Hermit Crab - White Legs?

PotatoPig

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So I picked up a few hermit crabs at the LFS and while in QT I noticed two of them have white legs. At first I assumed this was a fresh/pending molt, but it’s been a few weeks now and no change. The other ones are very clearly blue legged and doing fine.

Are these crabs sick or just a different type of hermit? They all seem about the same size, similar behavior, and haven’t seen any aggression between them.
 

reefadam

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Do they have blue eye? I would get these in assorted hermit crab lots and always loved them. They seem to stay smaller than the red legs, but other than that, similar behavior and never noticed them to a pest specifically.
 
OP
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PotatoPig

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Can you attach pictures?
Here we go, should have done this to start…

This one’s shell also seems to have a shell.

IMG_9068.jpeg


 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Here we go, should have done this to start…

This one’s shell also seems to have a shell.

IMG_9068.jpeg


The second shell is probably a hoof snail or similar - harmless literal hitchhikers that ride around on snails and hermits’ shells eating either their host’s waste or whatever food the host brings them into range of eating.
 

vetteguy53081

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So I picked up a few hermit crabs at the LFS and while in QT I noticed two of them have white legs. At first I assumed this was a fresh/pending molt, but it’s been a few weeks now and no change. The other ones are very clearly blue legged and doing fine.

Are these crabs sick or just a different type of hermit? They all seem about the same size, similar behavior, and haven’t seen any aggression between them.
looks like clibanarius species often called white leg hermits. The shell object may be calcareous build up or typical bump on many shells as below

1691804933035.png
 

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