Coastal Residents Looking for Safe New Homes

Finding the right residence can be an exceptionally challenging activity, especially during this summer of excessively high demand. There are so many features and factors for the prospective occupant to consider, especially if not the original owner.

The home has to have the necessary space and the other amenities suitable for the new owner’s position and status. Cozy is one thing, but tight quarters are a completely unacceptable situation.

There is also the question of the neighborhood and fitting in with the other residents who call the area home. One solution is a mobile residence, so if the area’s occupants become unruly or obnoxious then it is time to relocate.

While most mobile homes are not really mobile, there is a resident on the coast of panhandle Florida that has taken these concepts to a time-tested level of near perfection. Hermit crabs occupy thousands, if not millions, of once-used marine gastropod shells in the shallow waters off the coast.

The local species are members of the super family Paguroidea. This group is composed of approximately 1100 species worldwide, the striped hermit crab (Clibanarious Vittatus) being the most common species locally.

Any low tide can reveal hermit crabs as they cross between tidal pools in search of tidbits of food. Gulls, terns and other birds are potential predators waiting for a luckless hermit crab that outgrew its shell.

With no protective shell to shield them from predatory sea creatures, the hermit crabs commonly use the uninhabited shells of marine snails. If the shells of deceased gastropods are not available at the moment of need, other materials will be appropriated for immediate, but temporary, use.

In a pinch, any detritus with the necessary cavity and correct opening size will work. This has even included wood scraps which have been artificially perforated or abandoned by marine worms.

These native crabs have a long and soft tail-like abdomen which needs the protection of the adapted home. This muscular appendage firmly grips its new surrounding as the basis of lifesaving armor.

If the hermit crab is lucky, it avoids becoming a snack for fish, stingrays, birds or terrestrial creatures which will quickly eat it. Its small size and relatively weak claws leave it with only the appropriated shell as a defense in a hostile world.

This striped hermit crab can take its “home” along on its rambling quest for food and a mate. Its hard shell provides necessary protection from predators and competitors.

Depending on the availability of empty shells, hermit crabs can be brutally competitive when in relocation mode.

Hermit crabs are most commonly viewed on the beach as they maneuver awkwardly in their search for tidbits of nourishment. Even gentle surf will undermine their footing and spin them violently in the retreating wave.

Persistently and patiently, they will continue to emerge from the waves while lugging their latest abode above them. In north Florida waters, the hermit crabs may occupy shark’s eye snail shells, a variety of conchs, welks or murex shells, periwinkles and many others.

Young beach goers have been amused for generations by the clumsy antics of these tiny crustaceans. Occasionally, they are smuggled home with the hopes of a novel pet, only to be discovered deceased (and stinky) a few days later.

As cruel as it may seem, a hermit crab’s endless search for a new home is best in the shallow coastal waters.