I'm terrible–I rescued three hermit crabs this weekend! Okay, that doesn't make me a bad person.

On Friday I went to one store for cat food and saw a hermit in a terrible old damaged, painted shell. I couldn't leave him so I bought him (I figure for 4.49 I can change his life). He changed shells tonight!!

Today I spent almost the entire day at the pet store where I used to work and brought home two more crabs from there. When I worked there I made sure to take care of them, but no one else really cares about them so the tank has gone way downhill. There were a lot of dead ones. But at least I brought these two home. Here are some pics soon after they arrived at their new home.

They are Coenobita compressus, otherwise known as Es or Ecuadorian crabs, and are native to the Pacific side of Central and South America. Notice how different the coloring is within the same species! A lot of it depends on diet and nutrition.

They are very pretty! Good for you to take them home with you.

Thank goodness for you and your rescues Jen.They will love their new home.

Heheee, they always make me giggle.. I dont know why, I think they are quite comical looking little creatures. I can just imagine them happily scuttling around in your tank

They look great! I'm so happy you were able to help them! I love reading rescue stories here.

hehe.. theyre so cute. i should really get back into keeping the little guys

aw cute! i used to have a few of these guys when i was little

They are so cute I want to get one .
I saw a show one time where there was these Hermit crabs on a beach and they were crawling out of there shells and trying on new stuff on the beach like a bottle cap and stuff it was so cute .

yeah ive seen them in some pretty wierd stuff too, like a small clear glass bottles...

Good for you for rescuing them! Congrats on your new additions, I know that you will make a wonderful home for them. They are cute little bugers!

Aw, hermit crabs in the wild will only try on trash out of desperation and lack of proper shells. You know the ones you see in the mall kiosks with the awful painted shells? That's the only reason they are wearing them. All the ones I've had immediately change when offered good shells.

And in the time since I first posted this, I have rescued two more! My boyfriend surprised me just today with another one. He feels so bad and loves rescuing them too.

How can you resist this little face?

Ohh how SWEET!!! I can see the allure. What do they look like out of their shells?

It is not a good sign to see one shell-less! Here are some pics. Just scroll about halfway down and you'll see them: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...ficial%26sa%3DN

I didn't know that they live in trees. I always thought they lived on the beach.

They look funny 'nakie'!

i bought one with a painted shell one time and it switched the night i got 'em

i cant resist that little face. your making me want one really badly.