# Breeding Hermit Crabs?



## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Just curious to know whether anyone owns/has owned hermit crabs and whether or not they have attempted to breed them. I know its supposed to be extremely hard to breed them in captivity and not many people have succeeded. Although its not impossible. I plan to keep them in the future and i quite like a challenge!

Thanks

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Hiya!! Ive got hermit crabs and they are hard to breed. From what I've read on various websites and in books they have only been bred in lab conditions as the eggs are laid at sea, which explains why all the ones avaiable for sale on various sites are WC.

Hope this helps
Nats


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## Kenorsanc (Dec 10, 2006)

Its extremely hard you need special food as they are microscopic. Also I think a lot die due to morphing if they can find the food. And they are extremely sensitive to water conditions. Sorry to put you down but its very hard.


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

On the plus side though, theyre hardy little things and theyre easy to get hold of on the net...and you never know, keep an eye out on the classifieds on the forum and some may come up!!! 

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

*brine shrimp*

The babies are supposed to eat brine shrimp and spirulina. I can easily get brine shrimp. Was unsure about the spirulina but i found this:

Livefood UK

Looks like a liquid vitamin containing the spirulina. Thought maybe that could be used along with the brine shrimp. I do agree that keeping the water quality and conditions perfect will be quite hard to do though, getting things like the PH right. I have plenty of time to figure things out though as the accommodation at the college i am at probably won't look too kindly on me keeping a tank of hermit crabs in my room!  So i won't be able to try breeding them for at least another few months.
I shall definitely get a couple anyway even if i have no success breeding them. They're little sweethearts!


Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Go for it and let me know if you manage to breed them!! that would be awesome!!!

No matter how many you get, you will want more!! Last weekend I had 2 and I got another teeeeeeny one today (he's quarrantined atm) and i know i will end up gettin more!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I'll make myself a note to let you know how i get along! Like i said. Won't be anytime soon but i shall definitely attempt it. Any chance of you posting any pics of your hermits?

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

I'll try to get some good piccys of them, the ones on my phone are a bit wobbly lol!!!
You would coo over my newest edition Meatball as hes soooo small, only about half the size of your thumb, possibly even smaller!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I saw some in a reptile/fish store in derby today that were huge. About the size of a tennisball, maybe a bit bigger! How big can they get i wonder? Meatball sounds a cutie:smile: It amazes me how prices for these crabs range from store to store. I've seen them go for as little as £3.75 each in one shop to £15 in another!

Pioden


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

Hermit crabs spend the first few months of life as part of the mass of plankton in the open sea. They are microscopic and eat things even smaller! This will take some doing to replicate in captivity. 
Enjoy your crabs and make sure they have a long and happy life with you.


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Ive not seen really massive hermits anywhere!!! My biggest, Pinchy, is about half the size of a tennis ball and Spider is about the size of a ping pong ball, Meatball is, like i said, teeny!!

£3.75 is very cheap for a hermit, i paid £7 apiece for spider and pinchy and meatball was £10 from a different pet shop!!
I think my mum is glad that hermits are very hard to breed, means we wont get over-run by them then.....well, unless there are any that need rescuing lol!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Nattykins? Where abouts did you get spare shells for your hermies from? I've found loads on the internet that are already coloured/designed but i would want plain, normal ones so i could paint my own designs on them. Short of going down to the beach  What kinds have you got?

Pioden


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Pioden said:


> Nattykins? Where abouts did you get spare shells for your hermies from? I've found loads on the internet that are already coloured/designed but i would want plain, normal ones so i could paint my own designs on them. Short of going down to the beach  What kinds have you got?
> 
> Pioden


the ones she got i think she picked up from the beach, or petshops.

Jay


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## redeyedanny (Feb 16, 2007)

there was some herms at Wings N Fins pet shop in stockport bout a week ago! any help to ya?


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

I bought one shell for my largest one from the shop i had 2 of my hermits from. The others i use for the 2 smaller ones were out of the bathroom lol. You can use any shells you like. Next time you go to the beach see if you can find any that will be ok for your crabs. And im not impressed with the painted shells, i like the natural look.
What kind of set up are you doin/have got for hermits Pioden? beach or forest?

