Hole in Shell

[myllkti]

Our medium hermie, Slither has a shell with a hole in the back of it. It is a pretty small whole, only about 1/4 inch wide. How urgent is it that we get it replaced? Can we continue to provide it to the hermie temporarily, or do we keep it out of the tank so Slither has to use his other shell? Would he even use the shell if we put it back in the tank, or is the hole, the reason he switched shells in the first place?

Thanks
V

[GotButterflies]

You would want to take it out. The reasons being is because the hermit crab could cut it's abdomen on the hole, and also depending on where the hole is it could affect how much water the hermit is able to hold in it's shell which helps keep the hermit crab's abdomen moist.

[myllkti]

I already took it out, originally to boil because we hadn’t done that for a while, and when I was doing a quick pre-rinse, I noticed the hole, and since it was small, I thought it might not affect Slither. Thanks for your advice!

But what should I do with the shell now that it is no longer good for hermit crabs? Could I just throw it out, or is there some way to reuse it?

[JoeHermits]

Some people like to crush their unusable shells to make a calcium supplement.


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[Motörcrab]

I'm with everyone one else on getting it out of the tank.

Crushing like Joe said would be your simple option. You could possibly make some sort of decoration with bad shells siliconed to something. If you are a crafty person you can always experiment with carving designs into worn out shells with a Dremel tool as well.

[myllkti]

Thanks for all your help everyone!!

[Princess R.]

If there is a hole in your crab's shell, no matter the size, that shell should be removed immediately. Hermit crabs store some of the fresh and salt water they bathe in in their shells to keep their abdomens moist, so a leaky shell might be hazardous to the crab's health and cause respiratory problems.