This is something you don't see every day!
The moment when our resident Hermit Crab swapped out his old digs for a roomier, upgraded new home was cause for shell-ebration! He was picky with the decision, opting for a light and spacious blue spiral shell.
Unlike other crabs, the hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) has a soft abdomen; it carries a seashell to protect its vulnerable abdomen from predation and can retract its whole body into the shell.
Hermit crabs are very picky when it comes to choosing a new shell. They spend a long time sizing up a new shell to determine if it’s going to be a good fit for them - it has to be big enough to accommodate their entire body as well as provide the right environment for gas exchange,” says Andrea Cotter, the Assistant Curator - Amazon at the Vancouver Aquarium, an Ocean Wise initiative. “The shell is also their home so it also has to be light enough for them to carry around.”