Do hermit crabs trade shells?

StarWarsHermitCrab · Post by **StarWarsHermitCrab** » Wed May 06, 2015 2:00 pm

So I went to check on my hermit crabs, and my new hermit crab and Sheldon have
switched shells. Do hermit crabs usually do this?

Amiller2850 · Post by **Amiller2850** » Wed May 06, 2015 4:14 pm

Totally normal! Make sure to have a variety of shells for them to choose from.

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CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Wed May 06, 2015 8:45 pm

What probably happened is one crab tried on another shell, crab 2 came along and hopped into the first crabs leftover shell, then the first crab switched to the leftover shell from crab 2.

Unless you see any injuries on either crab, that's my guess.

StarWarsHermitCrab · Post by **StarWarsHermitCrab** » Wed May 06, 2015 10:33 pm

None of the shells in the enclosure have been touched.

KellyCrabbieLove · Post by **KellyCrabbieLove** » Thu May 07, 2015 9:28 am

If you are absolutely positive then the only thing I can think about is a shell fight.
But if noone is hurt...maybe they changed right by the same spot and it appears nothing was touched.

NeatHedgehog · Post by **NeatHedgehog** » Thu May 07, 2015 11:05 am

KellyCrabbieLove wrote:But if noone is hurt...maybe they changed right by the same spot and it appears nothing was touched.

They can be pretty sneaky about changing shells. I have observed mine walk up to a shell, crawl around it, slide in for about five minutes, sit there fairly still... nope! Slide back out and grab their previous or a different shell. I'd never know they had been touched if I hadn't watched it.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Do hermit crabs trade shells?

Do hermit crabs trade shells?

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