Empty shells sold here---anyone buy them?

[clarkiiboi]

Site says 1/2 in. shells, but my crabs are in larger shells than that. What sizes did you get and was there a variety of sizes? Is it worth ordering? Where else if you dont have access (coast line) can one get shells? LFS has some, but not big enough. Thanks.

 

[jawfishray]

Seriously,
VA beach tourist shops will have the shells you seek. You gain nice attractive shells for a decent price.
But, avoid the painted, glittlered, etc ones. Just clean proper sized shells.
Boil them a couple times...or rather steep them in boiling salt water for a couple times (not tap, as boiling tap can leave metals and minerals on the shells), new water each time. Invest in a $1 kids toothbrush, new, and scrub away. A little invested time and you will be rewarded.
I have a couple other sources, email for details if you don't want to go to the beach.
peanutbutterjellyfish at yahoo.com
Ray

 

[footbag]

I have bought the shells from this site. Some are bigger then 1/2", some are smaller. I was a little dissapointed with the sizes as only 5 or so of the shells were big enough to upgrade a growing scarlet hermit, but If you need shells you need shells.
The suggestion above about VA beach sounded good if you can find them.

 

[scotts]

Just be prepared to air out your house after you boil the shells. Trust me the smell is AWFUL!
Scott

 

[jawfishray]

LOL, thats a good one...well your shells will have an odor, if, they still have animals in them.
The point of boiling the bare shells is to remove dust, dirt, oils, roach eggs, suntan oil, and whatever else can and will be on these shells.
Use a small amount of sand to act as a scrubing agent instead of a detergent.
No animals, no smell, no worries.
:yes:
Ray

 

[footbag]

Actually, a bunch of the shells i got had hermits in them. Should have put water in the bag.

 

[fishtanker]

if you need shells you can try your local fabric/craft type store. i picked mine up there i got around 100 of them for about $2.

 

[scubagirl]

Really, the craft store is a good idea. We had some shells for decoration and out of curiousity we cleaned a few and stuck them in. One was hosted within a few days. All of my crabs killed my Margarita snails and took thier shells.

 

[scotts]

All that I know is that I bought some hermit crabs and extra shells from here. They recommended to boil the extra shells, so I did. I swear I could not get the smell out of my noise for at least 2 weeks. In fact I can still remember the smell.
Scott

 

[clarkiiboi]

Thanks all! I can't make a road trip/vacation anytime soon, so I will try the craft store. I was thinking of that, but figured they would have glaze or paint on them. I'll give it a shot anyways.
jawfishray Thanks for the tip on using saltwater to boil, I would of used tap without thinking about it. Sand is a good idea too. Thanks again all

 

[clarkiiboi]

Oh and just for safety measures, I'll boil them outside on the grill burner and close all my windows LOL.