Wild hermit crabs of the Florida Keys
Protecting the wild hermit crabs of the Florida Keys.
A nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of the wild Hermit Crabs of the Florida Keys.
Through education, habitat protection, and a shell program supporters ship in from across the country.
Coenobita clypeatus
They’re born without a home.
Purple pinchers are native to the Florida Keys. Every time they grow, they have to find a larger shell. Like a kid outgrowing a pair of pants, they need a bigger shell to keep growing. When empty shells disappear from their habitat, hermit crabs make do with whatever they can find. We have found them living in trash, bottle caps, broken glass, and even a shot glass.
They need empty shells. Hermit crabs can’t grow their own shell, so they borrow empty ones and trade up as they grow.
They face a housing crisis. Shell collection and habitat loss leave growing hermit crabs across the Keys with nowhere to move.
You can help. Leave empty shells where you find them in hermit crab habitat, and send the ones you already own to us. Leave the Shell, Take the Memory.
How it started
It started with one question. A supporter from out of state asked if he could mail us shells. We said yes, and now shells arrive from across the country and beyond.
Two ways to give a hermit crab a home.
A hermit crab's next home could be sitting on your shelf. Send it to us, or if you're in the Keys, leave empty shells where you find them.
Most helpful
Send it.
From home: outgrown pet shells and shells you already own can be shipped to us in Tavernier. We take every shell, and marked boxes get sorted and logged faster.
How to send shellsIn the Keys
Leave it.
In hermit crab habitat, an empty shell is already in the right place. Take the photo. Leave the shell.
See our stories on FacebookShell map
Shells have come to us from all over
Every pin is a city or town where someone mailed shells for the wild hermit crabs of the Florida Keys. Is your town on the map?
Crab Cam · Live from Key Largo
Watch them live.
Live from Transfer Station #1. Up close and personal: wild purple pinchers foraging, climbing, and trading up to new shells in their Florida Keys habitat.
What we do
Conservation, one hermit crab at a time.
Education
We teach visitors, families, and hermit crab keepers why an empty shell matters, in person across the Keys and online.
Conservation Areas
Some partner businesses display our sign certifying them as an Official Hermit Crab Conservation Area and Transfer Station.
Shell program
Shells sent to us are sorted in Tavernier so growing hermit crabs have homes to move into.
See a sign like this? You are standing in a certified Hermit Crab Conservation Area and Transfer Station. Meet our partners →
Membership
Join the Alliance.
A monthly membership with perks for hermit crab fans.
$9.99 / month
- T-shirt and stickers after 3 paid months
- Quarterly drawing for a signed book
- Member discount in the store
- Shells In, Shells Out workshop updates
- Shell Tracks map
Conservation partners
Partners across the Keys.
Local businesses and organizations across the Keys sponsor, advocate, and spread the word for wild hermit crabs. Several also display our sign certifying them as an Official Hermit Crab Conservation Area and Transfer Station.
Who we are
A nonprofit you can trust.
Crustacean Plantation Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 93-3619091.
Led by volunteers
Angela Sayre, President
Brian Sayre, Vice President
Leave the shell. Take the memory.