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm in a grumpy mood because i can't have any yet because the accommodation officer in charge of the flats at my uni won't allow animals. Although i read in the rules and regulations and it specified that no vertebrates were allowed in the rooms. I have indian stick insects and a preying mantis now which they don't know about  But they don't have a backbone. Neither does a crab, they're crustaceans or something like that aren't they? I think a hermit crab would be frowned upon though. I suppose the rules are there in case someone doesn't look after their pet properly or not feed it or it damages the room. Hopefully if i get into a registered teaching program (RTP) and get a placement in a school i'll be able to get somewhere in the summer where i can keep them. Possibly only a few more months! Yay.
I'm in two minds about the shells. Painted ones can look nice if done properly but i do agree that natural looks best. Have a look on ebay. They have lovely natural ones, 150 mixed shells for a few pounds. Not bad. I was thinking when i make an enclosure, to have play sand for substrate with a couple of branches for them to climb. I'm going to get a coconut, chop it in half, cut in a entrance, bake it in the oven and make coconut cabanas for them to hide in. Haha. May make some string netting like you see on ship masts for them to climb too. Along with that they'll have their salt water bowl and fresh water bowl.Oh yeah, and a few plants. Thats all i can think of at the moment. Have you managed to get any good pics of your hermies and enclosure?


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Get some hermits anyway, you can hide em in your wardrobe lol!!! And if a hermit crab is in a tank then it shouldnt escape lol!! If the regulations said your cant have vertebrates your should be ok, hermits dont have a backbones as far as im aware. And the uni shouldnt be worried about you neglecting them, they barely eat as it is!!!!
Ive put in extra shells for my lot but they dont want to change, ive only seen 2 of them change shells once and pinchy hasnt changed shells at all. But theyre there if they need them.
My mum got me a couple of branches to put in as well, all scalded and baked and ready to go!!! Im not sure bout the netting though, i would be worried about them getting caught. I was wondering what plants would be good in a crabitat, ive got a nice plastic one thats great for spraying water on to keep the humidity up.
Havent got my camera out yet to get some good piccys. Will do asap!!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I sorely tempted to get some now! I shall kidnap yours in the middle of the night. Mwahaha! Nah, don't worry. I've already thought up names  Ping and Pong. I would much rather prefer real plants in the viv but i suppose its not as useful as having plastic ones. Don't have to go about finding new plants if they need replacing etc. Some plastic ones you can get are quite nice. If i do go ahead with the 150 shells of ebay idea, you're welcome to have a few, or 10, or 20 
I found this website which looks quite cool

Fish and Fins, UK - Hermit Crab uk

It seems quite cheap, although having never had hermit crabs before i'm not sure how much you'd expect to pay anyway for some of the stuff. I'm not sure about getting plastic plants. Most reptile places sell something. Wharf Aquatics in derby maybe? I'm sure i saw some nice plastic plants in there

Pioden


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Noooo, Alvin. The plan will fail!

:lol2:


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Hehehe ^^^

I looked on fish and fins and the prices are the same in pets at home, except the sand is cheaper in there, its £2.99 instead of £4.99.
I got my plant from wilko's, nice, cheap and cheerful, its in a little terrocotta pot so its nice and tidy, think it was less than £2!!!

Finally put meatball in with my other 2 after keeping in quarrantine for a week, hes on a mission to cover every inch of the tank!!!
Had a breakthrough with my mum as well, she held Meatball tonight and she was asking me loads of questions about hermits!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I want to hold meatball! Actually, no.....i want meatball!!! I don't really mind keeping them in my room at uni. If they get found out, i'll take the consequences. There shouldn't be any really as it doesn't say i can't have them. Theres just the little snag about not knowing if i'm going to be able to keep them somewhere when i finish for the summer. I could take them home but i don't think my mum likes them and we don't really have room  Stick insects are fine cos shes looked after the ones i used to have before but she doesn't like things like crabs. I'll keep u posted on the situation!
When i do get them, i'll go for a wander round wilko for plants. Sounds cheap. Did u get my rubbish drawing of the crab viv.


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

If youre pushed for space I suppose you could put them in a smaller tank over the summer, theyre pretty hardy lil things, im sure they'll be ok.
Have you found a pet shop that sells hermits yet? If not there is a few sites that sells them online but i dont know how good the quality of the stock is.
If you get caught with them at uni just say that theyre invertebrates and point out their regulations lol!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Sounds good to me. Probably get one from wet pets in sutton. £3.75 i think. Give or take a couple of pennys. They are tiny baby ones. Not going to wharf aquatics where you can get giants for £15! :smile: Probably end up getting two as i read that they get lonely living on their own. Awww
Go on, give me meatball. :Na_Na_Na_Na:

Pioden


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

A quick question. Do the hermit crabs smell at all. My flatmate said to be careful hiding it in my room as crabs smell. This true?

