Crustaceans, Original Wild Facts

Wild Fact #807 – Home Away from Home – Hermit Crab

The long weekend is just around the corner so I hope you have your plans figured out by now.  If you don’t then I want you to take a break from your weekend planning and enjoy today’s fact about the Hermit Crab.

The Hermit Crab is a small crustacean that can be found throughout the ocean, usually hanging out in tidal pools.  This particular crab is not related to the true crabs with the big difference being the hermit’s soft body.  In order to protect their soft, weak body from predators the Hermit Crab will find a sea-shell to call home.  Once they find one that fits just right they will pull themselves inside of it leaving their legs and head exposed.  As the crab grows they will replace their shell with a larger, better fitting one.  I bet the Realtor hermit crab makes a ton of money selling fancy shells to the other crabs.

So what do these little guys eat when they aren’t scavenging the bottom looking for a new home? Well, they are an omnivore so they generally feed on plankton, small fish and their favourite food, invertebrates which includes worms.  Their shell may help protect them from predators but they still have to be on the lookout for sharks, fish, squid and octopus which all enjoy feasting on hermit crabs.  It is believed that hermit crabs will try to outsmart their predators by hiding with animals such as sea anemones which act as their bodyguard.

Hermit Crab Fast Fact: The hermit crab is commonly kept as a pet since they are small and easy to take care of.  Some species of hermit crab can live as long as 30 years if they are taken care of properly.  Could you imagine having a crab for 30 years?

Well that is all for today.  Tune in tomorrow for the last fact before the long weekend.

9 Comments

    1. hahahahaha!

      This just made my day, Grace.

      Thanks for putting a smile on my face. For the record, I haven’t found you to be crabby!

  1. Wow! I can’t Imagine that They can Live up to 30 years in Captivity! O_O
    I actually Pet them but they lasted Only 1 month T~T i think I am a Bad Pet Owner huhu!
    Oh By the Way! There’s a Specie of Hermit Crab here in the Philippines that is larger than a Coconut! 😀 It is Called the Coconut Crab /Birgus Latro/
    It is Called Coconut Crab because its Favorite meal is the coconut but as other Hermit Crab it is an Omnivore, it eats everything, from Fruits to dead Carcases XD. It is the Largest Arthropod and he has no Shell to call Home but has an armadillo like armor on the back but not entirely that it have to curl it’s belly underneath 😀

    1. The Coconut Crab sounds awesome. I think I will have to do a Wild Fact post on them in the very near future. Thanks for sharing this information!!!

      P.S. Your pet only lasted one month??!? That is too bad but maybe it wasn’t anything that you did. I say try again and if it lives a short life try buying a pet rock or something 🙂

    2. I have 3 hermit crabs and I’ve have one of them since last june, surprisingly enough I got him from a fair. Now that I have done more research, I strongly discourage you from getting a hermit crab at a fair.

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