It is so easy to find hermit crab. If you see a fast “walking” snail shell, that’s it. Hermit Crab uses discarded shells for protection. The one I show here is a mangrove hermit crab (genus Clibanarius), which is easily identified by its blue-striped legs.

Hermit Crabs are scavengers, with a good sense of smell. When threaten, they will retreat into their shells. They are very impatient though. After 1 or 2 minutes, they will try to crawl away.

Since a dead shell cannot grow with the body of hermit crab, as they become larger, they look for and move into larger shells. I wonder how they pick or upgrade a “house”. It even uses wood as its home (below is the evidence)!

Hermit crab may not be the only one attracted by an abandoned shell…

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre, Sabah, Malaysia