HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I've heard people here actually praise plastic shells. They prevent natural shells from being harvested. I think that they're silly but apparently they cause the crabs no harm. That is, unless they are painted. Plain plastic shells, however, yes I've seen them praised in the crab community.

ya, I think they look stupid but I don't care if anyone uses them because there are no paint chips involved. If you want to use those shells you can.

I've seen plastic shells at Beach Shops, Shell World and *** Dolphin in Myrtle Beach have plastic shells as well as real shells. You can tell the difference by thumping them with your finger nail. I've purchased a couple of heavy plastic shells that are being used. I avoid thin light weight plastics as the crabs seem to want durable homes.

Here they are sold in a kk kit with gravel colored to match and the only place they were available no longer carries them because the shells were plastic and the kk's were about four inches wide and six inches long and were being sold for around eight dollars.When I saw them I was curious as to how the crabs would react to a plastic shell with a paint on decal I decided not to get the kit even though it was of my fav hero Batman because I didn't trust the shells to be hermi safe.Nodda you did the right thing by not using them.

aw, whata waste of shells. When i get painted shells i soak them in a bleach and water solution for a while and the paint comes right off making them safe for use (along with a salt water boil). Most of the shells you will buy have already been soaked in a bleach/water solution anyways, so as long as you clean them thoroughly they will be fine.

I didn't realize bleach was safe for crabs, i guess you boil them AFTER you bleach them? I think I might have one or two plastic shells, not sure... both are inhabited. How can you tell? they aren't painted or anything... though i still have one crab in a painted shell =( he won't change into the HUGE selection of natural shells of all shapes and sizes I have available.

@ ifluctuatewell you gotta make sure you use a low bleach concentrate, maybe like 10%/20% bleach and 80%/90% water, otherwise the bleach will destroy the shells interior. A lot of people are afraid that small amounts of bleach will stay pocketed inside of the shell at the very center, but with some salt water boiling (after you have bleached the shell) you can carefully fling the water out of the shell, and repeat until you are satisfied. I usually keep boiling until the shell no longer smells of bleach, then leave it for a few days, and sometimes boil again. Although this may be a hassle, it allows me to re use the painted shells that the crabs come in. Edit: oh and btw, bleach is by no means safe for a crab, it will definitely kill the crab if they come into contact with it, you must be careful and thorough when you use bleach, and take all the proper steps to clean and avoid bleach contact. Like they said, you can pretty much tell the difference between a plastic shell and a real shell by tapping your nail against it. You will feel/hear the difference right away. Also, plastic shells tend to be a lot thinner, may have a seam going through the shell, and tend to feel different when you rub the inside of them. Also, plastic seems to feel a little warmer to the touch than the real deal, kinda like when you tell the difference between metal and plastic. Edit: I was also thinking, a sure way to tell if a shell is plastic or natural would be to take a knife or abrasive material, and scratch/rub the shell. Since natural shells are made of calcium (im pretty sure at least) they should powder up, and a plastic shell would get scraped and have a small strip of plastic removed. Some crabs just wont change shells sometimes, give him some time. Ive had crabs that i just recently bought that very apparently needed shell changes, yet they refused. I one time had success by isolating the crab in a 20 gal, with a huge shell selection and he finally chose one (maybe the other crabs were intimidating him/her?). Most of it though, is just being patient. They're basically buying a new house each time they shell change, so they could be waiting for the right one, building the necessary resources to molt before a shell change, not interested, etc.

my strawberry that is in a painted shell, i really don't understand why he won't change. I mean I have crabs that haven't changed shells in a year, but at least they fit somewhat in the shell, and are not hanging out at all times. This one is not only hanging out of his shell, can't pull his legs in, but the shell is also broken at the opening... He is a BIG crab, with a little teeny weenie shell. I worry he's going to get stuck in it!

has he never changed shells before? how long have you had him? I've heard stories of crabs in painted shells not being able to change because they were stuck inside the shell cause of a glob of paint inside the shell had stuck to them (but i wouldnt worry about that being the case cause think thats just an old wives tale). When i got a crab from petsmart that had a broken big claw, missing 1 leg on each side, and hung almost half way out of his shell, he wouldnt change at all, no matter how many shells i put in there. He only finally changed after i moved him to an ISO, and after he molted. Try offering him shells in a non competitive environment that has no pecking order. It's worth a shot i guess.

he is a rescue that I got about a month ago. he's a strawberry hermit crab, and is completely hanging out of a heavy small shell painted blue with a racing stripe. gah!!! There is a large selection of shells and he is in an ISO already. I always leave them in for a few months. There is only one other crab in there with him, the one he came with. both have gone under to de-stress. I checked them yesterday through windows on the bottom of the tank, and both are still alive (thank goodness!!) HIs tank mate changed out of the painted shell almost immediately - I still ahve the shell but I took out of the crabitat.

I always thought a glass shell would becool