Here he is again carrying his very distinctive red, tube style home.
Hermit crabs or Soldier Crabs are usually very particular about their shells. Shell switching is not uncommon as the crab searches for the perfect shell. Barry and I had laid out four shells we had and it seemed that his preference was for the West Indian Top Snail shell.
We helped him shed the red tube and he gradually worked his way into his new home.
The hermit crab has four tiny legs to hold the shell in place…a fourth leg that clasps the shell and the fifth that holds the shell.
Here’s a close up of the Hermit Crab’s fourh and fifth legs that grasp onto the shell.
Another view of the additional much smaller legs as the Hermit Crab moves into his new shell home.
In the wild, Hermit or Soldier Crabs feed off of coconut trees, leftovers from humans, and they will scavenge dead organisms, such as fish and other crabs. By the way, if they can’t find an adequate shell, they will use such man made things as plastic glasses, tiny one person jam jars, PVC pipes or whatever they can scrounge.
OK……….finally it’s time to move in !
Almost set to go and settling in.
Home Sweet Home and we’re on the road again.
Hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed photographing this little guy and helping him along in finding his new home.
Marta