In: Advocacy, Conservation, General

Importance of Seashells in Coastal Ecosystems Seashells play a vital role in maintaining the health and stability of coastal ecosystems. They provide critical shelter for marine life, including hermit crabs, small fish, and various microorganisms. Seashells also contribute to beach stability by helping to prevent erosion and maintaining the natural balance of sand movement. Additionally, broken-down shells add essential minerals like calcium carbonate to the environment, enriching the habitat for other marine organisms and promoting biodiversity. The Growing Trend of Collecting Seashells as Souvenirs or Decorations and Its Impact on Wildlife In recent years, seashell collecting has become increasingly popular, particularly among tourists who viewRead More →

In: Caresheets, FAQ

Land Hermit Crab Shell Guide A hermit crab’s shell is his life sustaining home and his protection from predators and desiccation. Hermit crabs take up residence in discarded gastropod shells and can not make their own shell. “For the vast majority of crustaceans which we call hermit crabs, the behavior patterns by which individuals utilize empty gastropod shells as shelter are critical to the crab’s existence. Orientation to shells, selection of a shell to enter, entry of a shell, and subsequent living the shell are all behaviors which directly affect the Darwinian fitness of an individual crab. Failure to find or efficiently enter a shellRead More →

In: Biology

In hermit crabs, the fourth and particularly the fifth pereopods are reduced, usually remaining within the confines of the gastropod shell and hence are not used for walking. These appendages do however becoming important when the hermit crab attempts to right itself, providing anchorage within the shell. Further, the fifth pereopod has become specialised as a gill cleaning appendage, often resting within the gill chamber (Bauer 1981). On the abdomen only the left pleopods are retained (Poore 2004).[1] Hermit crabs used specialized setae on the third maixillipedes and fifth pereiopods for most grooming but used the unmodified first, second, and third pereiopods as well. MostRead More →

In: Advocacy, Conservation, Painted Shells

Painted shells are inhumane and unnecessary and destroy a much-needed natural resource. Please speak out about this to your local pet shops that continue to order hermit crabs in painted shells just so they can charge more for them. Hermit crabs are forced out of their natural shell. One method can be seen in the video below, the crabs are placed in a vice and their natural shell is destroyed. Other methods include heating the shell so the crab abandons it, drilling a hole, and poking the crab with a wire until it abandons the shell. Hermit crabs are often forced into the shells whileRead More →

In: Biology

Are hermit crabs looking for light and large shells?: evidence from natural and field induced shell exchanges Shell shopping Photo credit Andrea Skinner Jose- Luis Osorno, LourdesFernandez- Casillas, CristinaRodriguez- JuarezaDepartment of Zoology, University of Florida, 223 Bartram Hall, Fainesville , Fl32611, USADepartamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico , Mexico D. F., C. P. 04510, MexicoDepartamento de Ecologia Evolutiva , Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico A. P.70 275, Mexico D. F., C. P. 04510, MexicoReceived 15 October 1996; received in revised form 9 May 1997; accepted 3 June 1997 Abstract: Terrestrial hermit crabs(Coenobita compressus( H. Milne Edwards)) onRead More →

In: General

written by Vanessa Pike-Russell Recently we interviewed Amy Youngs, a young artist who has “collaborated with another artist, Matt Derksen, to design shells using 3D modelling programs.” http://accad.osu.edu/~ayoungs/prototypes.html Vanessa: What prompted you to create prototypes of hermit crab seashells Amy: I am very interested in the ways that technology interfaces with the natural world and I when I was given the opportunity to work with the new technology of rapid prototyping, I really wanted to make something that would connect with my interest in living things. I remembered owning a hermit crab and I knew that they switched shells and I had been curious aboutRead More →

In: General, Painted Shells

Our treatment of animals will someday be considered barbarous. There cannot be perfect civilization until man realizes that the right of every living creature are as sacred as his own – Dr. David Starr Jordan and now, on with the show… Crab in a cup anyone? First a bit o’ the story. I went to the pet store, the one that I LIKE, and they always have good patties, in natural shells, none of the painted. So I wander to the hermit crab tank and in the aquarium is about 16 crabs in cups, stacked on top of each other. all in red or pinkRead More →

In: General, Painted Shells

Written by Stacy Griffith Its been nearly 2 months since I brought home 8 E’s from Petco. Thankfully four of them shed their painted shells before being moved to the main tank. You can watch one of the in the video below. The sole reason shells are painted is to entice your children into begging you for a hermit crab. In most instances the child doesn’t necessarily want the crab but the brightly colored shells. This has been a losing battle for us for many years and I still have no ideas how to convince Petco and others to stop buying from suppliers who pushRead More →

