Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Archived information regarding hermit crab behavior.
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Bowman

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Bowman » Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:59 am

I was just curious as to how intelligent you think hermit crabs are. Just recently I was thinking about it, and I think that they don't make decisions and that it's all instinct. I do think they have a good memory though.When you aren't speaking and are thinking in your head, it comes out in a language right? If your first language was english you would think in english, ect, but what if you don't know a language, can you think about things?

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Nicole
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Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Nicole » Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:52 am

Not having ever been a hermit crab, hard to say how exactly they think but I think all animals have thought processes to a certain extent. They must have a hermit crab language - the clicks and chirping that go on mean something to other crabs even if it often makes no sense to us. I notice the most clicking goes on when mine are in their moss pit and I'd love to know what they're saying.
~ crabbing since 2003


Topic author
Margaret

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Margaret » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:31 am

I guess it depends on how you define "think". They do seem to be signaling to one another! Those antennae are awfully busy sometimes! I always think all that antennae waving is some kind of conversation. And if remembering is a kind of thinking, then they definitely have that - they know exactly where their tunnel holes are when they want to hide! I don't know that they do a whole lot of analysis or problem-solving though. Sometimes I have to question their decision-making ability and their basic instincts. This week I saw two crabs climbing over the face of the biggest guy in the tank. I guess they didn't see that there was a wide open space next to him that they could have used instead! Then I saw one little guy trying to bring an anchovy into the cocohut the wide way 8 or 9 times in a row. He never did get around to putting it in the long way. He just let it lie outside the door. They are just like cartoon characters sometimes! They make me laugh and laugh.


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Guest

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Guest » Fri Sep 12, 2008 11:06 am

There's a similar debate that going on at one of the snake forums I visit. Most people rationalize that snakes are not capable of love, and that they have no higher intelligence. But what I think those people miss is that even if a snake does not "love" you, it can still accept you. And even if it doesn't solve mathematical equations, it still knows the best way to hide and sneak up on prey. They think and reason in their own way, and even if it isn't the same as how we humans do things, they've still got things figured out well enough for themselves. I would say that the same goes for hermit crabs. Maybe they don't wait for you at the door like a dog, but they know that when the lid to the tank makes noise, it means that big person is bringing them treats again. They remember and associate within the confines of their own world. So really, I believe that hermit crabs DO think and reason. Even if they don't always understand some basic concepts (around) or have emotions. They think as best they can.

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Nicole
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Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Nicole » Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:42 pm

quote:Then I saw one little guy trying to bring an anchovy into the cocohut the wide way 8 or 9 times in a row. LOL! Reminds me of the time years ago when Toni chose to wear a Babylonia Japonica shell - this was back when I used small Coco Huts for caves - and I watched her try to enter the Coco Hut over and over the wide way but her shell kept getting stuck and she couldn't get in. It was hysterical! I would not put crabs high on the common sense scale, but their reasoning seems to work for them, for the most part. Can't get in the Coco Hut? Just climb on the top and rest there.
~ crabbing since 2003


Topic author
Guest

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Guest » Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:24 am

awww how cute! Skiz couldn't fit through the opening in his coco hut so he climbed over, shoved it a little out of the corner and dug under. The first morning I had him, I found his coco hut sitting almost on top of his water bowl in the opposite corner. lol


Topic author
latieplolo

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by latieplolo » Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:19 pm

I definitely think that it's possible to have thought without language. Like if you wake up in the morning at someone else's house, you have an instant of confusion and you wonder what's going on, but it's more of a feeling and not necessarily the words. At least I think that way. Without a language, you'd probably think in terms of feelings and concrete images or sounds. A baby is capable of thought before it learns to speak.And I've already used the word "think" too much, but hermit have to think on some basic level at least. Like associating the lid moving with treats, the way Mindibun put it. An image or a taste or just a feeling pops into their little brains. Of course, most of those thoughts would probably be just sorting out their instincts and figuring out the best way to go about fulfilling those needs, nothing abstract.


Topic author
Guest

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Guest » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:26 pm

Bowman, If I told you all the things I have observed with my crabs, you would probably think I was ! LOLFrom what I have seen, they are definately thinkers and problem solvers.For example, a long time ago, my E Feisty built himself a cave and he must have been having problems with one side of the entrance not holding up, so he braced it with a small spiral shell!Another time my PP Valkor took a liking to a certain food, so to protect it from the others, he stuck 2 empty turbo shells,opening down, facing each other, in the food dish to make the other crabs think there were crabs in the food dish eating!!At the beginning of this summer, I noticed Valkor and Feisty throwing the moss out of the moss pit. I was wondering what the heck they were doing. The next morning I saw that Valkor had moved some of the moss that was on the ground into the clay pot to make himself a bed.I could go on with other examples, but, I won't.


Topic author
Guest

Do Hermit Crabs THINK or come accustom to things?

Post by Guest » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:56 pm

I was having this discusssion with my husband the other day. I'm not sure that they are thinkers in the way that we are but they are really good at using what's around them to survive. It's like when George tried to take Bob out of his shell and the discussion was that perhaps George was lacking in some vitamins and this was a way of getting what he needed to survive - to me that made sense. He didn't think that this is my tank buddy and so I shouldn't attack him and eat him, it seemed more a case of this is what I need for me to survive. I think it's amazing that they seem to "know" what's needed and I think that perhaps it is an instinct. They certainly don't learn it from their parents. I think it's an excellent question Bowman and I think some of the others are right when they say it depends on how you define think. Is thinking just about problem solving or does it involve emotional attachment? To try and attribute human characteristics to any animal is easy to do because we have a name for it but I think animals do what they do because it ensures their survival and ultimately the survival of the species.

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