Even a hermit crab needs an upgrade from time to time.
With its soft abdomen, a hermit crab is vulnerable to predators and relies on a safe, comfortable shell that it can slip its body inside and use as a portable home. But it doesn't keep a shell forever.
As a hermit crab grows bigger, it will need to go house-shopping for a roomier home. (Full-grown hermit crabs are also known to look for a new shell now and then.) When it finds an empty seashells that will serve, it hops out of its old shell and into the new one. No paperwork required.
In the viral video above, watch the moment when one hermit crab -- owned by photographer Steve Guntrip, who captured the footage -- decides to trade up his old shell for a new, more comfortable one.
“I'd never seen this before and grabbed my camera just in time,” Guntrip wrote Tuesday on Reddit.
Beyonce would be proud.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals reminds us that it’s not typically a good idea to keep hermit crabs as pets. If you do own a hermit crab, however, here are some tips to keep your crustacean happy and healthy. Also remember to never release a captive hermit crab into the wild.
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