HERMIT CRABS are funny! For some reason HERMIT CRABS seem whimsical to me so they make me laugh when I see their little legs start coming out of the opening of the shell then … whip … they’re gone again. They tuck their bodies back inside whatever sort of shell they’ve decided to make their home.
They really aren’t “true” crabs since they lack there own external shell which leaves them vulnerable to predators. To protect themselves, they choose an abandoned shell to live in but eventually the HERMIT CARB will outgrow that shell and will have to move out to find another shell to make its home.
Clark and I were at Gulfside City Park where we saw all sorts of fun live critters at the evening’s low tide but Clark called me over to see something he scooped up in his shelling backhoe. OMG! A whole nest of little mini shells all occupied by HERMIT CRABS! These were the smallest ones I think I’ve ever seen- so cute! There are all sorts of living creatures in this “seaweed” Clark scooped up so I wish I had checked everything out a little more closely… but we wanted to get them back to sea as soon as possible so we giggled a bit then Clark took them back where he found them. Check out the video I took of these darling little creatures…
Cool, huh? We also saw dozens and dozens of empty DISK DOSINIAS …
Tania and Nicholas were filling up their buckets with DOSINIAS to take back to Miami for a school craft project. Fun!
Oh wait! I just remembered another video I made for my post Zippy Mini Seashells in 2011 with some other cute little mini shells with HERMIT CRABS in them. Remember this one? Funny!
Sweet mini’s!
How cool…love the little babies!!!! Thanks again Pam for sharing your wonderful finds…
and that is why I always have my feet covered
So funny, all the little legs waving around in the air! They always seem to be occupying the best shells too, don’t they?
Yes, great vid…they alwaysl seem to pick the best shells. Moral delima…what if one was in a Junonia?
When I went to your new vid on YouTube beside it was one called Is This A House For A Hermit Crab….it is a children’s book…worth a look. Eartha Kitt reads…so good.
So glad you like it! some times photos just don’t do things like these little hermies justice- you HAVE to see them moving. It takes more time to do the videos but its waaaay worth it.
Watching you holding that “nest” made me shiver…. reminded me of ants crawling all over! They are kinda cute though. Thanks for another wonderful video – I really appreciate the time you spend on your videos and photos.
Hermit crabs are funny little critters: so fast, argumentative, and always looking for a better piece of real estate. They remind me of New Yorkers!
Now that is FUNNY! LOL
So cool! They definitely pick the nicest shells! I picked up a beautiful tulip last weekend, and turned it over to see if it was occupied… and the hermit crab living inside it darted out at me, making me jump. He gave me a good laugh! Great video!
Thanks for sharing this fun video. Hermit crabs are a “big seller’ at the Jersey Shore. My granddaughter, in her Sponge years, had a hermit crab she named “Gary” who lived for a few years in his cage at home. He got out several times and she found him in many obscure places. Once she even heard him scraping along the kitchen floor! He was a real hermit crab warrior. Sorry he lost his battle after a few years but he was always fun to watch and his adventures I think are pretty adventuresome!
Thank you for educating us on so many things most of will never get to experience. Nature is SO AWESOME!!!
Been here all week and shelling has been fair. Low tides have been amazing and finding lots of shells with critters in them. And the mini’s are everywhere! Where is the hot spots this week? Love this island!
Looks like peeps are finding the good stuff at Gulfside city Park now!
Such cute little critters!!! We had a great time on sanibel and sadly are leaving today. However your videos and posts will help pass the time until we return in the fall. Our favorite finds over the past few days are: a huge ( and surprisingly empty) lightening whelk, alphabet cone, florida cones, 3 pieces of junonia, and a fulgurator olive. It was great to meet you and lots of other shellers! Good luck everyone!!
it was really nice to meet you too Rachelle! you found a fulgurator???? good find!!!
Yep. I was so excited! We were on the captiva side of blind pass under the bridge at low tide. I found it on tuesday evening. I saw the edge of it sticking out of the sand and thought, that can’t be what I think it is….yep it is, sweet! Hope to be back in September.
Cute videos! They also remind me of shellers at Blind Pass as we scurry to find the best spot for shelling without being rude to other shellers! Also, when our heads are down as we walk without realizing there are other people in our path. We have nothing over those New Yorkers Susan mentioned!
This is great!! Before I left for the airport after a great week shelling on Sanibel, I stopped for one last hurrah on Bunche Beach to search the mud flats. I found so many Kings Crown Conchs!! I found two beauties and put them by my flip flops and chair. I got back a while later and was told my shells were gone. What?! “Yeah, they walked back to the ocean!” I scanned the stretch of sand between me and the water and noticed one of my shells struggling to reach the water at low tide. I picked it up, and started laughing when I realized that they weren’t unoccupied after all…. it had a hermit crab inside! :]
This reminds me of a little crab in Hawaii. A couple of years ago my husband and I were sitting on a beach and there were a lot of holes in the sand. Pretty soon we saw little crabs coming out and scurrying around. We were eating peanut M&M’s so my husband threw one down on the sand when a crab was near. The crab hurried over to the M&M, picked it up and immediately took it down one of the holes! We couldn’t believe it. After we stopped laughing, I was wishing we would have gotten a video.
Adorbs! Someday, please take a video of the ‘Shellinator’ using his magic shell scoop so we can get the technique just right! :D
For a good read and great illustrations,the book “Pagoo” which is grade school/ middle school level, tells the life story of a hermit crab named Pagoo. It is very informative as well as entertaining. I recommend it for all ages if you want to know more of the life cycle of a hermit crab.
Yes, Pagoo is a wonderful read and educational too! We took this as read-aloud the first time we visited the beach as family several years ago. After a full day on the beach my husband or I would read this every evening to the children. They still have very fond memories of this particular book.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pagoo-holling-c-holling/1102540810?ean=9780395539644