Braingle: 'Coenobita Confusion' Riddle

Coenobita Confusion

Riddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.

Puzzle ID:	#29415
Fun:	(2.74)
Difficulty:	(3.06)
Category:	Riddle
Submitted By:	PineappleMama

I love to climb up high in trees,
digging holes, and feeling the breeze.
I eat eggs, apples, carrots, meat,
even peanut butter, is a treat.
Around the world, my kin are found.
"Chirping" is our signature sound.

So, what am I?

Show Hint

Answer

A Land Hermit Crab!
Coenobita Clypeatus is the most commonly found land hermit crab in the United States. Also known as purple pinchers, or Caribbean crabs, these guys have been found miles from the coast. Hermies are scavengers by nature and enjoy having a variety of foods to choose from. My hermies happen to love peanut butter, raisins, sweet potatoes, and bananas! Purple pinchers are also known for being the most "fashion conscious" of the land hermit species. These guys LOVE to change shells, sometimes spending hours "shell swapping." Listening to these guys "chirp" is like nothing else I've ever heard. It's not quite like a cricket, or a mouse, or really anything I can think of, but it is fascinating!
Hide

What Next?

See another brain teaser just like this one...

Or, just get a random brain teaser

If you become a registered user you can vote on this riddle, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.

Comments

Sunrose Mar 30, 2006	Very good and fun teaser! I enjoyed the way it was wrote up and informative! Keep them coming
smartsy Mar 30, 2006	that was a good one
smartsy Mar 30, 2006	that was a good one
zonarita Mar 30, 2006	A teaser from your experience is wonderful and telling us about your crab was educational PM. Gr8 teaser!
schatzy228 Mar 30, 2006	FUN AND FASCINATING
ShyShy12 Mar 30, 2006	cool teaser!
Mellew Mar 30, 2006	that waas strange.......good, but odd luved it tho ♥
Liali Mar 30, 2006	Neat teaser! I like the information in the answer!
zonaracer Mar 30, 2006	Good job on the teaser, very enjoyable
PineappleMama Apr 11, 2006	Thanks for all the Happy Feedback! I'm trying to think of another riddle...but these are harder to think up than my other fav flavs!
Armaidenpriya Apr 11, 2006	That was fun and interesting! Nice job... even if I didn't get it
OldChinaHand Apr 15, 2006	Quite educational and fun.
TheEarthling Apr 18, 2006	Loved it.
reddragon Apr 23, 2006	I guess I don't know much about hermt crabs. I thought it was a squirrel. Got me good.
PineappleMama Apr 23, 2006	There's oodles of little known tidbits about hermies! hermitcrabsrus.com is a good place to educate yourself. I know my hermies are infinately greatful for all the wonderful advice! I knew that this one would be tricky, simply because not many folks know much about these fascinating creatures!
tonjawithaj Apr 28, 2006	This is my second time looking at this too and I STILL needed to look for the answer. Ah well, prego brain strikes agian!
irar1792 May 07, 2006	thanks for the insight(spelling?) it's a cool teaser, i enjoyed it
RRAMMOHAN May 07, 2006	Didnt know much about these creatures. Hence couldnt guess the answer. An educative teaser. It seems very few would have got the correct answer.
coachpisco May 07, 2006	I guessed frogs.
lmurray May 07, 2006	WHY WASN'T A SQUIREL AN ACCEPTABLE ANSWER. THEY CERTAINLY DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS?
BeckyD May 07, 2006	My guess was a squirrel also, except about the "meat" part, although the edible part of a nut is called the meat... I never in a million years would have guessed it was a land hermit crab! And they climb trees?? Wow!
PineappleMama May 07, 2006	Yup! They are fascinating to watch! Hermies have actually been spotted miles (100+) from shore, camped out in trees!! But, they must return to the sea to reproduce. That's why I don't have to worry about my 14 crabs turning into 1400 overnight!
PineappleMama May 07, 2006	Oh, and don't forget to check the HINT, that pretty much kills off the possibility of it being a squirrel!
mitzimesser May 07, 2006	Teaser of the day! You go girl.
PineappleMama May 07, 2006	OH KEWL! Shows how observant I am!! Thanks Mitzi!!
iteachkids May 07, 2006	VERRRRRRRRRY well-written, and fascinating information to boot! I suppose you name your hermies ... are you going to introduce us???
azbee123 May 07, 2006	cute!!!
lazy-boy May 07, 2006	This was very informative, I had no idea that hermit crabs climb trees.
Machinery May 07, 2006	They climb up trees?
