How do you get a marine hermit crab out of it's shell safely?

Question

I am conducting experiments on hermit crabs for my dissertation and need to first attach heart rate monitors to them to let me know if they are getting too stressed (I realised that removing them from their shells will stress them, but it is an imperative part of the experiment). So I need to know how to remove them and then return them to their shells without hurting them?

Answer 1

Purchase marine hermit crabs that are already fully sticking out of the shell. These are more likely to be seeking a new shell. Have lots of larger size, extra shells available.

This is a joke though, right? I can just see little hermit crab heart attacks occurring as we speak!

Answer 2

Yahoo Answers is not the best place to do dissertation research.  I suggest a library.

Answer 3

You cannot safely remove a hermit crab from their shells with out causing damage or stress to the animal.

Also because of the physiology of a hermit crab attaching heart rate monitors is not going to be useful.

If you have done any amount of study on hermit crab species you should know that they would rather be ripped in half then give up their shells. Also pulling them from their shell will naturally be too much stress,  

Answer 4

Pick them up and suspend them just above the water.  Eventually they will figure that they are stuck, and will leave their shell and drop into the water in search of another shell.