HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Does this look like and E or a Ruggie to you guys?http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/ ... 0024.jpgIf it's an E, what's with the coloring?Thanks!!-Beth

That is definitely a Rug. Be very careful with Rugs. They are very susceptible to condition changes below their preferred range.

Looking past the fact white is not an E color. Look how bright orange the antennae are. I knew right away. That is how I can always tell by pictures. Es can have slight orange antenna. But not the entire length and not as bright. There are other definite ways, but the antennae color is the easiest way for me.

And you also see how he is a solid white. Es will usually always have different colors apparent where Rugs are more uniform. All these white guys have a good chance to turn blue or red. Some might stay white, but red or blue is usually the end result.

There's a marking on the back carapace that is unique to Rugs. You can view it, however very faint, in this piture:http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/ ... CF0020.jpg

Leg folding won't really work, since Es when retracted in shell also have one leg over the BP. You can look under the eyes. Ruggies have dark spots under them, plus the stitch marks are much more distinct on Ruggies. Plus, the feelers have a more orange tint than Es.

Stitch marks are just little raised lines on their BPs. They look like stitches in sewing (they're very uniform) which is why I think they're called stitch marks. There aren't very many of them. If you have Es, you can see them on them also, they just aren't as prominent.They look kind of like ///