Never Gone Back In Shell?

Salt and Pepper · Post by **Salt and Pepper** » 06 Jul 2009, 12:49

Hey, guys. I just had a question about one of my crabs, Jake, has never gone into his shell since we bought him. I don't want to sound crazy or anything because it may be his shell is too small. If he does get scared, not that we scare him) he goes in halfway (pulls back a little, and tucks his eyes in) but not really much at all. We have provided him with extra shells. And it appears like whenever he does come out he comes out almost ALL the way (the legs that hold him in kind of come out too) and it appears also he has alot of room at the top of his shell. I just wanted to see if there was something wrong with him, or he just needs to change shells.

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 07 Jul 2009, 07:07

What kind of shells have you provided for him? How many have you got for him? I like to offer mine at least 5 or 6 to choose from, as it can be really tricky finding the perfect shell.

If he is a PP, he will like shells with a round opening, most commonly people buy Turbo shells for their PP's. How many of that kind of shell do you have for him?

If you boil the shells once a week, they think they are new shells, and sometimes will switch out even though it may be a shell that has been around for weeks.

Boil them in dechlorinated water, then make sure you twist them to get all the water out. Then spritz the inside of the shell with a little bit of ocean salt water - this seems to make the shells a little more attractive for the crabs.

emmac350 · Post by **emmac350** » 07 Jul 2009, 07:21

I think that CrabbyJo's advice is very good, but I wanted to add one thing. I think part of it has to do with your crab's personality - some crabs are very outgoing and learn that humans are a good thing, not scary. These crabs will rarely, if ever pull back in their shells all the way. The two adoptees I have rarely go back fully in their shells (they'll pull in most of the way, with their legs hanging out like they're a beard or something) even when I open the tank and pick them up when they're hanging upside down on the lid or have pulled all the moss out of the two moss pits.

Maybe it's a size thing? I wonder if large crabs are more reluctant to pull fully into their shells whereas small crabs are still very paranoid about predators and so go fully into their shells more often?

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 07 Jul 2009, 08:53

ohh that reminds me of some pictures of some crabs that end up using coconuts instead of shells because they get so big! So the coconut just protects the abdomen, the crab itself has nothing to pull into because he's so big. So they possibly do not always need a shell that is big enough to pull into if they feel confident in their own environment?

Salt and Pepper · Post by **Salt and Pepper** » 07 Jul 2009, 09:09

He is provided with a lot of natrual shells. He is in a painted shell, sadly, because that's the only kind Petsmart had. He is also a medium size.

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 08 Jul 2009, 03:33

you say they are natural shells, but didn't say if they have the round openings, like this?

Round opening:

Which can be viewed on this website: http://www.shells-of-aquarius.com

or are they like this:

D shaped opening:

Which can be viewed on this website: http://www.dkimages.com

or something different?

Salt and Pepper · Post by **Salt and Pepper** » 09 Jul 2009, 13:06

More like a rounded oval like this:

Salt and Pepper · Post by **Salt and Pepper** » 09 Jul 2009, 13:12

Exactly like this:
(pic. from shellsofaquaria.com)

ladybug15057 · Post by **ladybug15057** » 09 Jul 2009, 14:34

The moon/sharks eye shells you provided a picture to are not actually considered oval shaped shells but the D shaped. From reading your signature I am assuming Jake is a PP hermie, not an E? This would mean he has a more rounded torso as opposed to the flatter torso like E's have so chances are higher that he would prefer the turbo style shell in the first picture CrabbyJo provided.

Salt and Pepper · Post by **Salt and Pepper** » 10 Jul 2009, 05:47

ladybug15057 wrote:The moon/sharks eye shells you provided a picture to are not actually considered oval shaped shells but the D shaped. From reading your signature I am assuming Jake is a PP hermie, not an E? This would mean he has a more rounded torso as opposed to the flatter torso like E's have so chances are higher that he would prefer the turbo style shell in the first picture CrabbyJo provided.

Yeah, Jake is a PP. The shell he's in currently is a moon shell, and I do have some turbo shells.

Never Gone Back In Shell?

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