Hermit changed shells last night. Now he's dead? Why?

Question

My boys each got hermit crabs a week ago. The purple claw kind. My son found a snail shell in the river yesterday. The hermit moved in last night and now he's dead. The shell was the same type that he had been in but was smaller. More of his claws hung out. Why did he die? My other son's hermit is much smaller and seems fine. I haven't been able to tell if they are eating their food. They have been kept at the proper temperature and humidity. I've offered fruit as well as food but it goes uneaten? I have hermit safe water but no salt water. Is it necessary? HELP

Good news...he was playing opossum. He's usually very aggressive and comes out as soon as you pick him up. If you touched his pincher he'd come out. We did and he didn't move at all. Five minutes later he was moving so????? My son is happy and I'll get some saltwater.

Oh...GuyB...I have a life. Lets's see how it is when you have to watch your 7 year old sob over a dead pet. Wait...you probably aren't much older than 7 now.

Answer 1

Ok if they don't get into a bigger shell they will soon die.You need a bigger shell because they grow.

Answer 2

Salt water is necessary for all species of hermit crabs. In the future, I would suggest only using store bought shells. The snail shell could have had parasites or diseases in it.

http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com
http://www.hermit-crabs.com/

Most commercial hermit crab foods are low quality and often go uneaten. The crabbage patch link above has excellent food and supplements that crabs go nuts for.

Also make sure that you use water conditioner is made for hermit crabs. The fish kind can often do more harm than good. The stress of moving from the wild, to a distributor, to the pet store and then to your house can often be enough to kill crabs as well.

Answer 3

Offer shells LARGER than the size of the hermits shell. Instead of snail shells you found... GET THEM HERMIT CRAB SHELLS FROM A PET STORE LIKE PETCO OR PETSMART!!!!!!!!!! Shells you find can have major germs in them that can kill your hermit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

you should research moe on crabs and boil the shell first. the crab will probably die becuase the shell WILL carry germs. talk to your son and say the crab may not make it.

Answer 5

Here is a wonderful site on raising healthy happy hermies! I'm glad yours is OK. :)

http://www.hermit-crabs.com/index.html

Answer 6

get a life instead of playing with hermit crabs