I think my hermit crab is stuck in a shell that's too big for him.. How can I help him get out?

Question

My hermit crab has climbed into a shell that I think is too big for him.. He's all the way in the back and his poor feet can't reach out of the opening, therefore keeping him from being able to move, since his legs cant reach the ground, he can't get a grip on anything to push himself out... I know you can't pull a hermit because they would rather loose a limb than give up a shell by force... Please Help! He can't move to be able to eat or drink or anything and I'm getting worried.

Thanks in Advance!

Answer 1

break the shell

Answer 2

wow this is a really confusing situation because if  you pull him out you will automatically kill him but then he might die himself because he it stuck in there. but you cant be 100 percent sure hes stuck so what i would do is  put a whole bunch of shells in there. also hold him in the air facing down over hes tank if he loosens and comes out he probably isn't stuck if he slips out be sure to put a shell in front of him as fast as possible!

i hope i helped. ive never had this before so sorry if it was kinda useless!

please e mail me on how it went [e-mail]

    

Answer 3

my friends and i are very concerned for you and your crab. we wish we could help, but unfortunately we're at a loss for words. best wishes to you and your crab, i hope he finds a way out.

Answer 4

You can get him out by putting the shell upside down under the faucet and put the water on, make sure the water is not to hot or cold. Let a small steam of water fall in the shell and he will come out of his shell. Turn off the water, take away his old shell, and make sure that thier is another shell in the water for him to get into.

Answer 5

I read an answer on here once where this happened and the person used a nail clipper to chip away at the shell. I'm guessing you'd have to be very very careful and take tiny little pieces at a time to make sure not to crack the shell. Good luck.

Answer 6

Well maybe you should take it to your local pet store and have them check it out and ask them what to do.

Answer mine?

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Answer 7

Hey there! I work at Earthbound Trading Company (also known as Romancing the Stone)  so hermit crabs are kind of my area of expertise. Hermies like to try on multiple shells before they settle so if you're worried about him being in too big of a shell just make sure you have some smaller ones sitting around for him. By no means should you try to move him like you said. He'd sooner be ripped in half than let go of his shell by force. As for him not being able to eat or drink you don't really need to worry about that, just set him near/in his food dish or near the sponges at night. It may seem that we won't be able to get a grip on anything with his outer legs, but the four inner legs used to grip the shells are a lot different than his outer ones. They have little grips on them that allow him to not only hold on to the shells, but to situate himself within it and even move out of it.

While I can't really assess the situation perfectly as I can't look at your crab the things above should really be enough.

If you want to up the chances of him moving shells set him in his food dish and put better sized shells around him in easily accessible areas. If he feels he needs to move he will. Really that's all you can do.

If he's not moved in a few days I would recommend taking him in to your local pet store or EBT and asking thier opinions in person.

All hermies are different in their preferences for shells, but they are universally fickle about them. If yours decides that the shell it's in is too big it will use it's smaller inner legs to crawl into a new shell as long as you provide one for him.

If you have anymore questions feel free to message me and I'll help however I can.

-edit- Woah! Just read some of the answers above me. Do not try to chip or break the shells! Hermit crabs have modified gills on their bodies. They use the shells to maintain proper body humidity inside so they can breath. If you break the shells or chip away at them you will be essentially suffocating your hermie. This is a very dangerous thing to do.