shell purchase in WA, Australia

[Amelie]

I'm new to this forum, found it searching the web for info on my young daughters hermit crabs. She has 4 and I have been helping her care for them, going by info I got off the internet. One of the crabs looks very big for his shell and closely inspects every new shell we put into the terrarium but has not changed shells yet. He seems to be a bit desperate as I watched him try and get another crab called 'Crazy' out of it's shell. We have bought many shells of different sizes and shapes we could find at various pet stores, going by info on the web on the types of shells hermit crabs prefer. This particular crab who is too big for his shell called 'Milo' has a shell that looks similar to what I found on the web as Turbo shells, which seem to be from the US? but we are in Perth, WA, Australia.
I'm thinking he may want the same type shell but bigger, so I have been looking for shells for sale on Australian pages but have not seen anything like the one he's in. It's gotta be a common one as 2 other crabs we have are in the same type shell. It's got mother of pearl inside, a round opening and indented lines all along the outside. It would help to know what type of shell it is so I could start looking at where to get one. Does anybody have alink with pictures and names of different types of shells from Australia? I'll appreciate your help.

[aussieJJDude]

Shells with D-shaped openings seem to suit aussie crabs
Shells like the Babylonia and pheasant shells are my aussie favourites.
Sometimes they will go for nerite shells too.
The best place I got shells offline was from here (click)
And Welcome here too!

[Amelie]

thanks! I looked at the ones from the ebay seller, it looks like we've got all of those in various sizes but the crabs don't want them. They are the same ones for sale in the pet shops in Perth. I googled the shell names you stated and I'm now pretty sure that our crabs are in a type of shell that is called nerita costata, so it's from the nerite family which you mention in your post. That makes sense as these live on Christmas island off the WA coast and up on the northern beaches of WA, I guess that's where our hermit crabs are from originally. Can't find them online big enough for our needs. bugger!

[Amelie]

not much happening here but just thought I'd update my own thread.. I drove around Perth to different pet shops today as I got an idea yesterday; I asked for the empty shells in the tanks where they keep the live hermit crabs and found quite a few of the type that I'm after. I've boiled them and hoping the crabs will like the new shells.

[aussieJJDude]

Other good places to go in Bunnings - if you have it there..
They have a packet of moon shells which my hermies can die for...

[Amelie]

Thanks, didn't even think of Bunnings. Will go check it out as well.

[appps]

You are actually in one of the best places for shells as I've had mine posted to me from oner there :-)

Go online and search crazy crab. He has a good range of natural shells and a store over there too.

[Amelie]

thanks but if you had read my post you'd probably see that I have the shells he offers but that are not the ones my hermies are interested in. I'd be sceptical about the crazy crab shells they post from WA because I have come to understand that they are not shells the crabs pick in nature.

[Amelie]

Just to give an update, in case anybody is searching this topic in the future here in WA, I have so far found out interesting stuff about the main wholesaler of hermit crabs & crab products here in WA. This is what he seems to do: offer the crabs painted shells and natural shells other than the ones they come in, then sell the ones the crabs have on them for circa $5 on the internet, while all shells we can buy at the pet shop range between 2 and 6 dollars and are not the type of shells the crabs prefer. They are ok and some friends' crabs seem to like them, but it looks like it's a bit of a business operation going on, hence, only certain types of cheaper shells available in the pet shops and the nice ones are for sale on a website for shell collectors. So yeah, that's what I learned so far.

[CAS_678]

Amelie, what's the website he seems to be selling the shells online?
I'm in Sydney and getting desperate for some different shells, very hard to find here, grr.