Is he using his coconut hidout to moult in?

[Emma]

I posted a Q earlier about a hermie I'm worried about in a size xxx-small painted purple shell he refuses to change, & now I have another Q about him; I just got a new & much larger tank with some new toys & hideouts for my hermies, & this guy, his name is Mr Big by the way, has gone into the coconut birdhouse I bought (which is actually a birdhouse so it has a much smaller opening designed for birds to nest in) & I have not seen him out of it since. It's only day 4 now, but could he have decided to moult in there? In my other post about him I was worried about why he was not changing out of his WAY tooo small & horrribly painted purple "speedo-undies" shell. Maybe now he is going to? Do hermies change shells before or after moulting? Could he moult in the birdhouse & then come out & pick a new shell? ANY light shed on this would be much appreciated!

[Wai]

Ah, you're from Australia too!

Emma, please try giving your hermit crabs pheasant shells (genus called Phasianella). I have found that most Australian land hermit crabs love these shells a lot more than any other type of shell. All of my hermit crabs have changed into pheasant shells (check out my signature banner of my hermit crabs) . Even if they were to change shells, they just change into a different pheasant shell (and you can guess how much "fun" I have trying to tell them apart sometimes). The other types of shells that I offer my hermit crabs remain mostly untouched, although some do give them a try, but then they quickly change out again and back into the pheasant shell that they were wearing. If pheasant shells don't work, try babylonia shells, although from what I can see in my tank, my hermit crabs love the pheasant shells the most.

It's hard to say whether your hermit crab is moulting in the hut unless you can see what is going on inside, but I would leave them alone.

[CAS_678]

Wai - I know this is a really old post - but where do I fond those types of shells?
I'm in Sydney...

[Wai]

I'm from VIC, so I wouldn't know where you can get them in NSW stores. You can try looking online. I do know for a fact that most pheasant shells are from SA.