Depending on the source that you get your information from, you may have been led to believe that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a male hermit crab and a female one. Provided you know where to look and your hermit crab is willing to cooperate, however, it's actually quite easy. The biggest problem that you'll face is a crab that might not be willing to come out of its shell enough at the time you're trying to determine the gender.
1.Wait for your hermit crab to come out of its shell slightly. It may do this while attempting to climb up the glass of its habitat, when cleaning itself, or when moving into a larger shell. You may also be able to coax it out slightly by lifting its front legs with an unsharpened pencil. Whatever you do, however, don't try to pull on it or be forceful in trying to get it to come out of its shell.
2.As the hermit crab comes out of its shell somewhat, look at the joints where its rear pair of walking legs meets with its body. The joints may be smooth like the rest of its body, or you may see two small holes in those joints. These holes are what you are looking for, as they are the main way to determine whether a hermit crab is make or female.
3.If your hermit crab has the holes present by the rear legs, then the crab is female; these holes are how a male hermit crab inseminates the female. If the holes aren't present, then your hermit crab is male. Make sure that you're looking by the last pair of walking legs, though, because if the hermit crab isn't out of its shell enough then it can be easy to mistake a female for a male because the holes will still be hidden by the shell
4.Should your hermit crab not come out of the shell enough for you to be able to tell whether or not it is male or female, don't give up. You can always try again later, especially when introducing a larger shell or new features to their habitat which will encourage them to come out of their shell completely.

Depending on the source that you get your information from, you may have been led to believe that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a male hermit crab and a female one. Provided you know where to look and your hermit crab is willing to cooperate, however, it's actually quite easy. The biggest problem that you'll face is a crab that might not be willing to come out of its shell enough at the time you're trying to determine the gender.

Wait for your hermit crab to come out of its shell slightly. It may do this while attempting to climb up the glass of its habitat, when cleaning itself, or when moving into a larger shell. You may also be able to coax it out slightly by lifting its front legs with an unsharpened pencil. Whatever you do, however, don't try to pull on it or be forceful in trying to get it to come out of its shell.

As the hermit crab comes out of its shell somewhat, look at the joints where its rear pair of walking legs meets with its body. The joints may be smooth like the rest of its body, or you may see two small holes in those joints. These holes are what you are looking for, as they are the main way to determine whether a hermit crab is make or female.

If your hermit crab has the holes present by the rear legs, then the crab is female; these holes are how a male hermit crab inseminates the female. If the holes aren't present, then your hermit crab is male. Make sure that you're looking by the last pair of walking legs, though, because if the hermit crab isn't out of its shell enough then it can be easy to mistake a female for a male because the holes will still be hidden by the shell.


Should your hermit crab not come out of the shell enough for you to be able to tell whether or not it is male or female, don't give up. You can always try again later, especially when introducing a larger shell or new features to their habitat which will encourage them to come out of their shell completely.

Let me know if this helps you out.

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Aquatic Engineer