HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Sometimes crabbies just do that...For some reason some of them might prefer smaller shells like someone above said. I bought a hermie and his shell is WAY too small for him (he can arely fit his eyes in there..his legs just hang out!), but there are MANY different shells for him to choose from, some...

I had a crab do the exact same thing-he is now aptly named Rogue. I kept Rogue separated from the group for a while with TONS of shells. He burrowed down and molted, came up and switched shells and has never had another problem-this was a little over 2 years ago. Something is horribly uncomfortable...

They can be in danger from other crabs both before and after a molt. NEVER assume any crab you find underground is safe to be around others until you've ISO'd it and it's been acting completely normal and eating and drinking for a few days. I've had crabs killed and severely injured that I accident...

If Guada changed into a different new shell, I'm wondering if there was something wrong with his old one. It might be too deep in the spiral to see, but maybe put your finger in and try to feel for a bump or sharp edge? Sometimes it is just "that" shell, the shell that another crab is wearing! It's...

Noswad0208 wrote:Hmm.. Odd that it came off while he was under. :/

I know, it's very strange...Maybe he comes up during the night sometimes and that's when it happened?

Noswad0208 wrote:Sometimes, they just want THAT SHELL.


Does Sebastian have sharp black toenails, or lot's of hair?

No, he doesn't. So I know he hasn't molted yet. But an actual PART of his leg (not toenail) was chipped off.

My little clan has seemingly been having some disputes : ( ... Random background info: Well, I had 1 hermie (Guda) in a 10g all alone (poor guy!) for quite a while until I finally convinced my parents to get him a friend (Sebastian). Then I had 2 hermies in the 10g for several months...and now just ...

Wow the site looks great! Good luck!!

I think if they really didn't like you doing that, they'd pinch you....especially since it's their big PINCHER!

Maybe it's a new secret crabby handshake!

Cool! Thought I had a 20g but I actually have a 20.5 gal, and my 10g is actually almost an 11g

Same thing happened to me today. It's happened a few times, actually. Sometimes they just chirp for no reason at all

Ok so as long as there is natural light in the room, I don't need a light for the tank? Thanks for the info!

Sometimes my crabbies will be out during the day, but for the most part they start coming out around 9:00 to 10:00 pm. Then in the middle of the night at around 12 I will hear them hitting their shells against the glass.

Once my PP chirped because he was so happy I put in some new fake plants. Either that or he couldn't climb down

Yep, all hermies chirp. Mostly they chirp when they feel threatened...But sometimes they will just chirp for fun. Once one of my crabs started chirping so I went to go see why, and he was just sitting alone in his hut...chirping. He stopped after a minute, though. I guess he was just preforming his ...