Great Info on Hermit Crab Shells
Take a look at your hermit crab. What is the most important feature about him? Yes, the shell! That cast-off snail shell your crab is wearing is very important, as I’m sure you know. Obviously the crab wouldn’t wear a shell if it had one of its own! As we know from looking at our Hermit crab, though, their rear part the abdomen is very soft. The abdomen is arguably the most important part of the crab’s body, because it holds the crabs digestive glands and reproductive system.
But why a sea shell? Common sense tells us that the sea shell affords the hermit crab complete mobility AND security from predators. The perfect hermit shell has no holes, and fits the crab snugly, but allows him or her to withdraw into the shell completely.
Oddly enough, when hermit crabs first crawl ashore as juveniles, the shape of the ‘shell’ they find will influence the growth of their abdomen. For example, if a crab comes ashore and only finds a bamboo tube in which to tuck its’ rear, the crab’s abdomen will not develop the traditional curl to the right, but will remain straight. One would like to think that there are a ton of shells available in the natural environment for the hermit crabs, but this is not always true. Hermit crabs have been found ‘wearing’ plastic bottle tops and airline liquor bottles.
Another really important purpose of the crabs shell is to lessen the evaporation of water from the crab’s body. Moisture is the most important thing in a hermit crab’s life. Everything about their life cycle, aside from their mating ritual, revolves around conserving moisture — the crabs are not active during the heat of the day to conserve moisture; the crabs are out and active during rain falls so they can experience the maximum effect of the rain. So you can see why a properly-fitting shell is so important to the crab. A crab in a durable shell with a snug fit and access to adequate water lives much longer than a crab in an ill-fitting shell.
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