QuestionDlee,
Every year I assist my grandson (now 9 years old) with a project for his school's science fair. I purchased three hermit crabs for him earlier this year as a reward for his making all A's on his report card, so we thought that we'd use them in his science fair project this year. Of the initial three crabs, we lost one (Red Claw). He burrowed himself and stayed down for so long that we decided to check on him. When we did, he was dead. We decided to purchase two new crabs so that we'd have a representative sample for his science fair project.
Please don't think that we are using the crabs solely for this project. My grandson had an interest in them prior to this and actually requested them as his reward for making all A's. We both care for them on a regular basis. I have shared my research with him and we have both become quite knowledgeable about their care and maintenance.
Therefore, when the time came for the science fair, we thought it would be a natural step for us to use them as a subject and possibly learn something more about them in the process. I searched the web diligently for a science fair project topic for hermit crabs and found only two, which were: 1) "what lighting conditions do hermit crabs prefer?", and 2) "do hermit crabs change shells only when they outgrow the one the are currently in?". We chose the second one.
My problem is that I had repeatedly requested guidelines from the school regarding format and deadlines and have not received anything yet. Today my daughter informed me that the complete project is due next Friday. My grandson and I have only been doing our research for a week and I'm not sure we can gather enough data to either prove or disprove our hypothesis in just two weeks.
Our methodology has been to assign and mark each crab's current shell with a different color nail polish. When the crab changes into a new shell, we mark it with the color that was assigned to that crab. So far, the two original crabs (Big Joe and Razor) have not changed shells at all. Of the new ones we purchased, the one that honestly looks like he's about to outgrow his old shell (Spiral) has not changed into a new one. The other one (Camouflage) has changed shells twice. I have noticed (only because their crabitat is in my bedroom and they sometimes keep me up at night with all the noise) that Big Joe and Razor (the two original crabs) sometimes actually sleep in the shell basket and are always looking at new shells, but never seem to find one they like. I even went out and purchased new shells and a larger basket to give them more of a choice.
So I guess my question is this. Do you think that a week is adequate time for the current project we are researching (do crabs actually change shells often?), or do you know of any other project(s) that we could complete in this time frame? I have seen only one other project mentioned (no detailed information provided) that accompanies hermit crab starter kits that are sold on the Internet. They are being marketed as "science fair projects" and they list the topic of "how do hermit crabs eat, live and grow?" However, I'm not sure that I know how to formulate that topic into a provable hypothesis.
If you know of any other resource that I can check, or have personal knowledge of a condition or behavior common to hermit crabs that we could test, please let me know.
I realize that this website promises responses in three days or less, but I would appreciate a response to this question just as soon as I can get it, even if the answer is "no". After all, I only have seven days left to complete this project.
Many thanks for your help.
Marilyn
AnswerI have many questions to anwser in many pet areas so can not take alot of time anwsering just one question,
Hermit crabs do change shells outside of moulting...when they find a new shell that seems to fit and is smooth on the inside they will change...you need to have several shells per crab in the tank 3 per crab worked great for my crabs(I sold them), Make sure to place the nail polish on the very top of the shell and a very small amount it may harm the crabs if it contaminates there water when they enter it.
