HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I just got a new shipment of shells and noticed a triangle shaped crack on the upper lip of the pearl turbo. It hasn’t broken off but is a bit loose so it may.
Can the crabs still use it?
Should I try to repair it?
Or break off the chip and sand down the edges so they’re not sharp?

Cute!!!!!! I love it when they pick these super big shells! It's amazing they can even move them! My littlest guy picked a super big shell too. :) Your crabbie's color is pretty pale (or it could just be the camera - difficult to capture color with a camera sometimes :) ). When I got my first two P...

Look at the size of the shell this little crab picked out!
I almost didn't see him in there!

Nice Easter surprise! Dolphin Crab (who we got in Feb along with Crabbie) just came up from his first molt. Loving his claw color!

Did some rearranging and like this better!
Will go pick up some craft mesh.

Squirt was starting to smell... I removed him from his shell and buried him the backyard marked with a clam shell so I can show my son. Probably good my son wasn't here to see him dead. I did wash out the painted shell and am trying to get the smell out with some baking soda. My son will be sad - he...

It's definitely possible!
Where do you get the plastic canvas?

But I don't know it's kind of cool they can hang upside down in it. lol.

Yeah I was thinking of just washing well in hot water and dish soap.

Yeah I definitely don't plan to reuse the painted shells but my son like to save them.

It's ok to boil painted ones? Paint won't come off?

Climbing in the wheel!

Update - NOW he molted.
And regrew his leg!!

They seem to enjoy crawling on the wheel but are too small to make it move. But they can hang upside down inside it. lol. Sadly that cool wooden bird ladder on the right was moldy when I came home from a trip. Humidity was close to 100% and it was touching their water bowl so that probably didn't he...

Thank you!
It helps to hear there was nothing I could have done.
I'm worried my son will be devastated..
If he's dead will he fall out of the shell easily?
I think my son would probably like to keep it to remember him.

In happier news here is our first crab "Crabbie" up from his first molt with a freshly regrown leg!! http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y468/abnihon/F642F8B9-B411-4C1B-80F4-57AEE8B56C84_zpsg1appm3d.jpg http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y468/abnihon/28D0E92A-E382-4360-A1E5-9C3814DBEDEB_zpsle3xgakq...

I have some sad news. The little guy squeezed into the tiny turtle shell missing two legs may have passed away :( We were going to call him Squirt. They were all hanging out on the wheel and seemed to like it. Then I came back a few hours later and Squirt looked lifeless hanging out of the shell. Hi...