Painted Hermit Crab Shells A Health Hazard?

As you may know, hermit crabs are the only crustacean not born with their shell

, but rather they are born in the ocean with an exoskeleton or a tough outer layer, and as they make their way to shore, must find a shell for protection from predators. Hermit crabs typically find a small sea snail shell to use as their new home, but the shell they find in the wild and the shells we as pet keepers introduce to our crabs are completely different.

As the owner of many hermit crabs myself, it is easy to want to purchase the painted hermit crab shells, with their mesmerizing colors, unique designs, and sometimes artistic applications like puppet eyes pasted to the shell that you would find at your local art store. It is fun for the kids, it looks entertaining in the hermit crab cage, but introducing painted hermit crab shells to your tank for your crabs may not be the healthiest option for your pets.

When we used painted hermit crab shells in our tank, regular sea snail shells found near the ocean is painted with designs and attractive colors. Interestingly enough, hermit crabs in the wild will fight to the death to avoid abandoning their shell, which is a instinctual benefit in the wild, but can create major health issues for painted hermit crab shells for pet crabs in captivity.

As hermit crab owners, because we desire for cute and interesting accessories for our pets, many street vendors or entrepreneurs find a great and profitable market to paint and sell such hermit crab shells. Because the natural molting process of hermit crabs requires the crab to change shells multiple times in their lifetime, it is important to offer safe alternatives for your hermit crab to complete their natural behavior. Certain sales information has stated that the painted hermit crab shells can remain wet inside the shell, thereby causing the crab to stick to the inside of the shell and be unable to leave or change shells. This unfortunately results in death.

There are other reasons why opting to offer painted hermit crab shells over traditional shells can harm your crab. At craft stores or home improvement stores, paints that are advertised as non toxic are only nontoxic to humans, and would result in a health hazard to your crab. It is also important to remember that various types of paint and varnish is non toxic when touched, but when ingested or consumed, can be lethal.

It is important to remember that paint from painted hermit crab shells can also be chipped off and consumed by your pet. Lastly, similar to a grain of sand or substrate becoming stuck inside your crabs shell, if a paint chip becomes lodged in your crabs shell, it can cause major irritation.

It is obvious that these painted hermit crab shells are pretty to look at while impressing our friends or family, but introducing painted shells can shorten your crabs life span. It is understood that our pet hermit crab can survive more than two decades when well cared for. It is best to give your hermit crabs every health advantage possible by offering natural shells instead of opting for the painted hermit crab shells.

by: Jessica Peloski

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