Is it okay if your hermit crabs chirp?

Do hermit crabs mourn lost hermies?

• One of my hermit crabs recently died (likely from the stress most pet hermit crabs go through from the process and all, she died soon after I got her) and the one who was living with this hermit crab most of the time (I had gotten two others soon before she died) keeps going over to the area she died at and slowly examining everything. I cleaned out the area after taking out the hermit crab and everything, so I believe there is no evidence of her ever even dying there, but I could be wrong. And the second hermit crab seems to be proving me wrong. Because of the way she's acting, I'm curious of if hermit crabs mourn lost hermit crab friends. If there's any need for specification, they are purple pincher hermit crabs and the one who died was the larger of the two. The one who is alive is small enough to crawl on one finger of mine (she's so adorable!). They were both female and got along really well (though the larger of the two was always shy to come out of her shell, likely due to bad treatment before I bought her). Also, as a bonus question, I've been trying to get these two hermies to change shells soon after I got them (they had both been in painted shells, which I know is bad for them). For the one who is left, how can I encourage her to get in an all-natural shell? I have plenty of shells for her to choose from. She just doesn't seem to want to change.

• Answer:

  There is no way to force a hermit crab to change shells, they either do or they don't. I spent like $80 on shells from Florida, all natural no paints, but only a couple changed, the shell opening has to be just the right size. I would try boiling the shells in hot water (dechlorinated or bottled water if you live in the city/town) for 5 minutes to remove anything that might be in the shell or any residues that might have ended up on the shells you are trying to get them to change into. Make sure you cool them off after. I don't think you crab would mourn the loss of another crabs death, I have had crabs for about 7 years now, and I didn't get a chance to move one of them out of the main tank to molt, and the other crabs had him for dinner, they even dug under the plastic wall I had in place as a barrier to get to him, there was nothing left but a shell in the morning. Crabs will eat each other, so I always make sure to give them some protein now and again on top of regular food to satisfy their need for meat. I mean they are scavengers. But as long as there isn't one long crab I think your crabs will do swimmingly.