Post by Rachel on Feb 16, 2014 20:17:38 GMT
This is a basic guide to working out if you have male or female hermit crabs quickly and (if the hermie behaves) easily.
On the underside of a female crab two small dots can be found located on the first segment of the back legs. These are called gonopores and can be tricky to spot. The gonopores are where the male will place his spermatophore during mating and are believed to be slightly larger (and thus easier to spot) on a female that has previously mated.
So where exactly are the gonopores? Well with the help of the lovely Sky (C. violascens) throwing dignity to the wind I can show you.
It is very important to never try and force your crabs to come out enough to see, or to pull them out in any way. Patience is needed and sometimes just during tank exploration you may catch a glimpse while they stretch farther to climb. Crabs do not like or appreciate being dangled so anything more than a brief glance underneath during holding is not ideal and the risk of pinching will always be present. A lot of well established crabs will come out enough for you to tell but some may never allow this, these little ones will have to remain a mystery.
If you have new crabs please, please let them settle in to get past their first moult and initial terror of the "big grabby things" before trying to find out. They go through a lot getting to us and deserve a break.
If anyone has further shots of clearly male or female crabs they would like to share to help demonstrate different species please feel free.
On the underside of a female crab two small dots can be found located on the first segment of the back legs. These are called gonopores and can be tricky to spot. The gonopores are where the male will place his spermatophore during mating and are believed to be slightly larger (and thus easier to spot) on a female that has previously mated.
So where exactly are the gonopores? Well with the help of the lovely Sky (C. violascens) throwing dignity to the wind I can show you.
It is very important to never try and force your crabs to come out enough to see, or to pull them out in any way. Patience is needed and sometimes just during tank exploration you may catch a glimpse while they stretch farther to climb. Crabs do not like or appreciate being dangled so anything more than a brief glance underneath during holding is not ideal and the risk of pinching will always be present. A lot of well established crabs will come out enough for you to tell but some may never allow this, these little ones will have to remain a mystery.
If you have new crabs please, please let them settle in to get past their first moult and initial terror of the "big grabby things" before trying to find out. They go through a lot getting to us and deserve a break.
If anyone has further shots of clearly male or female crabs they would like to share to help demonstrate different species please feel free.
Hellooooo
