Breeding

 Although many believe that breeding hermit crabs can’t be done, we have heard otherwise. I will add however, that it is very hard to breed hermit crabs. Crabs will mate in captivity, but beyond that there is much work for the caretaker or owner to do in order for all to pull through. 

 In the wild hermit crabs will mate, and as the eggs are released, the female will hold the eggs in her shell around her abdomen with her two tiny feet within. When the time is right, the female will then release her eggs into the ocean for her eggs to hatch and survive on their own. Many land hermit crabs only return to the ocean to release the eggs and stay further from the shore, but this is where the adventure begins for her offspring.

  The eggs will drift off in the current and those that make it past predators will hatch and little zoea will be born. The zoea will remain as parts of plankton until it has gone through several molts and transforms through metamorphosis, into a juvenile hermit crab. As young land hermit crabs that are fully formed they will leave the ocean to find something for covering their tiny abdomens. At this time their gills will be ready to take on the oxygen and they will be more than ready to go exploring with curiosity at full force. Many may not make it to finding a shell for protection, but for those who do, they are on their way through a great exploration.