Hermit Crabs

Question
My hermit crab is very active and seems very happy. But, I often see him lying around his tank sideways on his shell, with the rest of his body sticking out of his shell (he's never been fully out of his shell). He's never done this before, and the hermit crab he used to live with just recently passed. Is he just more comfortable? Or do you think there is something wrong?

Also, he recently just moulted, and now there are brown dark spots appearing on specific spots on his new exoskeleton. Is this normal?

Answer
Dear Kelly,
thank you for your question.
Hanging out of the shell may be a sign that it's too hot in the tank or it might be a sign of illness, in that case there is not much you can do. But check the temperature, overheating is very dangerous for land hermit crabs and can kill them. Or there might be something in the shell that irritates him, make sure he has enough other shells in his size to move into.
I cannot say much about the brown spots without a picture. Did they appear directly after the molt or over a period of time? If they look like the spots the crab in this pitcure has:
http://www.geocities.com/hermit_crabs/carol/images/newhrdwlk99.jpg
they are normal and only more pronounced directly after a molt.
http://landhermitcrabs.com or
http://hermitcrabassociation.com
are both very active and friendly message boards for land hermit crabs and I recommend that you post about the spots there, if you can, add a picture of the crab. The people are very knowledgeable and will be able to help.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer