Faces of the fair

Among the dogs, cats, guinea pigs and other furry pets at the small animals show Monday night, Peyton Lewis waited with her hermit crabs.

Yes, hermit crabs—those soft scavengers that protect themselves from predators by squatting in abandoned shells littering the coast. They fit in the palm of a young girl’s hands and, admittedly, fall short in the companionship category, at least compared to normal pets.

“They’re not needy,” Lewis said. “But you need to keep their humidity right.”

Lewis, from Sidney, has cared for almost ten hermit crabs over the past several years. She also owns three cats and plans to show a stock feeder and a pig (named “Lunchbox”) later this week.

“Since I was five I’ve been interested in animals,” she explained.

This is Lewis’ second year in 4-H. She showed the pair of hermits—named “Lewis” and “Clark”—for the first time on Monday, earning a purple ribbon.

She knows her choice of small animals rates as unique, although she claims to know at least one or two others who kept domesticated crustaceans. In front of a judge at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds, Lewis stood up to questioning with confidence, explaining the details of hermit crab care, feeding and environment.

Even the tension of the small animals show could not dampen Lewis’ enthusiasm.

“In New Hampshire we saw baby hermit crabs carrying shells to the water,” she said with a beaming smile. “They are less shy than the domesticated crabs.”

Why?

“I really don’t know,” she admitted—a mystery for another round of the county fair.