HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi all, I though I would report on a very weird behaviour one of my crabs displays when handled. Sal moulted, and came up with absolutely gorgeous dark brown colouring - my first big change in colour. After a few days a being up, I picked him up by his shell to take a look, holding him just above the substrate. He came out immediately and was squirming around, trying to find my fingers. Then, after retreating inside of his shell for a minute or so, he randomly and suddenly literally slid out of his shell and ran for his life towards the back of the tank under all the driftwood. I was taken by surprise as I have heard the common saying "they would rather lose legs than their shell". I let him settle before moving the wood and handing his shell directly to him where he quite happily grabbed it and hopped back in. All has been fine since then, although yesterday he did change into a Babylonia - probably worried about people being attracted to his old red helicostyla I was wondering if anyone else's crab has done this before?

Yup. I have one PP that every single time I have picked him up after his last molt will jump ship. I don't make a habit of picking up crabs, but I am still in a "build phase" with the 55g so every now and then anyone who is up gets removed while I fiddle around adding bubblers or new pots ect. All of the other crabs go in the play bucket....he gets his own Tupperware till he puts his darn clothes on!


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My E Houdini did that to me once. I panicked. He quickly went into a shell. I was shocked. I immediately posted on here a "what just happed?" Post because I was so in shock and utterly bewildered at what had happed. I pick him up a lot more than my others now because I swear, if I need to work on one side of the tank or whatever he is ALWAYS the one in the way. He hasn't jumped ship since but man, it scared the crap out of me.

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Es are quick to ditch if they feel trapped. Had it happen several times - first time the crab launched itself out of the shell and landed a couple feet away!

I also think he felt trapped. When you think about it grabbing onto the back of their shell may signal to them another crab grabbing on the back for a shell fight, or even being "stuck." I used to have this awesome looking roman ruin thing in my tank and the crabs LOVED it. But it would get more and more narrow as it towered upwards, and crabs would get their shells wedged in there all the time (until I finally had enough and took that decor out). When they did that they'd simply abandon the shell, climb down, go to the shell shop and put their buts in another shell. Once I also had a bridge in the water dishes which was a few branches of a plant. I thought it would be strong enough for all crabs to climb out, but Clipper was just the right size to not be able to climb out on their own like my mediums, but too big to use the branches to climb out. He went naked, visited the shell shop for new digs and left his old shell in the water.

I wonder if Sal was still on some sort of "high alert" after molting and was particularly sensitive to being "immobilized."

Yup! i surrounded my streaker by the best shells all with the mouths up. When he changed into one the shell mouth wasnt up so i could tell what shell he was in

Wow! Awesome, thanks guys for all the replies. I didn't realise how many people this had happened to, I'd never heard of it.