HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was looking at one of my crab tanks from another room and saw Speedy doing something weird, so I inched closer to get a better look and he was cleaning his gills!! So cool!! Unfortunately when I moved to get my camera he got shy and moved most of his body back into his shell. I had never seen any of my crabs do that before, and my smaller ones I would never be able to tell, but Speedy is a "large", so I could see it perfectly.

Bummer he didn't indulge you in a photo op. That would've been cool to share with members new and old.I caught one of mine leaning quite far from the shell once and then withdrawing a little then repeating the behavior. He was so far out I feared he was ill until I noticed poop by his feet and realized he was ducking low to reach them with his little appendages and then leaning far enough out that they cleared the opening to dump it. He did it so fluently it looked like he was rocking.

Thats funny. I always watch mine groom the sand off their eyes. Once when I had one of my crabs in my hand and it was taking the little apendages and putting them down on my hand and puting it up to its mouth. I was funny to watch. I want to try hand feeding sometime soon, I think that will be cool.