Shell Paint?

Questions about designing a terrarium.
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Salt and Pepper
Zoea I
Zoea I
Posts: 125
Joined: 28 Apr 2009, 07:22
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 5
Total gallons: 38
Total tanks: 2
Location: Louisiana

Shell Paint?

Post by Salt and Pepper »

At the place I bought my Hermit Crabs, all the Hermies were painted. I had no choice but to get a painted crab. I wanted to know if this is alright. If it will harm the crabs, or if it is a poor choice to have a painted shell..? I wanted to know.
-Salt and PepperXx
I love all my hermies! They are all PPs.
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emmac350
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1949
Joined: 22 Sep 2008, 08:08
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 6
Total gallons: 40
Total tanks: 2
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Re: Shell Paint?

Post by emmac350 »

It is a poor choice to have painted shells. The paint will chip off due to normal crab activities, like digging, and they can and often will taste it to see if it's good. I recommend you buy some natural shells from ebay (search "hermit crab shells" and you can buy lots of 75 or more shells for 8-10 dollars US) or from the crabbage patch - http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com/. The crabbage patch is more expensive and I've never personally ordered from there but I know a lot of people who do. If you look in the upper right corner of the page, there is a search box - type in "painted shells" and click search. Also, you could look here for more information on painted shells - http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabc ... shells.php.

I've had a crab in a painted shell before and he's gone through two molts with me so far, so it's not a deal-breaker if it's in a painted shell, but I would recommend getting some natural ones in there so the crab can change shells ASAP.
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