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Ive had mine for nearly 2 weeks and they dont smell at all. I think as long as you remove old food from the tank you will be ok. And if you clean the sand every month or so i cant really see there being a problem.
I started off with two but as you know ive expanded lol. I read that in the wild they live in colonies of over 100!!!
And if you do get some- ive found that mine love cuttlefish and raw chicken. They havent even touched the pellets or bits of fruit and veg i put in for them!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Just found out today that i can't do my teacher program without a full degree. Means another wonderful boring year at uni. And another year in accommodation with room checks galore. I'm irritating everybody in my flat by changing my mind about keeping them every 5 minutes  My boyfriend said if I'm unsure then its best to wait. And being honest, I'd be heartbroken if i got them and had them for a while then they got found out and i had to give them away, because i know they wouldn't let me keep them. My mind may change again but at the moment I'm going to wait another year until i have them.
Quick! Post pictures of yours so i can coo over them. Haha. How is meatball doing now hes not in quarantine anymore?


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## tracie (Jan 4, 2007)

sorry guys for butting in but its so nice to see someone else with hermits LOL .........

so i hope you dont mind here are my hermies there names are dave dee , dozy , beaky , mick and titch 

this is dave dee my biggest one 




























their crabitat










getting ready for a shell swap


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Dave Dee is huuuuuuuge!!!!! He looks awesome!!
How long have you had your hermits for tracie? Ive read in different places that they live for only a year or 2, then i read 10 years and somewhere else i read that they can live for 30 years!!! Can you tell how old they are in years from their size? I would love to know how old my 3 are.
Your crabitat looks brilliant. Ive got mine in one of those wilko's £5 tanks atm, but will expand into a nicer and bigger tank when I can find an old aquarium thats goin for cheap enough.


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## tracie (Jan 4, 2007)

I have had mine for about a year now , although i did lose two when they moulted , it was my own fault though as i didnt have the sand deep enough for them to bury  R.I.P ernie and bertie ...............
Yeah dave dee is the biggest one out of all of them and the noisiest LOL ....
How long they live mmmmm well i have heard 5 - 7 years and yes also the 10years ..................
I have got a brill site that i found i found it very interesting especially on the food side of things 
heres the site 

Crabbytalk.com - Hermit Crab Care, food/diet, crabitats, & pictures of land hermit crabs 

your hermies look ace


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## tracie (Jan 4, 2007)

Pioden said:


> A quick question. Do the hermit crabs smell at all. My flatmate said to be careful hiding it in my room as crabs smell. This true?
> 
> Pioden


I havent noticed my hermies smelling BUT they are very noisy at night time


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

*Blows kisses to dave dee*:flrt:

Sweetie! What do you mean by noisy? Is it the clicking sort of noise they're supposed to make sometimes? Or they dance along the side of the glass in the tank don't they? 

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

By noisy do you mean they just move about alot or do they squeak or chirp like ive heard they do sometimes? Ive never heard mine chirp, and i dont find mine very noisy (theyre in my room) all i hear at night is the sound of them moving across the sand and the odd bang of the shell against the tank.

Nats


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## tracie (Jan 4, 2007)

i've only ever heard the odd chirp , its the clanging of shells against the glass when i had 7 of them doing it all trying to get on the same piece of wood and the scraping of claws against the glass ewwwww (shivers LOL) its a noise i've never been able to stand goes right through me ........

Did you have a look at the link


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

That website is great!!! Thats one website I missed when I was doing my research before getting my hermits. 
I can imagine the sound of glass and shell isnt good!! My tank is plastic so it doenst make a horrible screachy noise lol!!
Ive got the feeling that spider may be ready to moult as his activity has gone down in the past few days. Or am i just worrying too much? (Spikebrit (Jay) would agree there I think!!!) lol

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

YouTube - Hermit Crabs!

Get off the bread, its mine! 

And this one is funny. Do any of your hermit crabs trash their tank in the night? These ones need an ASBO. haha

YouTube - hermit crabs

How is meatball?


