HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Newbie here, on advice of the forum I checked out my Joann's and Michael's and made out like a bandit! Using 40% and 50% off coupons, I bought three bags for a grand total of $8. Wanted to share because the bags from Joann's had a TON of green turbos, and the bag from Michael's had a high proportion of turbos (magpie and green or mexican, I think) and some small apple murex. I was really surprised and glad there were a lot to choose from, because of course not all of them were usable.

Michael's bag:


Two bags from Joann's, one bag alone had over 25 turbos! What are the other green cone shaped ones?:


We picked out a few with the least jagged openings in a range of sizes and took a dremel and nail file to them:


And now the measuring question. The first pic below looks pretty straightforward, I would call that an 11/16" opening. The second pic I'm unclear about; do I measure further in where the hole goes into the shell (about 1/2") or do I measure to the outer edge (about 7/8")?


And finally, how do I measure the hermit crabs? (The first guy has already switched to a green turbo; the second would not let go of his stick!)

Sheesh very nice score for an insanely cheap price, grats on that!

The cone-shaped shells look like trochus shells, crabs will wear them in the wild or if they're desperate but most crabs won't give them a second glance when there are turbos around.

Can't help with the measuring question though...I'm curious to the answers of these questions as well.

How to measure shells: https://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/kb_results.asp?ID=17.

Thanks, that's why I wanted to pass the word, because this particular bag brand is mostly turbos and trochus if anyone is looking! The trochus shells all appeared to have broken openings and most of them looked too small or shallow for our crabs. My son thinks they look like little mountains and wants to decorate with them!

Good measuring pic, very clear, thanks for the link! So according to the photo, my second shell photo is an elliptical opening and measures 3/4".

Wow. Talk about a great deal!!!!!!!

Initially we got about a dozen usable ones ranging from 1/2" - 3/4" openings out of these three bags. There are probably several more in sizes too small for our crabs. Both of them have been poking around the shell shop more than usual lately, and there are fewer choices for my big guy, so I bit the bullet and placed an order with Naples, should be here by the end of the week. To tide them over I combed through the bags again and found another three turbos I could make usable with a bit of filing. You'd've thought I'd replaced every shell in the shop, they both spent all night there!

Today at Michael's I spotted a shrink-wrapped tray of assorted shells that had maybe 4-6 shells appropriate for wearing, but it's hard to tell what condition they're in without opening. it was $5.99 so unless you use a coupon and/or want the other decorative shells in the package, not much cheaper than ordering (well, except for shipping).