Shell too small?

[piratetoothgir]

Hi, I have had my Purple Pincher for a year now, and he changed shells when I got him.
I took him home, and he changed shells about two months later, to an apple murex. He came in a round-ish type shell, but I haven't the name of it.

He shortly changed back to the original shell, and has been in it ever since.
It's too small for him, but he won't change. He can't fully retract, and all his legs and claws stick out.

[wodesorel]

That's pretty normal, their legs are thick and armored for a reason! Do you have a good selection of shells that are larger so that he can find something he likes? Others like the one he is in now?

[piratetoothgir]

That's pretty normal, their legs are thick and armored for a reason! Do you have a good selection of shells that are larger so that he can find something he likes? Others like the one he is in now?

I barely have any shells for them (bad me) because I haven't been finding good ones.
Time to go shell browsing at stores.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Check out the shell guide in the shell section - it's great.

[piratetoothgir]

Here’s some images I have from when I first got him, to his first molt.

He has changed a lot, mostly in color.

Excuse the terrible terrarium, it only had a few inches of sub, and he molted close to the top, as shown.

He now has a broken appendage, because my other PP got a bit rough, and broke it.

[AwesomeHermit]

In the wild, crabs have shells wayyyyy too small for them, and they cope fine(usually). Their abdomens will just not grow if they are in a shell to small. It would grow if and when the crab changes to a new shell.

[wodesorel]

No, they will keep on growing regardless of if their shell is too small. They cannot put off molting very long or it kills them.

[AwesomeHermit]

Whoops! I thought that always because usually, I see pictures of wild crabs with very small abdomens compared to our crabbies.

[jclee]

Excuse the terrible terrarium, it only had a few inches of sub, and he molted close to the top, as shown.

Maybe I'm confused. They wouldn't molt while climbing the wall. Do you mean his first shell change?

[jclee]

Aaaaahh, I see now. I thought the picture showed him climbing the back wall, rather than the tank's bottom. Did he have a surface molt, then?

[piratetoothgir]

Aaaaahh, I see now. I thought the picture showed him climbing the back wall, rather than the tank's bottom. Did he have a surface molt, then?

The picture first, shows his climbing, but the second is him three months later, molting. He molted close to the surface on the ground, because there wasn’t enough substrate to dig into.

[jclee]

Gotcha. I am glad that you were able to adjust the substrate, and I am sure you are both looking forward to his next molt.

[piratetoothgir]

Is it common for a crab to be lazy in the moss pit all day, and never get down, until night?
That's what he did all day yesterday, but was not there at morning.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Behaviours like seeming to have a favourite spot, or being pretty nocturnal are normal. Every crab is different and will have its own prefferences.

[piratetoothgir]

Behaviours like seeming to have a favourite spot, or being pretty nocturnal are normal. Every crab is different and will have its own prefferences.

Stella will sit in the driftwood all day, but occasionally walk around, and eat.
Rocky, he is kinda lazy, I put him in the moss yesterday.