![](https://dev.hermit-crab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Hermit2.jpg)
“But what are Hermit Crabs?” you may ask. Hermit crabs, consist of about 1,000 species and all of them share one behavior: they use shells of other animals or hollow objects to protect themselves. Their bodies don’t contain much protection such as hard protected carapace and without a shell, they are highly vulnerable to the eyes of predators.
Hermit crabs also have these distinctively shaped spiral abdomens. Their abdomen’s shape helps them to grip smoothly onto their shells from the inside. And when they start to grow and they feel that the shell is too small for their size, they will go out and search for a new and larger one. They will even fight against other hermit crabs for the shells!
![](https://dev.hermit-crab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Hermit1.jpg)
Interestingly enough, they are active little creatures and their name “Hermit Crab” is quite inaccurate due to their social and active nature especially in the night. You’ll see them burrowing in the sand, crawl on top of rocks or anything of hard surface on beaches.