Musical Shells!

Question
I have a little hermit crab who molted tonight.  Surprisingly, he didn't bury himself or anything, he just sort of popped out and swapped shells.  After about an hour though, he switched back for a while and is now back in the new shell again.  Is this normal?

Answer
Dear Leah,
thank you for your question.
Normally, crabs don't change shells during/after a molt, that happens independently. If the crab didn't bury himself to molt, you need to check the conditions in the crabitat to make sure everything is as it should be, normally a topside molt is a sign of a problem. Some crab that are sick or dying will molt topside, but then they are usually not active, but very lethargic.
You can find more info on crab care on these websites:
www.thecrabbagepatch.com
www.hermitcrabassociation.com
www.landhermitcrabs.com
www.epicurean-hermit.com
www.hermit-crabs.com
http://www.crabbytalk.com/
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer