Determine The Age Of Your Crab

[erikleeson]

If your crab has passed away, you can tell how old it is by removing its antennae and counting the growth rings underneath.

Taken from Hermit Crabs: A complete Pet Owners Manual by Sue Fox

My crabs have never died so I don't know they're age.
But I've been crabbing since July 11 so the 4 month anniversary is soon.

[krabby_katie]

Hmmm. I'll have to try that whenever I find Kaluha in my room, if she's dead.

[Mr.Crab]

Wow. I don't wanna try this would be sad to start ripping up my crab!

[erikleeson]

Neither would I unless maybe I happened to find a dead crab on the road or something.

[jmmc137]

Man. than i would have to dig up my Larry

[Hermie's rule]

I think I'll try it.

[ladybug15057]

If one counts the 'rings' on the antenna this does not exactly determine the age of the hermie as for how many years old it is. What the rings on the antenna signify is how many times that hermie had molted during its life time. Each 'ring' signifies a molt.

[erikleeson]

It gives a pretty good guess though. A jumbo crab may molt at least once a year, and it probably molted three times as much as that when it was young so maybe 50 rings on a jumbo equals the age of <75!

[ladybug15057]

Not sure how you are determining that if a hermie has 50 rings, and molted 3 times as much they maybe 75 years old?? Hermies normally molt so often when they are small that counting rings does only determine number of molts. Now it is not known, if that hermie looses its antennas during its life time, will that also effect the ring count? My daughters one hermie Green Giant, Jr. (who at the time was in a shell about the size of a dime) molted 5 times during his first year with us. After that, it took him 14 months to molt again. He molted and still molts a few times a year to this date, and we have had him for 8+ years now.

[erikleeson]

I didn't really know what I was saying either

But a crab that lives its life to its longest will be a jumbo for most of its life and jumbos molt at least once a year so maybe 2/3 of a 50 year old crabs life it was a jumbo. So 2/3 of the rings are rings that where molted by a jumbo. So 2/3 of the rings equals at least one year.

Hope that makes more sense.