Four Rescued Hermit Crabs Shop for Brand New Shells

Biologist Ariel found a box of abandoned hermit crabs after a storm and saw that their shells were too small for their growing bodies and were also painted, which is very toxic to crustaceans. After feeding them and letting them get settled in, Ariel offered each crab a large selection of larger shells to choose which one fits best.

They were in the painted shells which are toxic to them. Their legs were hanging out of their shells. They could not fully retract inside. They needed to switch out of those shells like yesterday. I created a shell shop. That’s important for them to have shells available at all times.

Ariel then chose their names based on the shells they chose.

They started shell shopping immediately and then I chose their name based off of their shell vibe – Peach, Pierre, Juniper, and Krebs

Ariel also built brand new “crabitat” with lots of enrichment activities so that they could thrive in her care.

The supplies that I needed for the crabitat were a lot of climbing and enrichment items. I know their health is improving because they all just have really different interests and personalities. And I’m glad that they’re feeling comfortable to come out and interact with the different enrichment items.