the question is answered.
Rules and Violations
Basic rules of the group:
Be positive in your interactions with one another. Disagreement is healthy, but being rude is not welcome.
We prefer that you don’t delete your posts. Other people may benefit from the discussion. (We do understand, however, that sometimes things are deleted for privacy or safety reasons.)
If you wish to promote your store, we have an approved seller’s program that you can apply to be a part of. We only allow store posts from approved sellers. Though this is very limiting, we have had bad experiences with sellers who sold dangerous foods and decor that impacted LHCOS negatively because people believed that being allowed to post on the LHCOS page meant that they were being endorsed by the organization.
Do not PM members asking care questions. Do not PM members who have posted to offer them care info privately. In nearly all cases, members of the group will benefit from public discussions, and not everyone wishes to have private conversations about shared groups.
Theft of content will result in banning. Do not use photos/files/PDFs/Docs etc. without the permission of the owner.
This group is for all ages and we have members who are kids. Please keep the swearing to a minimum and keep the “adult talk” somewhere more appropriate.
Because we use moderators and local representatives to help manage content in this group, blocking mods or local reps is not allowed. You will be asked to unblock, if you choose not to unblock you will be removed.
If you’re going to use our page to rehome or adopt crabs, we want to encourage you to arrange it through our service. However, adopters who have been approved are permitted to communicate that to people posting to rehome their crabs. Potential adopters, however, need to be approved. We make sure that potential adopters meet the habitat and care guidelines and have enough room for your crab. We will not allow the LCHOS page to be used to facilitate adoptions to homes with unknown conditions. . If you are thinking about getting a crab, consider adopting! http://lhcos.org/adoption/
As an organization, we cannot turn a blind eye to legal violations.
In most states, it is illegal to collect wildlife and/or fauna (plants, mosses, wood) without a permit in all or designated areas.
In most states, it is illegal to release a pet in the wild, whether it was wild caught or not.
Harassing, harming, vandalizing, tormenting, or otherwise endangering a wild animal is illegal in most states.
It is your responsibility to know the laws in your state and act accordingly.
If you post about violating the law, you will be banned. We cannot be associated with this sort of violation.
Outside media/content will be reviewed to determine if it is appropriate for our group.
Videos, Images, and Links that show illegal activities, intentional abuse/neglect of animals, or promotion of harmful care practices will not be approved.
Your personal photos/videos are ok so long as you aren’t intentionally promoting harmful care practices. This rule applies to non-care/help/emergency-related posts that are just for fun or sharing.
Admin and moderators will attempt to notify you to remove your post if needed. If you are not able to respond we may remove it at our discretion. We will let you know why it was removed. This notification is not considered a warning but standard rules apply after the notification is made.
Happy Crabbing!!
Rule Violations
If you persist in engaging in behavior that we view as not nice, you will be given a warning. After two warnings, a third issue will result in a ban. Please don’t do this! We hate to ban people!
First rule violation may or may not result in a warning at the moderator/admin’s discretion. We understand that sometimes we all goof. If you choose NOT to correct the issue that triggered the warning you will be given one strike for a rule violation.
If you post something blatantly rude or offensive you will be immediately banned. There are plenty of forums where snarkiness and digs are welcome, but this isn’t one of them.
Spammers will be immediately banned.
If you send rude, insulting, hateful, etc. PMs to anyone in our group you will be immediately banned. These rules come from the LHCOS Board of Directors.
If you wish to discuss a rule violation, contact the BOD with screenshots of what led to the rule violation via email at bo**************@***os.org.
Complaints/concerns sent to individual board members via Facebook Messenger, text, or personal emails will not receive a response. Please be respectful of our time and use the appropriate channel for contacting us.
One year from your ban date you can request a review to rejoin the group. Contact the LHCOS Board of Directors at bo**************@***os.org to request a review of your status.
Business pages/profiles
Effective November 13, 2025, non–LHCOS Approved Seller & non-LHCOS Approved Rescue business pages will no longer be permitted to join or remain members of the Land Hermit Crab Owners Society Facebook group. Business page in this instance will refer to any Facebook account operating under a name other than your legal name, where the name infers a business, rescue, organization, etc., versus an individual.
This decision was made after careful review by the LHCOS Board of Directors (BOD). Our original intent in allowing business pages to join was to help the Approved Seller Committee and community members get to know business owners better while giving owners the privilege of participating under their business name. Unfortunately, this privilege has been taken advantage of by a small number of participants engaging in spam-like behavior and repeatedly posting links designed to drive traffic away from
LHCOS platforms to resources and information that have not been vetted and may not adhere to LHCOS practices or standards. While we want to support all the hermit crab businesses out there, it is essential that the LHCOS FB page does not become a platform for customer farming by hermit crab-related businesses.
To protect the integrity and focus of our educational community:
● All non–LHCOS Approved Seller & non-LHCOS Approved Rescue business pages currently in the group will be removed.
● Existing and future LHCOS Approved Sellers & LHCOS Approved Rescues will be allowed to remain or join under their business account. Adoption/Rescue/Rehome organizations will only be allowed to join with their business page after proof of 501 (c) (3) status has been submitted to LHCOS Board of Directors.
● Store promotions and sales posts will continue to be allowed only from LHCOS Approved Sellers & LHCOS Approved Rescues.
● Personal accounts belonging to business owners are still welcome, provided they follow all group rules.
● Spammy or self-promotional behavior—such as repeatedly sharing your own business links or posting about your products—will not be tolerated, even under a personal account.
● Occasional, organic mentions of your business or products are acceptable only in comments when relevant to an ongoing discussion and when they add genuine value. You may not create posts that are solely about your business, products, or sales.
Reminder: LHCOS also hosts a Buy/Sell group on Facebook, where all business owners are welcome to post listings, promotions, and shop updates. However, spamming is not permitted in that group either.
For clarity, spamming includes but is not limited to:
● Posting the same or similar content repeatedly within a short time frame
● Sharing your shop links, sales, or discount posts across multiple groups or threads excessively
● Making posts that do not offer new or relevant information to the community
● Commenting promotional links on unrelated posts
● “Bumping” multiple posts—commenting on your own posts solely to move them back to the top of the feed
● Tagging admins or members repeatedly to gain visibility for your business
In the Buy/Sell group, “bumping” is limited to one bump per post and a maximum of two posts per seller within a 24-hour period.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation as we continue working to maintain a respectful, educational, and well-organized community for all members.
Current r/LandHermitCrabs Rules
No Crabby Attitudes! Please be nice to each other 🙂
Adoption/Re-homing – We have standards that approved adopters must meet to ensure your hermit crabs are going to a good home. We do not vet any other adopters posting on this subreddit. If you want to ensure an experienced keeper is adopting your hermit crabs please work with the LHCOS Adoption team. http://lhcos.org/adoption/
No Promotions unless you have permission from an admin. If a store owner is banned from LHCOS you will not be allowed to promote that store, including posting pictures of your purchase from them. We have a list of Approved Stores on LHCOS.org https://lhcos.org/approved-sellers/approved-seller-directory/
Stick to LHCOS and CSJ care guidelines – The Crab Street Journal has an extensive library of hermit crab articles based on science, research and decades of caring for land hermit crabs.