Help! They had a shell swapping party!

[Guest]

When I put the crabbies in the new 'tat last night a couple of them immediately went and shopped for a new shell. Now I have some urgent questions..

Ray picked a shell WAY too big for him... is that ok? I am assuming he will change into something more his size if he is not comfortable, right?

Big Boy changed shells 3-4 times before I went to bed last night...and when I left him, he had gone back to his original one...this morning, he has since changed again! What is his deal? Why can't he make up his mind?

The shells were all in a container on the EE, but they rolled them around and messed with them, and got in/out so much that now the shells are messy/dirty inside and out. Should I take them out and rinse them in salt water again or just toss them back in the shell store?

My husband woke me to tell me one was naked, but it was Bob and he was trying a new shell...just slow about it because it looked like another was trying to help him?! He finally just went back to his original...but it took him awhile. I know he has been naked on the EE too, should I stick him in the pool to rinse him off now that he is back in his shell, or will he do that on his own?

Lots of questions...I know, but this shell swapping frenzy has me stressed!

[hermiefanatic]

it sounds like eerybody is going to beb ok. i hav one who frequenly shell shops.

[Guest]

Heehee! Party time at newcrabmom's I think it's absolutely awesome if they were helpting Too-slow Bob. If it's been a while since the last shell cleaning, I personally would clean them and make them fresh fresh and clean for them (mine weren't swapping and a couple needed to and when I cleaned them they had a shell swap that night). I also might give Bob a hand by giving him a quick dip to get the sand out of his shell so it won't irritate his abdomen (I'm just thinking "what if I were a crab, what would I request of my owner"????) This may also prevent a future drowning if he tries to do it himself and is too slow about getting out, eh.

[Guest]

whenever I put new shells in the tank or boil their old ones, they go shell shopping like crazy! They are so cute when they do this, except for the straws who toss shells over their backs if they don't want them. Sigh.

[Guest]

I just love watching them shell shop.

newcrabmom, don't worry, they are all doing what comes natural, even if Bob does it slower. I think I would rinse off the shells again. and maybe dip Bob, too. If he is coverd in EE and the shells have it in, it may encourage him to go commando again. Clean crab + clean shells= crab in shell!

[Guest]

Ray will be fine. I have a few that liked really huge shells. In the past few molts, they've almost grown into the huge things. Bulldozer looked a bit like someone jammed the front end of a moped on the back end of a delivery truck, but he's just about grown into it in the last 5-6 months. Or at least he's grown to the point where it doesn't look comically large anymore. Don't be real surprised if Ray decides to molt multiple times on you, though.

[Guest]

Oh and Daisy was teeny tiny in her little shell then she changed to a bigger shell! When she retracted all the way in, I couldn't even see her BP. She almost got tossed out with the other painted shells, but fortunatelt I spotted movement. Silly rabbit... I mean hermie! Maybe she and your Ray are expecting serious growth spurts!

[I'veGotCrabs]

no sweat new crab mom! I have two crabs in shells SO big that they can go all the way into their shell where you can't see them, one is in a shell that, to me, looks too small, one in a painted shell that is literally peeling and he is stubbornly hanging onto it,and one that changes shells like humans change underwear. None the less all of them eat, nightly destroy my tank (i.e. have a party) and molt regularly. Think of it like we think of jeans, some of us like em baggy and oversized, some like em skin tight. It's al preference and personality of the crab.