Do hermit crabs live out their shells?

I have a hermit crab and my roommate just called to tell me that Tito (my crab) might be dead.. yesterday he was crawling around and then today she said he is outside his shell and not really moving..



ewww!! dead?

Do hermit crabs live out their shells?
One thing that has not been mentioned, when a hermit crab looks like it has fallen out of the shell and looks dead but active and eating and drinking just before that, could be that it has molted.. That is them shedding their outter layer of their skin cuz they have outgrown the one they are in, just like a locust does.



If the hermie has died, then they will have a dead fish smell that gets stronger and stronger throughout a day, and then have some of a smell for a couple of days. A molting hermie, has a medicine smell, like Iodine or a metalic smell. When you pick the shell up you will see the hermie tucked back into the shell. ALso, if the hermie is dead and out of the shell the soft abdomen area will be out of the shell also. A molting hermie, it will just be the eyes, legs and hard body section that you will see out of the shell. ALot of times, they will molt and the exo will stay right in the opening and look like they are dead.



Leave the hermie with their exo if it has molted. They will need to eat the exo so that their new exo will harden up for them.



One thing I forgot to say about them being totally out of their shell. For them to have a chance of living, you would need to put them in a tank by themself and make sure there is nothing sharp that could puncture their abdomen. Make sure that it is very warm and humid for them. Then make sure that you have an assortment of shells that are bigger then the one they were in. It also helps to put them in hot water before putting htem in the tank with the hermie. Sometimes, that helps them to choose a shell to go into.



Sabrina

58 hermies since July 2004 and 1 Raccoon May 2006. RIP BANDIT

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/oimsofunny...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HermieSwap...
Reply:They can but not fo long in the wild they will become a meal for other animals. Their shell is their protection.
Reply:Like most everyone else said, they do leave their shells to find larger homes— or sometimes they just get bored of theirs...



What wasn't mentioned, and I wanted to add, it always have extra shells in your cage. They love to switch, even if they don't need to. So its important to keep a handfull of different shells in there, so your little crab has a variety to choose from.
Reply:He needs a bigger shell. They switch shells as they grow, the shell is not part of them they use the shells of other animals after those animals have left the shell for whatever reason.
Reply:Well Hermit crabs switch shells -- but other than that they don't really out of their shell
Reply:yes only to move to there other shells
Reply:well he might be, but hermit crabs grow just like we do, he might need a new shell.
Reply:no, he's not dead.. he's just looking for another shell. that's what they do, they grow too big for one shell, so they leave that one, and look for another one. you might want to put another shell in there that's a little bigger if you haven't already
Reply:I dont think they live out of their shells.It might be their mating season,and he must have got out of shell to look for a mate.Get him a new partner,then you'll find out if he's dead or not.
Reply:yes they really do outgrow their shells, and in some cases very quickly. there is not much to say but maybe the inside of his shell got wet-they hate that- or he out grew it. get him a new shell bigger than the other, but close to the size of it. good luck with the dead part tho....
Reply:suer

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