hermit crab out of shell!

ilikepie777

New member
hi i just bought 6 red legged hermet crab(dont know official name) and i put them into my 14 gallon biocube, well everything was going fine until in the evening i noticed one of the hermit crabs left their shell, I poked it for a while with a small syringe trying to urge it back into it's shell but it just curled into a ball. So my questions are: is it normal for hermit crabs to come out of their shells? and if so did i kill it by poking it with a syringe while it's body was exposed? im new to keeping marine creatures so these questions might seem stupid but hope someone will reply thx!
 
k just an update caz im getting kind of desperate now it's laying on it's side and it is not moving, it's still out of it's shell, hoping it's not gonna die
 
Occasionally I think they will seek bigger shells as they grow, but not sure if that's what yours was doing. I put several empty shells of all sizes in to make sure they have various options (and don't go snail hunting either). After dropping some in, my blue legged hermit switched almost immediately.

Also, I think as they grow larger, they molt and what you may be seeing is the exoskeleton .....which looks just like a hermit crab out of a shell.
 
Occasionally I think they will seek bigger shells as they grow, but not sure if that's what yours was doing. I put several empty shells of all sizes in to make sure they have various options (and don't go snail hunting either). After dropping some in, my blue legged hermit switched almost immediately.

Also, I think as they grow larger, they molt and what you may be seeing is the exoskeleton .....which looks just like a hermit crab out of a shell.

no its the actual hermit crab and it's still alive so is there anyway i can save it?
 
Ordered my extra shells from That Fish Place......sponsor on here.

Not sure what to say to save your hermit.....maybe just make sure there are shells right next to it in case its in the process of molting.
 
Ordered my extra shells from That Fish Place......sponsor on here.

Not sure what to say to save your hermit.....maybe just make sure there are shells right next to it in case its in the process of molting.

cool thx for the advice also could u link me to the site u got ur shells dont want my other five hermits to end up like this one
 
rewards usually work better than punishment. maybe if you asked real nice...just kidding.

I don't know for sure but it may have come out to molt and will then return. but a few empty shells of different sizes are a good idea.

I wouldn't poke it anymore either. When it gets REALLY BIG, it will remember you.
 
Your local fish store should have some empty shells for sale cheap - mine sells them 10 for $1. Good luck.
 
You probably shouldn't poke it anymore, lol. If it left its shell, odds are it had a reason.

Hermits typically leave their shell to molt. You should probably put his shell back next to him if you chased him away from it.
 
alright so this morning when i woke up the hermit was gone the empty shell or maybe its in their moved a little and thats it. i couldnt tell if the hermit crab was in the shell or not, so i just left for work. when i came home the shell was in the exact same place as it was this morning and the only potential candidates that could have probably eaten him was the bristle worms in my tank, my emerald crab, or maybe my clownfish. but all three probably would not eat the hermit crab and so far i have no agressive fish or inverts or crustaceans in my tank so could the hermit crab have gone back into it's shell to recover from the stress it suffered or did it craw back into it's shell and die, or did something eat it plz reply thx
 
They float away pretty easy once they are out of the shell. I had one that did it to get into another shell, got blown away, and almost lost his shell.

I put them both next to each other and he finally got up enough energy to get back in.

Normally, unless they do it in a safe spot, they are going to die due to the elements.
 
just an odd coincidence but i just noticed that today a day after i added the hermits one of my snail disappear searched under rocks but it wasnt there wonder where it went?
 
hi i just bought 6 red legged hermet crab(dont know official name) and i put them into my 14 gallon biocube, well everything was going fine until in the evening i noticed one of the hermit crabs left their shell, I poked it for a while with a small syringe trying to urge it back into it's shell but it just curled into a ball. So my questions are: is it normal for hermit crabs to come out of their shells? and if so did i kill it by poking it with a syringe while it's body was exposed? im new to keeping marine creatures so these questions might seem stupid but hope someone will reply thx!

If it isn't moving and laying on its side it is dying or dead but most of us won't buy hermits if we have snails because they will kill the snails and take their shells. Hermits will take new shells often if they are available
 
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