*A crab's gender is very difficult to determine, but there are two ways experts can identify a female. One way is by looking for gonopores, the tiny holes on the underside of the 1st segment of the 3rd leg of a female. A second way is to observe the pleopods, three egg-holding, hair-like appendages that protrude from the left side of the abdomen. Both the gonopores and pleopods are only observeable when the crab has stretched far out of his or her shell. It is recommended that owners do not seek to find these, as the crab could be inadvertetly mishandled during this process. Again, hermit crabs cannot reproduce in captivity, so gender should be of no concern.
*Hermit crabs can smell food up to 6 feet away.
*Hermit crabs are nearly nocturnal creatures, which means they are most active at night when you are sleeping but they can still be awake during the day also.
*Hermit crabs sometimes make a croaking or chirping sound.
*A hermit crab's urinary bladder is located near its eyes!
*They carry a small supply of water inside their shell for drinking.
*When first hatched, hermit crab babies swim in the ocean for 26-60 days as plankton and are only one-eighth of an inch long.
*Each crab has a unique personality and preference for food and shell types.
*Size is the best indicator of a hermit crab's age, yet with a microscope scientists can more accurately determine a crab's age by measuring mineral deposits at the base of the long feelers after the crab's death.
*Every summer in Ocean City, New Jersey the annual Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant is held. There are even hermit crab races!
*Hermit crabs can live to be as old as 75 years! At this age, they are likely up to 7-inches long.
*One woman has kept the same pair of hermit crabs for 25 years! She bought them when they were the size of a dime, and today they are the size of a tangerine!
*Hermit crabs are omnivores. This means they like to eat meats, fruits, and vegetables.
*They keep the inside of their shells very clean, removing waste products as necessary.
*Hermit crabs have compound eyes.
*Laboratories have tried to breed and raise hermit crabs in captivity, but their attempts have been unsuccessful.
*Hermit crabs breathe through gills. They are unlike fish gills because they cannot breathe under water, and they are unlike lungs in that they do not expand and contract. A hermit crab's gills need to be kept moist so that oxygen molecules will stick to them.
*Hermit crabs can smell food up to 6 feet away.
*Hermit crabs are nearly nocturnal creatures, which means they are most active at night when you are sleeping but they can still be awake during the day also.
*Hermit crabs sometimes make a croaking or chirping sound.
*A hermit crab's urinary bladder is located near its eyes!
*They carry a small supply of water inside their shell for drinking.
*When first hatched, hermit crab babies swim in the ocean for 26-60 days as plankton and are only one-eighth of an inch long.
*Each crab has a unique personality and preference for food and shell types.
*Size is the best indicator of a hermit crab's age, yet with a microscope scientists can more accurately determine a crab's age by measuring mineral deposits at the base of the long feelers after the crab's death.
*Every summer in Ocean City, New Jersey the annual Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant is held. There are even hermit crab races!
*Hermit crabs can live to be as old as 75 years! At this age, they are likely up to 7-inches long.
*One woman has kept the same pair of hermit crabs for 25 years! She bought them when they were the size of a dime, and today they are the size of a tangerine!
*Hermit crabs are omnivores. This means they like to eat meats, fruits, and vegetables.
*They keep the inside of their shells very clean, removing waste products as necessary.
*Hermit crabs have compound eyes.
*Laboratories have tried to breed and raise hermit crabs in captivity, but their attempts have been unsuccessful.
*Hermit crabs breathe through gills. They are unlike fish gills because they cannot breathe under water, and they are unlike lungs in that they do not expand and contract. A hermit crab's gills need to be kept moist so that oxygen molecules will stick to them.
