Biologist Ariel found a box of abandoned hermit crabs after a storm ... Ariel offered each crab a large selection of larger shells to choose which one fits best. They were in the painted shells ...

In 2010, photographer Shawn Miller spotted a hermit crab using a bottle cap as a shell. Later, he found the crabs using discarded measuring cups and laundry detergent caps. He was understandably ...

Instead, hermit crabs have a hard exoskeleton on the front part of their bodies but a soft tail on the other half, which they protect using the discarded shells of other animals, like whelks.

Heartbreaking pictures show how hermit crabs have been forced to use plastic waste as shells. Driven by their instinct to armour themselves the crabs have been seen carrying around toothpaste caps ...

The team was inspired by experiments that involved researchers electrocuting hermit crabs to see how much pain they were willing to endure before they left their shells. The same principle was ...