Do crabs die when they leave their shells? And if a crab leave its shell what can you do to make it go back inside?
There is a high chance they might die if they can't find another shell soon enough. Staying without a shell for too long is very dangerous for them due to their soft abdomen. You should always have shells around your crab in case it needs to change the shell.
You'll have to gently coax your hermit crab back into its shell, but you need to make sure the shell is clean and safe for it and with no holes in it. Also don't forget to check to make sure your hermit crab doesn't have any injuries from leaving the shell.
Thanks for the tips guys, I managed to get him in a shell! I had to add a couple new shells and let him decided which one he liked. He picked one of the painted shells, are those okay?
I highly advise against painted shells, especially if you don't know what the paint used is made of. I also wouldn't buy a crab in a painted shell because of the inhuman way fo forcing a crab into those painted shells. Watch this video and see for yourself:
Oh, wow! I didn't know about that, but thankfully I never bought a hermit crab in a painted shell. The painted shell I have, I made myself and just to be on the safe side I'm going to try and get him to switch to a natural shell.
