Switching

lilhermitgirl17 · Post by **lilhermitgirl17** » 02 Apr 2005, 03:13

My larger hermit crab has been switching its shells a lot. I have the three largest in the tank for him, because of his size, and an order in for bigger ones. But does it mean that its unhappy with it's shells? or is it just cause they like to switch? I'm working on getting it some more, so it'll have better choices, but at the moment, he's got the best I have.
(they are gold mouth turbos, in very good conditon, clean, and unpainted)

Post by **Wai** » 02 Apr 2005, 11:51

He's probably just trying to test out which one he prefers. I'm having the same problem too. Neptune is switching shells everyday! He can't decide between an orange and a brown one. Sooner or later they'll make up their mind. Or some crabs just find it more comfortable wearing a different shell at different times.

bennynlewie · Post by **bennynlewie** » 02 Apr 2005, 13:52

ya prolly he is just checkin them out to pick one...mine did that too he just walked around and stuck his head in all of them

ayianna · Post by **ayianna** » 08 Apr 2005, 10:31

A lot of crabs like to switch. I have found, however, that over time, my crabs develop a preference for a particular shell.

If you are bothered by this switching, remove the shells from the crabitat and put them in a box. Allow them once a week or two to allow the crabs in the box for a few hours and pick a shell. What they choose during that time is what they get for a while. The next time, they will either pick a new one or stick with it.

Alternately, it is somewhat possible that your crab is uncomfortable in all of the shells, but knows better than to go running around nekkid. If you believe that to be the case, go buy new shells pronto! =P