HCA: Hermit Crab Association

A few months ago, my biggest PP, Amythyst, passed away due to pps (I think). I found out because when I picked her up by the shell, her entire body fell out, and she stayed like that all night. I took her body and placed it inside a shroud and buried her. I have a gravestone and everything.


Yesterday I found a dead hermit crab in my drawer. (My crabs are on my dresser so it's entirely possible that one could fall in)

....here's the spooky thing.

All 3 of my crabs were in the tank, and were okay.

plus, this crab was in Amythyst's shell that I bought specifically for her.

This is something I cannot explain, as I know I buried amythyst. I'm considering digging her up just to confirm this but Im unsure if she's decayed or not.

...I'm sorta spooked guys. I've only ever had these crabs and I've never had one go missing. I don't know how this could be possible.

Did you have any extra shells that you got with them that could have had a hermit crab deep inside and you didn’t realize it? Sometimes they can pick a shell that is really big on them and they can hide very far back in them and you can barely tell they are in there. Please let us know if you figure it out, that is crazy.

Here is a picture of my Crabina in a shell that one of my larger crabs changed out of. This shell is way too big on her, she seems to do this before she molts.

I dug up Amythyst (sorry girl) and she was still there. I went ahead And buried this mystery crab too. I boiled the shell before I put it in the enclosure so I'm unsure if it's possible one could have hid in there.

I wonder if anyone else will have any ideas. So crazy.

Could one of the crabs that passed been an exoskeleton? What if the crab you found in the drawer was the real her and the one in the soil is just an exo. Just a guess. Or that but switched around

Also have you only had 4 crabs in total over the time of your crab experience, or have you had more?

Oliviet#1 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2019 7:53 am

Could one of the crabs that passed been an exoskeleton? What if the crab you found in the drawer was the real her and the one in the soil is just an exo. Just a guess. Or that but switched around

That's what I was thinking.

Oliviet#1 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2019 7:53 am

Could one of the crabs that passed been an exoskeleton? What if the crab you found in the drawer was the real her and the one in the soil is just an exo. Just a guess. Or that but switched around

That could definitely be a possibility. I never thought about that.