Kermie16 wrote:Cute crew!! I like ur set up in ur tank:) What is the mix in their food dish? Is the one in the painted shell fairly new to the colony?
"Good Ole Stubborn" arrived with part of the crew in August of 2012 from Ocean City MD. Although he's molted at least twice he keeps getting back into that same ugly painted shell. He plays around with other shells moving in and out but always (ALWAYS) goes back to that ugly shell. I've taken it away when he's vacated before but he goes NAKED if I don't return it! I've probably tried dozens of different shell types in hopes of a fit but NOPE he's not vacating! He's going to have to move eventually or he's going to be evicted.
He's not out in the photo bc he hates the tub. Put him on the bed and feed him a mealworm and he's a sweetie.
Funny story about Stubborn:
About a month after getting him he managed to escape his enclosure and I was positive fallen to his death. At the time I had three cats one of which was an expert mouser so I chalked him up as dead and kept looking for his shell as proof of his demise. Two weeks later (TWO WEEKS) I hear scratching behind the entertainment center on the other side of the room and guess who comes scurrying across the carpet headed directly towards the cat's food and water dishes. That right Stubborn, still alive and actually, I can only guess, surviving off the cat's water fountain and wet food.
I feed them:
A mixture of Petsmart's All Living Things® Variety Diet Hermit Crab food, Fluker's Buffet Blend for Hermit Crabs, and treats from our leftovers. I keep it minimal but occasional they get a taste of wet cat food. (I'm super picky about my cat's food so it's pretty healthy) Oh and mealworms or brine on occasion.
I'm going to include a link to our commerical food guide. viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92555 It lists the unsafe commercial foods we know of, as well as the safe. I also want to clarify that isolation is no longer considered necessary for molting crabs as long as safe sub depth is provided , while it was once common practice, most crabbers just let them molt in-tank. 
While you may not need most info in our care guide, as I know you've been crabbing for a while, it does contain the most up-to-date care info on the internet. That is linked here viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457. I like your set up though, thanks for sharing your pics! 
I got that info from you'll actually! [THUMBS UP SIGN]
Unless u have some similar land snail shells available in the tat, that may explain why he's so keen on keeping the current painted one. Hope that helps!
