HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was thinking "man, these crabs LOVE those new freeze dried crickets!"

Well maybe they do, maybe they don't. I just found a stash of crickets inside the barnacle cluster.

Are they saving them for later? Or is this the old "broccoli in the napkin" technique.... sneaky crabs. And it must have taken some doing to get them in that particular spot. Too high to just reach up and drop it in. Furthermore, I'm not sure how they think they were going to get them back again. The barnacle's 'hole' is deep, and smaller than the shells the crabs are in.

Anyone else find food in the barnacle?

I've found food in shells before, I think they're just hiding it from other crabs and saving it for later
I don't think they could pull the broccoli in the napkin trick, if they don't like something then they usually don't touch it

Maybe they brought it up there to eat it, accidentally dropped it, and then couldn't get it out.

I've found food in the barnacle cluster, shells, shell shop, water dish, cholla....yeah, pretty much any where they could put it they have!

CrabbyMom- Do you find them ever going back for it? Or do they just perpetually store it?

If I find it I take it out, so I don't know if they go back for it. Interesting idea. I'll have to watch. If I find one storing food that isn't too stinky I may let it go and see what happens.

Once mine moved a green bean to the second story. They probably are storing it for later. Maybe that is their fridge

Mine have a tendency to take the shrimp I give them up to the shell shop. Nothing like the smell of shrimp under the lamp in the morning. >,<

the only food I don't crush or is already in little pieces are raisins. So guess what food I find outside the food dish? Yup, raisins.

hmmmmm, the cricket pieces were pretty big as well. Maybe they're storing it away, waiting for it to decompose into smaller pieces. Charming.

dandelions are a big thing to take up into the moss pit. i'll have them in the food dish and next thing i know my tiniest crab is sitting there with a whole dandelion stem and flower munching away in the moss. (he goes nuts for them and puts them away like crazy)

with oranges i always see little bits trailing away towards the cocohut, but i've never found any, i suspect they're just finding a comfier spot to chow down.

lately though i've been seeing a trail of moss leading towards the water dish. strange.

My littler crabs will take their food with them, and actually sit inside the barnacle. Sometiems they will just abandon the food inside! They also seem to dump their poop inside, because I always get little suprises when Im doing my daily cleaning.

My E's have taken the food inside the barnacle cluster before...and left it and pooped on it... :headshake:

I don't have a barnacle cluster, but I wanted to say this:

I have a trail leading to my water and my whole bowl is filled with moss every morning.