HCA: Hermit Crab Association

He’s in the brown one in the back in the middle I think I scared him when taking the picture. He just changed to this shell sometime last night. I’ve only had him for about 2 weeks and this one has finally started coming out of substrate to eat and such. All day he’s been checking out the other shells but hasn’t changed again (I’ve been sure to observe from afar not to scare him) and it made me think he’s not happy with the one he picked. I thought about finding his old one but it’s buried and I don’t want to disturb the other crabs who haven’t come up in about 9 days or so (some possibly molting) is this normal behavior? The shells were clean but have substrate all over them from him climbing on them and checking them out.


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Very normal. They sometimes change back and forth. Like women trying on shoes.

But he’s been looking at them all day and not changed so I just wasn’t sure if I had the right size or if they are too heavy for him.


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Oh yeah, totally normal for them to climb all over shells, try some on or not, bury some, etc. LOL, crabs are funny.

On a bit of a separate note - is that a water dish on the left?

curlysister wrote:Oh yeah, totally normal for them to climb all over shells, try some on or not, bury some, etc. LOL, crabs are funny.

On a bit of a separate note - is that a water dish on the left?

It’s a temporary salt water dish I change it daily.


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Crabs can be extremely fussy when it comes to shells. I already watched one of our crabs poke it's head in the shell, roll it around, peek inside, inspect the outside, and so on. If another crab came close they were quickly chased away. This went on for 30-40 minutes before the crab decided it wasn't for him and walked away.

I also saw some almost instantly change into a new shell too.

I found that dipping shells in salt water and leaving a little bit of water inside helps coach them into new shells.

I watched a crab check out a shell for TWO hours and not choose it.

My sister had a coworker who had hermit crabs at work (it was a vet clinic, so animals were okay, LOL). One of the crabs there picked up a shell and yelled at it for about an hour one day. It was one of the only times they ever heard the crabs chirp. I can't remember if the crab ended up changing into the offending shell or not!

Okay, I was going to suggest a deeper pool, as crabs need to be able to submerge but also have a way to climb out - but if it's temporary, then that makes sense.

Yes thank you for the info I’m new so all advice is appreciated. The one I have coming is deeper but not by too much. I have 2 about the size of a golf ball and 2 that are smaller. If I need to go deeper what could I put in there for the smaller ones so they can climb out?


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Hello Part of your issue would be that the most of the shells you have aren't the right kind of shells. Here is the shell guide
shell guide: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=92552

Also, a way to keep the shells clean would be to make a shell shop. You can keep them in a basket, or a shower caddy so they aren't directly on the substrate

Many of us use a Rubbermaid/ Tupperware type of plastic bowl, and use zip ties to attach some plastic canvas/ craft mesh. Some of us use rocks in the bottom of the dish. Some of us use a dish with a ramp built-in.

GotButterflies wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 19, 2019 1:29 am

Hello Part of your issue would be that the most of the shells you have aren't the right kind of shells. Here is the shell guide
shell guide: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=92552

I was waiting for someone to mention the shell choice lol

curlysister wrote:My sister had a coworker who had hermit crabs at work (it was a vet clinic, so animals were okay, LOL). One of the crabs there picked up a shell and yelled at it for about an hour one day. It was one of the only times they ever heard the crabs chirp. I can't remember if the crab ended up changing into the offending shell or not!

Okay, I was going to suggest a deeper pool, as crabs need to be able to submerge but also have a way to climb out - but if it's temporary, then that makes sense.

I just had to say that this cracked me UP! One of my Es got worked up one day, and we had to video it of course, and while I felt a little mean, I also found it hilarious how mad he had gotten about being picked up! Hahaha I’ll try to get the video loaded to share....


Dave the Wondercrab~Pat~MaggieMoo~Billy~
Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~Gene My PP clan

Here you go- I hope I did this right, but here’s the vid of my E having a fit over being messed with this day. Funny how mad he is but a great example of a chirp I think!
https://youtu.be/F1XkRzf0H8k


Dave the Wondercrab~Pat~MaggieMoo~Billy~
Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~Gene My PP clan

Hahaha, I know, eh?? It cracked me up when she told me about it too! Crabs are strange people, LOL!

That's a great example of chirping caught on camera! I have never heard mine make a sound, which I'm not sure if that's good or bad!