Hermit crabs

• Their eyes are on stalks

• They live in borrowed shells

• They have two sets of antennae

• They are nocturnal

• Food - plants as well as meat

The vacancy chain

When the shell of a hermit crab becomes too small he has to go house hunting. They grow more slowly if they are squashed up inside their shell, and worse still they can't hide inside a shell that is too small. It's important they find a new shell soon.

These clever crabs form what's called a 'Vacancy Chain' to help each other out. They line up in order of size, holding onto each other from largest to smallest. Speed is important because no crab wants to be without a shell for very long.

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What is a hermit crab?

5 mins

Choose the number of pieces you want in your puzzle and see how quickly you can put the jigsaw puzzle together.