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The Problem of Painted Hermit Crab Shells

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A common nature of all the different species of hermit crabs is their shells.
The dependence of a hermit crab to a snail shell can be traced back to the fact that the little crustaceans need to protect their soft abdominal region and also to the natural shyness of the little hermits.
Their shells are worlds to them and these crabs are very particular about a shell.
However, painted hermit crab shells are extremely hazardous to these creatures and every good crab keeper should take care of this fact.
In order to understand why painted shells are hazardous for these creatures it is important to know the interrelation of the crab with its shell and the role of humans in this interrelation.
The shells are an important criterion for this creature's existence and are also symbolic of each crab's identity.
These Creatures are extremely picky about the shell and decides after careful consideration.
The thickness/thinness, the ornamentation and even the type of the shell are factors that add to this decision.
It has also been seen that crabs are temporarily shifting to another shell, just to stay in it for a while and clean the old shell with the claws and feet meanwhile.
After the cleaning is done, the hermit then returns to his own shell.
Sometimes, a crab has also been seen to change a shell for no apparent reasons and pick up a new one.
Besides imparting individuality and shelter to the crabs, a shell also serves the growing purpose of the crabs after successive moltings.
Since molting is a growing process, after each molting the crab may require a new shell house, because the old house may not have enough space for the crab.
However, the painted hermit crab shells that are found in pet stores are hazardous for these creatures for several reasons.
First of all, in the case of painted shells, the focus of attention shifts to the artificial decoration on the shell, rather than on the more important factors like the space and the smoothness inside the shell.
In fact, the painted shells are a way by which insensitive pet-store owners try to push a discarded or defective shell.
While deciding upon a shell, always make it a point to check that there are no holes or cracks in the shell and the shell has sufficient living space in it.
If the shell is studded and bejeweled for the purpose of ornamentation then the chances of the shell cracking are increased manifold.
Moreover, a studded shell should be avoided firsthand because of the reason that studding invariably causes holes in the shells and the studs protrude internally inside the shell.
A painted shell is also hazardous to the super-sensitive hermit crabs due to the toxicity of the paint.
The paint can be very harmful to these creatures and the crab may go into a drastic shock due to the contact with the toxic paint.
The odor of the paint may also create serious choking hazard for the crab inside his shell.
In a nutshell, painted hermit crab shells have not been designed to make these creatures safe and happy.
The main purpose why shopkeepers sell painted shell is to render the crab artificially attractive and push the little crustacean for sale.
It is necessary to understand that this is torture for the little crabs that are never bred in captivity.
Fortunately, there are caretakers of the crabs who consider this a serious issue and so there is an online petition that gathers signs against the use of painted shells by hermit crabs.
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