HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I've been wanting to paint some shells for my crabs. I was wondering what the best kind of paint to use would be?

Do not paint your shells. There is no paint that is safe for hermit crabs. They modify their shells, meaning they will eat the paint off the shells. Please do not do this.

There are paints made from more “natural” substances such as berries, clays, and minerals. However, you’d have to look into each one to determine how safe you feel using them, and most won’t hold up to heat and humidity anyways. If the paint flakes off or if the outside of the shell is modified, it may be ingested

There isn’t a lot of evidence that consuming paint will kill a crab (contrary to what you may read on the internet) but I personally would still avoid paint

If you do want some more variation in your shells though I’d recommend carved shells. It’s hard to do at home without the right tools but you can buy them too





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Hmmm....

The carved shells are beautiful!!! I will keep an eye out for some and get them at some point. Where did you get them?

I'll try to find some sort of safe, digestible paint. I'll probably just paint some (not all) of the crab's shells, so they can pick if they want the painted ones or not. And I'm fine if the paint falls off eventually--if it is a safe one, which is the only one I want --because I could just paint it again! I mainly want the paint as a fun activity to do with my younger siblings, who are starting to enjoy my crabs, but I wouldn't want my crabs to get sick!

Thank you!

I got mine from Richard’s Sea Shells, however I just found out they closed down

Other shell stores have them, but it looks like Naples is out of stock

https://naplesseashellcompany.com/turtl ... hells.html


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Too bad they are sold out! I looked at them, and they're gorgeous! Having all my crabs wearing those would be amazing, or even at least one! Thanks for telling me about them.

C: ClareCrabOwner :) wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 7:52 pm

Hmmm....

The carved shells are beautiful!!! I will keep an eye out for some and get them at some point. Where did you get them?

I'll try to find some sort of safe, digestible paint. I'll probably just paint some (not all) of the crab's shells, so they can pick if they want the painted ones or not. And I'm fine if the paint falls off eventually--if it is a safe one, which is the only one I want --because I could just paint it again! I mainly want the paint as a fun activity to do with my younger siblings, who are starting to enjoy my crabs, but I wouldn't want my crabs to get sick!

Thank you!

I wanted to add that even if it was digestible paint, that is for humans. Crabs have entirely different anatomy than us, so we don't know that the paint wouldn't hurt them. Plus the paint might cover the microscopic holes, making the shell non porous. That is the same reason we can't give the crabs 3d printed shells or glass shells, because they are not porous.

I meant a digestible paint for crabs.

I'd try to get a paint that was not too thick, so it didn't cover the holes. I've never heard of that, where did you?

Oh sorry! I don't know if there is crab safe paint. Would be cool if there was though!
I guess I just thought "paint is meant to cover up stuff and seal it" idk maybe I'm wrong.

I have no idea if there is crab-safe paint either, but I'm going to try to find some

I know what you mean about paint! That's what I usually think of when I think of paint.

I got a couple of carved shells for my crab from this shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TurboShells

Ooh, those are so pretty! Thanks