Hermit confussion

[Colin]

Over the past two or three weeks I have been finding hermit bodies. The weird part is that I know how many I have and they aren't dead. The ones I find are full grown. My question I guess is how is this possable? Can they live in the rocks without a shell?

 

[Bifferwine]

You are probably finding their molts. Hermits shed their exoskeleton just like all crustaceans do.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

+1 Sarah. If you have any shrimp, just wait until you see one of their molts. They molt their whole skeleton and look just like an actualy shrimp just hanging out. The first time I saw that it was a shocker for me also.

 

[Colin]

Ok I was just curious because they had all their colors. It looks just like a dead one. I didnt think it was molting just because of the shrimps molt being clear.

 

[KidJ57]

https://www.livingreefs.com/hermit-molting-t21500.html

I've got a picture in the above the thread of my herit's molt. Not only does it have the full color, but it has the little hairs too. It's pretty cool, I try to crab his large pincer before he eats it because you can actually open and close the claw still...it's pretty fun :mrgreen:

 

[mennazeher04]

Man thats wild about that hermit crab claw. I have only come across one of my skunk cleaner shrimps molt but it was clear, not red and white like he is.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

Here's a pic of my blue leg molting. Pretty neat to see how they squeeze right out of the shell.

 

[coolhandgoose]

That's a cool picture

 

[Colin]

Awesome thats what I was seeing all over.