Do hermit crabs poop in thier shell?

Factual Questions
1

While I was driving Fang to camp this morning, we were discussing crabs. We talked about how they mulch and grow. We covered the difference between blue crabs (the kind we eat - yum) and hermit crabs, and how hermit crabs stay soft on their backside. That’s why they have to find sea shells to live in.

Fang then asked how crabs poop. I told him that their shells have a little flap at their rear, and they poop out of that. He then asked about hermit crabs, and whether they poop in their shells. I told him I had no idea, but I would find out.

So I come to the teeming millions.

Do hermit crabs poop in their shells?

2

They ‘go’ in their shell. The back legs, which also hold them in their shell otherwise, are used to push the waste out.

As a function of growing, Hermit Crabs “molt”…

…if that is what you were trying to say when you said “mulch”.

.

3

Yes - “molt” Thank you. I think I told him “molt” this morning.

4

I’ve got a couple of pet hermit crabs. Bonus fact for Fang: Their poop looks like wild rice grains - longish, thin, and dark.

5

Fun fact: a snail’s anus is behind its head.