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Meatball is as full of energy as ever!!!
They were all really active last night, lots of shell banging and crashing when i needed a good nigh sleep!!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I have an idea! For my dissertation in my third year i can do one entitled "The benefits of group living in hermit crabs  Somehow i don't think it will be suitable, although it would be a valid excuse to keep hermit crabs on campus
:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Hahaha!!!! Clever idea!! I wonder how I could link hermits to sport lol??!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

You could raise it as a sporting welfare issue. When i went on holiday to the maldives with my parents, they held hermit crab races. They drew a circle on the floor, held all the hermits at the edges of the circle (they wrote numbers on their shells), and let them all go. The first to reach the centre of the circle won. Mine didn't move at all, whereas some peoples crabs went off in the opposite direction. It was quite funny, especially the next day when you walked along the beach and saw all theses hermit crabs wandering around with numbers on their shells. I think when i eventually get my hermits that we should all get together and hold hermit crab races.
:Na_Na_Na_Na::Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Would be a brilliant game to play while drunk lol!!! And if your crab wins you have to down a shot lol!! Cant you tell im a student too!!! haha!!


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## Magpye (Jan 26, 2007)

Tis pioden using magpyes account (shhh, don't tell him, haha) cos its easyer than logging out to log back in again. Yes i am lazy.

Tis sorted then. As soon as i get my hermits we run races with them!:Na_Na_Na_Na:

btw, how are spikebrits spectre eggs doing?
Do you like my new hermit thing on my signature strip?:smile: Saw magpyes and wanted one of my own!


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Me and spike (jay) have split the eggs 50:50 to see how many we get!! Its kinda turned into a competition now lol, im determined to win, but i have the advantage of a warmer room lol.
Pinchy has been on a right mission the past couple of days, hes not stopped moving night and day!!!!

You made any progress on getting hermits yet?

Nats


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## snakelover (Dec 17, 2006)

are hermit crabs ...hmm.... any pics of there viv, that will anwser my Q!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I don't know about the hermits yet. As yet, i'm unsure about where i'm going to be living next year. Maybe at my boyfriends house, so if theres room and everybodys willing there may be a possibility of getting some then but not sure. I want one! or 2 or 3 or 4, haha. I want pics of pinchy:smile: Let me know who gets the first spectre nymph and i shall run over to your house to fetch them:Na_Na_Na_Na: (and kidnap meatball, mwahaha!) Or you could post them me and accidently drop meatball into the package:Na_Na_Na_Na: Only joking

Pioden


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

Pioden said:


> I don't know about the hermits yet. As yet, i'm unsure about where i'm going to be living next year. Maybe at my boyfriends house, so if theres room and everybodys willing there may be a possibility of getting some then but not sure. I want one! or 2 or 3 or 4, haha. I want pics of pinchy:smile: Let me know who gets the first spectre nymph and i shall run over to your house to fetch them:Na_Na_Na_Na: (and kidnap meatball, mwahaha!) Or you could post them me and accidently drop meatball into the package:Na_Na_Na_Na: Only joking
> 
> Pioden


I'm so going to win hehe i have the geckos on my side lol. My eggs will so hatch first lol. We even have heating on now and with warmer whether my room is back to normale temperature and not colder then outside lol *yay*.

jay


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Jay, you big girl, you know im gonna get the 1st hatchling!!! My eggs are near my hermits heat mat so theyre nice and warm!!! Mwhahahaha!!!


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

*seperates jay and nattykins with a stick* now, now no fighting:Na_Na_Na_Na: I don't want my gerald getting hurt. Haha, maybe i won't call mine gerald if i buy one off you. Hmmm...
Now off to find some eucalyptus gunni to feed him when i get him *skips away*

Pioden:lol2:


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

I think spider is about to moult!!!! Hes dug into the sand!!! So it looks like I could have a bigger and betterer crab soon lol!!

Meatball is tucking into a bit of raw lamb, yum yum!! lol!!

Hahaha, you've already named a lil stick insect egg!!!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

nattykins said:


> Meatball is tucking into a bit of raw lamb, yum yum!! lol!!


Ew, meatball! They are quite happy eating raw meat then? Yummy. Tell spider good luck with his moult (if he _is_ moulting). What kind of hermit crabs have you got btw? Theres loads of different kinds aren't there. Strawberry crabs look cute


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

I think theyre all carribbean crabs, so they have nice purple claws. Think meatball is one as well but he is more orange than red and his claw is a brown kinda colour, think thats because hes a juvenile though.

At the mo im not sure whether to move spider into another smaller tank so he's safe from the other two!!

