How do you know if a hermit crab is pregnant?

Answer 1

If you think your hermit crab is pregnant pick it up by the shell and let it slide out the shell a bit and if you have red balls on the side of the crab it is pregnant. Also when they turn gray they are about to hatch.But this is only true if the crab is in the ocean because they can only lay eggs in the ocean.

hermit crabs will more then likely never breed in captivity, so you have nothing to worry about. also, I've noticed, that out of the six that i have randomly chosen, none ended up female, so there is good chance you don't have a female in your tank. course this is just from my experience.

Answer 2

Hermit crabs dont breed in captivity, they need the ocean. But to tell, the hermie has a sack of eggs, but its different from a the sack they have when they are about to molt. Its in near the abdomen.

Answer 3

unlike mammals, who get pregnant and after a certain amount of time later give birth, hermit crabs lay eggs. You can't really tell just from looking at a female if she has produced eggs yet or not unless she is far out of her shell, and then you will see tiny red balls on her side if she is pregnant. the red eggs turn grey when mature and ready to be thrown into the ocean. In the wild, a female hermit crab would release the eggs into the sea, where the eggs would then hatch and mature from a larva to an adult. In captivity the hermit crabs are not near the sea and thus have been seen breeding less often. Although she may produce eggs and release them, many hermit crab owners have a very hard time keeping the larva at ideal conditions for growth and they most often die.

Go to http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com/lifecycle.html for more information on this and to hear about one lady who is trying to breed hermit crabs in captivity.

Answer 4

hermit crabs have gooowie like egs that look rather like snot, but your hermit crab eggs will not hatch as they need to be fertilized in sea salt water which you probably don't have access to. if you do, and you find the goowie orenge snot, and if you have access to the sea salt water,then go for it, you may have hermit babies, but goodluck on finding them shells. best of luck

Answer 5

Answer: Hermit crabs don't breed in captivity. If yours has babies, you could be rich for knowing how.

Answer 6

If it is a pet, they won't. Hermit crabs lay eggs, and they do not reproduce in captivity, only the wild.

Answer 7

I'm not sure but I've heard that when breeding there legs tangle together.

Answer 8

They don't get pregnant, all invertebrates egg-layers.