Having A Lot Of Trouble With Shells

[CrabbyCancerian]

I think my crab has been trying to molt ever since I got her. I have bought her a lot of shells and I have given her a lot of choices, but I just can’t seem to find the right ones!

I purchased a whole assortment from amazon. Most of those seemed like they were either too big or too small. Then I purchased a 3-pack of Flukers shells in Medium because that was all they had. The openings on these seemed to be too small and none of them were the right size either.

At one point, Cora changed into one of the Flukers shells, but then she went back into her old shell the next day.

Then I ordered shells from Naples Sea Shell company, and carefully picked them based on their hermit crab buyer guide. When they arrived they turned out to be way too small! So I emailed them and asked if they could help me pick the right ones but I have yet to receive a reply.

Cora is very young and small. She is currently in a shell that is about an inch wide. I followed the user guide on Naples’ website. Maybe I simply estimated wrong on the measurements of her big claw.

****Also Naples doesn’t seem to have as much of a variety as you would think they would!

Help! Cora needs a new shell really bad. She has been trying to molt since April. What do I do?

Also-Cora stuffed one of the large shells full of substrate. I wonder why. I didn’t even know it would be possible for her to do that!

[curlysister]

Molting and shell changes aren't always related. A crab might change shells after a molt, but not always. A crab might change shells randomly.

If she is in a shell with a one inch opening, what size shell openings did you order from Naples? What size did they send?

[Motörcrab]

Measuring shells is one of the most difficult things to get right. Choosing from small medium or large will give you very rough sizes.

You need to measure the shell opening of the crab that needs a new shell. Measure across the widest part of the opening. Once you get that measurement you need to add 1/8" to 1/4" to that size for your new shells.

This is how we have ordered shells and have had pretty good success.
Shells with openings between 3/8 and 1-1/8 we choose opening 1/8 to 1/4" larger.

Our captive bred babies are really tough those we just order tiny shells and sort them. Their shell openings are under 1/4" so they are very difficult to order. At any time for our 6 we offer at least 50 shells for them.

Larger shells with 1-1/8 and larger openings we order in 1/4" larger.

It's tough because the crabs choose what they like. Even having what we think are ideal the crabs have their own thoughts.

I don't think we have an actual care guide for measuring shells. I guess that's something we should put on the "to do" list.

[CrabbyChelle628]

Measuring shells is one of the most difficult things to get right. Choosing from small medium or large will give you very rough sizes.

You need to measure the shell opening of the crab that needs a new shell. Measure across the widest part of the opening. Once you get that measurement you need to add 1/8" to 1/4" to that size for your new shells.

This is how we have ordered shells and have had pretty good success.
Shells with openings between 3/8 and 1-1/8 we choose opening 1/8 to 1/4" larger.

Our captive bred babies are really tough those we just order tiny shells and sort them. Their shell openings are under 1/4" so they are very difficult to order. At any time for our 6 we offer at least 50 shells for them.

Larger shells with 1-1/8 and larger openings we order in 1/4" larger.

It's tough because the crabs choose what they like. Even having what we think are ideal the crabs have their own thoughts.

I don't think we have an actual care guide for measuring shells. I guess that's something we should put on the "to do" list.

Did you get your captive bred babies last year? And how big were they when you got them? How big are they now? About how many times have they molted since you got them? Do you have pictures with something so we can tell a size comparison like a Quarter or a Penny?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Motörcrab]

@CrabbyChelle628 we got them at last year's Crab Con. Looking back on the pictures they did grow a lot but are still tiny. It's really hard to say how many times they have molted. They only take a few days to molt and we don't see them all the time. I have been posting pictures in the following link once in a while.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=120581&hilit=Baby+pictures

[Hermielover121]

Omg those tiny crabs are soooo adorable


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CrabbyCancerian]

Molting and shell changes aren't always related. A crab might change shells after a molt, but not always. A crab might change shells randomly.

If she is in a shell with a one inch opening, what size shell openings did you order from Naples? What size did they send?

I ordered:
⅜" - ½" opening
And Turbo ½" opening
Three of each so she would have shells
To choose from.
Keep in mind, right now she is currently in a shell that is about 1” in diameter, so her shell is a little bigger than a quarter.

And I believe the shells they sent me were true to what I ordered but it would be hard to measure and find out, when you’re measuring something so small.