Largest land-invert in the world

[Dwarf Puffers]

Coconut crabs. Anyone else heard of them, or heard of anybody keeping them as pets?

(random google pic-link)
http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/coconut_crab.jpg

[7itanium]

WOW!!

are they legal to keep as a pet?

[Fish-Addict]

I like little red thai crabs, but that's a bit ugly LOL. And huge ;)

[bitbot]

OMG, is that real?

[excuzzzeme]

Holy Cow! Where are these? Want to know so I can make sure I never meet one in a dark alley!


The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is the largest land-living arthropod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod) in the world and is probably at the limit of how big terrestrial animals with exoskeletons can get under the prevailing conditions


It is also called the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent)

[bitbot]

Holy Cow! Where are these? Want to know so I can make sure I never meet one in a dark alley!

At least you could hope you would hear it coming!

[bitbot]

It is also called the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent)

Next time I lose my car keys, I know who to blame...

[mellowvision]

trick is to train them to steal for you!

[BoCoMo]

can you imagine waking up to that thing in your kitchen!

[Hurley]

I read somewhere that they use to mistake sleeping shipwrecked sailors heads for coconuts and crack them open in the middle of the night. I think I will pass on keeping one as a pet!

[fineexampl]

i can't find anything about them being endangered. it may be possible to keep one, if you were able to get one. they don't mature until 4-8yrs though, so mating might be a chore, plus you wouldn't have any ocean.

[LifelessForm]

I have seen them before, only online though. I would imagine they would make terrible pets. Anything with a specialized diet like that would be harder to care for. The picture of the one hanging on the trash can frightens me, and not many animals frighten me.

[Vicious_Fish]

Basically they're the largest member of the hermit crab family. They are also on the CITES Red List for threatend and endangered species so no, you can't have one as a pet. At least here in the US without a permit. I hear they taste good though. :D

[jamesstill84]

I've heard that they're really slow. The local kids like to knock them off trees for fun. I can't imagine wanting to keep one as a pet though. They're ugly as Bush!

[marinkafuschia]

these things have such strong claws! they can do serious damage to you if you **** em off! I had this cool picture book when I was little about them and it had this one sad pic of the crabs that get infested with blowfly larva right under their carapaces and their mouths, eeeeewww!!!! that would be the only reason I wouldn't touch them, uugh hate maggots!

[Dwarf Puffers]

That trash can one is particularly large and ugly. I like some of the other pics of them, climbing up trees in search of coconuts ;)

[Death Pony]

The blue and red ones are pretty! People do keep them as pets in Japan. My buddy from Jamaica used to run into these all the time when he lived down there.

[Sicklid111]

Here is a little excerpt from wiki on them
"Reports about the size of Birgus latro vary, but most references give a body length of up to 40 cm (16 in)[4], a weight of up to 9 lb (4.1 kg), and a leg span of more than 3 ft (0.91 m) [5], with males generally being larger than females. It is believed that this is near the theoretical limit for a terrestrial arthropod.[6][citation needed] They can live more than 30 years [7]."

[dixienut]

i wouldn't take the trash out at night it might snap yout leg off lol..whoa,......

[xsdbs]

holy crab cakes batman, where's its leash? by the way it's your turn to bathe him tonight.

[jpappy789]

looks like the creepy things from Alien...

[leeser28]

I think I would pee my pants if I saw one live! Those are SO creepy, worse than big hairy spiders!

[robott]

:jaw: um. i think i want one.

[dixienut]

I read somewhere that they use to mistake sleeping shipwrecked sailors heads for coconuts and crack them open in the middle of the night. I think I will pass on keeping one as a pet!

gives a new meaning to having crabs is deadly:lol:

[marinkafuschia]

:lol:^ ooohh SNAP!

[Jellymolly44]

That thing is huge. Scares the crap out of me.

[Lupin]

Eek! That's totally freaky.:irked: This is why I hate crayfish and crabs.:nilly:

[BreezeRuehls]

I don't think a shotgun would take that mo-fo out!

[ChrisK]

Wow its huge

[Ottman]

besides the whole sailors head thing. Would it eat cat and dogs too?!

[Vicious_Fish]

besides the whole sailors head thing. Would it eat cat and dogs too?!

I highly doubt they could catch and eat a healthy pet dog or cat. They mostly feed on plant material as well as carrion. But there are reports of them killing small creatures such as baby sea turtles and rats.

[tricksterpup]

gosh, i remember back in the day, a buddy of min from college who used to live on Kwaj would tell stories about these things. they are huge.

[spunjin]

Yeah they are big. I saw several of them when I lived on the capitol atoll, Majuro, of the Marshall Islands. I saw some that were relatively small (abut 12" across) and some that were much bigger. One time I came across one in the middle of the night and I wasn't sure who was more frightened. I quickly ran around it hoping it couldn't run faster than me.
I read that the coconut crabs break open coconuts by smashing them against rocks then pulling the meat out of the nut. They have to be stong to do that. Anybody ever try to pry a coconut open with your hands without cutting the outside shell? Lets just say it is near impossible.
I just wonder what they taste like.