Hermit Crabs - Changing Shells

I have Ecuadorian hermit crabs, which are somewhat notorious for not changing shells readily. Indeed, little Sirius Black has molted several times but has yet to change shells - and I've had him nearly 2 years now! Ringshark has changed shells once in the same amount of time, though prior to the permanent change, we did see her try on a different shell once. We watched as she turned a shell over and around, and explored it with her legs, and eventually maneuvered it into position. After hesitating several times, she finally made the switch after 20 minutes. Within 10 seconds, she switched back to her old shell and wandered off. I never saw her look at another shell again until I found the perfect shell at a craft store. I always swing past the shell section and usually there isn't anything appropriate, but one day I saw this shell and immediately thought of Ringshark. I bought a whole pack of crummy shells just to get the one great shell I thought she might like. Imagine how thrilled I was when she moved into it within a couple of days! She hasn't changed again since.

Anyway, I just did some research on shell changing and learned a few things about choosing good shells for my picky crabs. Now I can feel more confident about ordering some new shells online, which is what I will have to do. My craft store find was just lucky, and pet stores around here have a dismal selection of shells appropriate for crabs (except for painted shells, which I will not buy). It is very important to provide a good variety of shells for hermit crabs, as they will be stressed if they don't have decent shells. You also need lots of good shells, and they will get into serious battles over the best shells. More information on shell changing and choosing shells can be found in Choosing Shells for Your Hermit Crab, including why I won't buy painted shells.