Hermit Crab..my poor DD

[raysnkaysmom]

Anyone know much about hermit crabs? We went to our renassaince festival a few months back, and 2 hermit crabs were our souveniers. Well, night before last, before going to bed, I noticed 1 of the crabs was out of his shell. I had read that they will change shells at night time while no one was looking, so I figured he was in the process. (I do have 2 empty shells in there for him to choose from). Well, here we are two days later, and he stays out of a shell, curled up with sand all over the soft part of his body. I've been checking, and he's not dead yet, but don't they die without a shell??

 

[elgerber]

He may be moulting (losing his outer shell and growing a new one) before he takes a new shell. The best thing to do right now is let him stay buried in the sand and leave him be. He may survive, he may not. We have had 2 crabs die on us in the last 3 months, 1 in the shell, and 1 out. There is a great web site, hermit-crabs.com, where you can get a ton of information.

 

[powellrj]

ours usually only last a few months. We have had them die in and out of the shells. Good luck...

 

[elgerber]

I guess I made that sound more morbid than it is. While 2 have died, we still have 3 comedic crabs left. One of them we have had for a year now, and he is still going strong.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Just an update...the crab took a new shell!! I think it's a little big for him....but he's getting around
My daughter is sooo happy...the shell looks like a cheeto...so we've changed his name from Jacque(Nemo) to Cheeto.
LOL..my youngest is still "Flounder"

Thanks for the info! - WE saw a guy who had his crab for 5 yrs..it was HUGE! I've had mine for 3-4 months now...

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Glad to hear he's okay.

My Bf's nephew has a bunch of hermit crabs and he loves them. He's allergic to everything else so they are great pets for him. His have been alive for a long time. They are kind of neat.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Well, that is some nice news to read this AM, very neat.