In: FAQ

CrabbyMum asked: Get the odor out of shells? I know to boil newly purchased shells, but I want to reuse some of the shells that are smelly from a crab dying in it. So far, we’ve lost one of the Littles (PP = Faith) and I think another is not going to make it. I have her in iso and will wait til we are sure before dealing with it’s shell tho. But I tried soaking the ones that Violet and Faith were in because the odor was so strong in them yet and then boiled them. I remember reading how Vinegar can damage themRead More →

In: FAQ

Buffing seashells comes with potential dangers. Here’s what to watch out for: 1. Dust and Particulates 2. Sharp Edges 3. Heat Generation 4. Structural Fragility 5. Tool-Related Injuries 6. Biological Contaminants 7. Environmental Considerations By taking these precautions, you can enjoy buffing seashells safely and responsibly. A conversation from our original Yahoo group regarding buffing shells. Rachelrmf asked: I have alot of natural shells that i just love, but have recently (i know i am a bit of a blonde;;lol) relized that my shells are the same as all of the pretty ones i like they just are’nt buffed out. does anyone know of aRead More →

In: FAQ

Ken Lipe (CrabCon shell vendor!! On Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/theshellstore On Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/usr/mirrormaker   Sea Shell City:http://www.seashellcity.com/hermitcrabs.html Naples:http://www.naplesseashellcompany.com/hermit_crab_shells.html Wonders of the Sea:http://www.sealifegifts.net/shells_small.html The Hermit Crab Patch:http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com Sea Shell Worldhttp://www.seashellworld.com/hermit-crab-shells.html Shell Horizonshttp://www.shellhorizons.com/products.asp?category=74 Sea Shell Shophttp://www.seashellshop.com/Replacement-Shells/ Richard’s Sea Shells (Formerly Deltona Shells)http://www.richardsseashells.com Looking to buy a large quantity? Try Atlantic Coral Enterprise – minimum $100 order https://www.atlanticcoralenterprise.com/ProductCart/pc/home.asp Searching on Etsy or Ebay will also yield a lot of results for shells. You can also find hermit crab shells on amazon. If you know of another quality web site, please feel free to e-mail us the link so we may add it to our list.Read More →

In: FAQ

This is a compilation of forum posts from our old site. You can read more about how shell disease affects hermit crabs. TroppoDec 13, 2006 Today I read an interesting article in a Queensland newspaper that crabbers(particularly Australian crabbers) who feed their crabs prawns, may like to read. Below is an excerpt. Prawns posing disease threat.The increased volume and decreased price of imported green prawns has further escalated the risk of spreading the diseases, white spot syndrome and taura syndrome to the state’s prawn stocks. The Department of Fisheries and Primary Industries has initiated it’s own testing and sampling program as a measure to protectRead More →

In: Caresheets

Originally written by Vanessa Pike-Russell Behaviour in the Wild Land hermit crabs are territorial animals, and as such they will often act aggressively towards one another to establish a ‘pecking’ order among their colony. Sometimes this can be in the form of ‘feeler’ or antennae fights, others in violent pushing or flicking fellow tank mates out of the way. Usually this is not serious enough to warrant intervention. However, some hermit crabs will act in a manner that is harmful to other hermit crabs, often trying to pull their hermie buddy out of a desired shell, or attacking eyes, antennae, claws, legs or abdomen. IfRead More →

In: Caresheets

A hermit crabs shell serves two purposes: first protection of the soft abdomen and second it prevents desiccation (drying out). A hermit crab that has left the protection and life-sustaining seashell home is telling you it’s in distress. Below we expand a bit on these causes. Physical Stress Land Hermit Crabs endure a great amount of stress before reaching the pet store. The harvesting and shipping of hermit crabs is a very inhumane process and the crabs suffer because of it. They then arrive in pet stores, who in most cases, don’t know how to properly care for them. They arrived stressed out, dehydrated andRead More →

In: Caresheets

This recipe can be modified, made stronger for use with very sick crabs, although this strength is fine for more minor cases! General wash for injured crabs:1 Tbsp. Marshmallow root shaved1 Tbsp. myrrh powder1 Tbsp. calendula (marigold)1 Tbsp. whole chamomile flowers (not powdered) First, you’ll need to make a decoction. Take one quart of water, and heat it over the stove to near boiling. Add one tablespoon marshmallow root, and one tablespoon myrrh. Cover, and simmer for thirty minutes. Remove from heat. Add one tablespoon calendula flowers (marigold) and one tablespoon whole chamomile flowers. Cover immediately again. Let sit until cool, then strain herbs outRead More →