And yup, theyre fine eating raw meat. Theyre scavengers in the wild so will eat anything!! The piece of lamb has been in the crabitat since yesterday morning and i'll leave it for another couple of days, as the food they get in the wild isnt always fresh so it kinda imitates nature. I tried mine on carrot, lettuce, tomato and other salad things but they definately prefer raw meat!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Not sure if its too late to advise about this.Let me know! If spider is moulting it perhaps would be better to move all the other crabs out of the tank rather than risk moving Spider himself. If he is moulting he likely won't appreciate being disturbed. Keep me posted on his progress: victory:


Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

I cant make my mind up he is moulting or not!! He's buried himself right up against the side of the tank so i can actually see him under the sand. He comes out of the shell a bit but most of the time hes in his shell!! Im not going to disturb him but im gonna keep an eye on the others to make sure they dont get at him!!! 
The other 2 are chomping on hermit pellets atm. Throw them in to make sure they get everything they need seeing as they dont eat any veg- typical kids lol!!!


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Pinchy has decided to go naked!!!!! Hes suddenly decided to move house but the shell i got specifically for him doesnt cut the mustard apparently!! SO instead of moving back into his original shell hes doing a naked protest. Off to ebay for more shells lol!!
Will try to get a good pic of a naked hermit coz it looks so weird!! Crab at the front, slug at the back!!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

:lol2: Naked protest. That made me laugh! Bet he looks funny. Watch he doesn't try to pull anyone else out their shells. Read somewhere that a crab would rather be torn apart than give up its shell to another. Be careful with him cos hes probably really vulnerable right now. Aww, bless his little slugy self No one done any moulting yet then?

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Spider has now decided hes not moulting and has un-buried himself lol!!!! I took Meatball out of the tank while pinchy was au natural just in case he took a nip at him and spider just didnt care less lol!! I managed to scoop Pinchy up into one of the other spare shells and now i think he's annoyed at me coz I put an end to the naked protest by scooping him up into his spare shell that i dont think he likes- men eh? (well, i think theyre guys???!!!). lol

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

eBay.co.uk: 5 X LARGE Hermit Crab Shells Marine aquarium Reptile (item 170094734780 end time 02-Apr-07 21:54:40 BST)

5 hermit crab shells £4.75 with £1.95 postage. Not too bad i thought.Says they are ideal for medium to large hermit crabs. Could always get them as a back up plan in case you don't find any suitable ones at the beach. Tell pinchy to stop parading around naked and pull himself together:Na_Na_Na_Na:

Pioden


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Meh, Pinchy died last night!!! Made him as comfy as posible tho. I emailed someone in America who said it could have been stress induced from being moved out of the wild, to a wholesalers, pet shop then my house. Coz when they get stressed they stop producing a hormone that lets them moult and produce another hormone that stops them from moulting.
Im off to scotland tomorrow but when I get back im gonna get a couple more hermits coz ive only got spider and meatball now.
Just tickled by the irony- my pinchy only lived a few weeks with me, as did pinchy in the simpsons!!!!

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

Am sorry Poor pinchy. I thought he was just being vain. R.I.P Pinchy. The bf is teasing saying don't eat him like homer ate pinchy. I have slapped him for you. You'll have to look forward to getting some new ones when you come back from scotland:smile:

Pioden


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## macpegg (Mar 23, 2007)

Hi Im new. I have just purchased 4 Hermies.

The hermies are really cute, only about 4 months old i was told.

I`ll post some pics when i get home with them


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## nattykins (Feb 10, 2007)

Im gonna go and get two new hermits next week.
Dont worry, there wasnt enough meat on pinchy to eat him lol!!!! And tell your bf that none of my other crabs are big enough to eat so tell him to stay away!! lol

Nats


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I'll keep him away, haha. Just been to the norfolk broads boating all week. I managed not to sink the boat, yay:Na_Na_Na_Na: Went to great yarmouth to the sealife centre and they had hermit crabs (pagurus bernhardus) and they were living underwater in a tank full of fish! I was always under the impression that hermits can easily drown if you give them water too deep. I remember reading it somewhere and thinking it was wierd as they live by the sea. But these seemed content just sitting on the gravel at the bottom. Do you know if its just certain species that can live underwater or am i just being thick and all of them can live happily underwater??:?

Ooh, and i bought a shell from the amazonia reptile house for when i eventually get my hermits. (in 6million years time, haha). Its pretty n green, haha. Couldn't find any shells on the beach but there weren't really any rock pools so probably wasn't the best area to go hunting. We may try looking further down the coast where there are more rocky beaches.

Pioden


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