HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm gonna start by saying i think one of my crabs is buried and doesn't have a shell. So i have 4 and 2 are small while the other 2 are medium or larger. I didn't have enough shells for them because i could never find any and when i did buy some i over estimated the sizes. I had 3 shells for the smaller ones but don't remember if i did for the larger ones. I ordered some but was going on vacation and wouldn't get them until i came back. I came back today to find my smaller hermit crab is inside my medium hermit crabs shell. I haven't dug around to look for it because I'm scared. I don't smell anything fishy so i don't know if its dead and i have no idea what to do.

Digging isn’t an option. You could collapse tunnels or cause stress.

Are there really no shells that the crab could have taken underground? All of them are accounted for?


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JoeHermits wrote:Digging isn’t an option. You could collapse tunnels or cause stress.

Are there really no shells that the crab could have taken underground? All of them are accounted for?


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I checked and there is no way he could have a shell unless it way too small and i had my friend come while i was gone but she never mentioned it and i don't know how long its been, I've been gone for a week

How much smaller are said shells? Hermit crabs will sometimes switch to a smaller shell before molting to make it easier to dig.


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JoeHermits wrote:How much smaller are said shells? Hermit crabs will sometimes switch to a smaller shell before molting to make it easier to dig.


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I went to change the food and when I came back I saw him. He's definitely about to molt his eyes are all cloudy. I'm surprised to see him but he is in a shell. I feel like he forced the smaller one out and took his shell. The shell he has now is incredibly small and he cant retract in at all. Now i'm confused why my smaller hermit crab is in his shell because it's way to big and i feel like he can barely climb with it on.

Each hermit crab has its own preference for shells. As long as they have a wide selection of suitable shells, there’s nothing to worry about.

Note the HCA recommends at least 3-5 shells per hermit crab.


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I would for sure work on getting more shells for the crabbies, mine have many many shells and I have never seen any crab aggression.