hermit crabs

rick12 · #1 12/03/2007, 08:05 PM

do they shed--there skins?

richofoz · #2 12/03/2007, 08:14 PM

yep!

stevelkaneval · #3 12/03/2007, 08:15 PM

its called molting. all crabs, shrimp do it. bc there exoskeleton cant grow with them.

reefergeorge · #4 12/03/2007, 08:15 PM

Yes, It looks just like a dead hermit.

rick12 · #5 12/03/2007, 08:17 PM

thanks for the info--wasn't sure if there dead--i guess they will grow out of their shells? do they live long enough?

virginiadiver69 · #6 12/03/2007, 08:29 PM

They will grow out of their shells. You should keep larger ones available for them to move into.

NirvanaFan · #7 12/03/2007, 08:31 PM

the molt should have a hole in it where it pulled itself out of.

The crab grows, but it's exoskeleton does not. Once it gets too big, it will pull out of it's exoskeleton, and the new exoskeleton will harden. They will outgrow the shells they are in and find new ones (killing snails in the process sometimes).

cpl40475 · #8 12/03/2007, 08:31 PM

keep larger empty shells around or they will find your snails and kick the snail out if its shell

rick12 · #9 12/03/2007, 08:51 PM

i guess any type of shells work? like stuff from the pet stores.

iwishtofish · #10 12/03/2007, 09:21 PM

One of my scarlet reef hermits molted today. Here his molt is resting on top of him (in his spiky shell). Magnified much, of course!

steven_dean17 · #11 12/03/2007, 09:29 PM

Don't forget to save all your molts. You can use them to make a jacket!