shawneeo May 07, 2006	I should've guessed! But I didn't because I didn't know that they climb trees. I thought squirrels, but I didn't think it fitted squirrels very well. Except that squirrels make a weird kind of chirping sound too.Probably not so much chirping as hermies and crickets though. Velly intellisting... Oh, I didn't read the hint, lots of times I forget about a hint,and then if I think I'm right, I don't look at the hint, so if there's crucial info in the HINT, I don't know it. I guess that means I should always read the hint if there is one! Lotsa fun, thanks mama!
rhmaustin May 07, 2006	The title is also a clue if your dictionary includes the word coenobita (alternate spelling cenobita) -- I think it's the genus name for hermit crabs. Alas, my dictionary didn't, but I did a little research. The word comes from Late Latin coenobium (Late Greek koinobion) meaning literally living together or, by extension, living in a monastery.
PineappleMama May 07, 2006	Yep, hermies are very social creatures. In nature they can be found traveling in groups of 100 or more!! My Home Wiki has a link to my Crabby Corner Wiki! There are links to a wonderful site called hermitcrabsrus, for those who seek more knowledge!!
(user deleted) May 07, 2006	Hmm, interesting. Never knew hermit crabs chirped!
PineappleMama May 07, 2006	Well, it's Called chirping, but I think it's simply because there really is no way of explaining it. There is more info. on chirping and other hermie stuff in the Forums at hermitcrabsrus.com
tam13 May 07, 2006	I enjoyed this one and I learned something, too! I never knew that hermit crabs made a sound at all! I've had them in my classroom for years and have never heard a sound. Are there certain times that they will "chirp?" Of course my class gets noisy a lot so that may be one reason we have never heard them. Thanks for the good brain teaser.
spazzyjazzy93 May 07, 2006	that was relly good!
jabdr May 07, 2006	Way to go, PMAMA...interesting-educational and fun.
flutterby May 07, 2006	That one was fun and interesting! Wish there were more like this!
JessicaLynn May 07, 2006	I didn't know they made a sound, and I have five! Very interesting. I wonder if mine will like peanut butter. I'll try that as a treat!
Trishgal May 07, 2006	This was really informative,did not know a thing about the hermit crab Learned too that the puzzle names are a big help
scallio May 07, 2006	Well I've been had... it wasn't a woodpecker. I have read about those crabs in National Geographic, but they certainly didn't come to mind here. Thanks!
realm2346 May 07, 2006	This was a great teaser, and it must've taken you a long time to research all the facts, plus i learned something I never knew before.
bradon182001 May 07, 2006	Very goo and interesting teaser.I had no idea whatsoever.
kman613 May 07, 2006	Wow - good one. I was clueless, esp after reading the hint. Thanks for great nature-trivia
dodger May 07, 2006	Really great clues, i really liked this teaser and it's going into my fav's. Keep them coming and i mean that.
tdbrsun May 07, 2006	I had fun with this one . I was sure I had it . I said Bluejay. If I would have read the hint , I would have guessed different. Thanks Nice one.
vlerma May 07, 2006	I was certain it was a squirrel until I read the hint and then I became totally confused. Being in the middle of the great American desert I guess I haven't had much experience with Land Crabs, and unfortunately the only crab legs I have ever seen were already on a platter so I didn't even think about a crab having 8 legs. Great teaser P.mama. Enjoyed the education. More please.
lorelle_b May 08, 2006	hehehe....love it. I can tell you really love your hermies i always wanted one but i never have enough time to buy them. interesting how they continually swap shells--my friend has one but it kept the same shell all the time. Great job!
PineappleMama May 08, 2006	THANKS for all the great comments! If anyone's interested in Hermits you can check out hermitcrabsrus.com!!
AwwwSweet May 08, 2006	I have to say my favorite part of this teaser was PMama's enthusiasm about the little land hermit crabs! The teaser and comments were always upbeat and cheerful. I also appreciated the info in the answer; it's wonderful when someone backs up their teaser with facts.
JessicaM May 08, 2006	That was really stupid, who has heard of those crabs.
banzai May 08, 2006	That was fun and informative. Thank you.
warmonkey318 May 08, 2006	That was awsome!! (beats mine)
sweetmama May 09, 2006	Well, I guess you do learn something new everyday! Thanks Mama!
JessicaLynn May 13, 2006	I went to Mexico once and I saw a hermit crab as big as my foot! It was huge! I didn't know they could get that big, nor do I know where it found such a big shell. By the way, my two biggest hermies are getting too big for the shells they r in, but I can't find a bigger shell to buy. What should I do?
crissy5219 May 28, 2006	That was a good one! I thought it was a bird when you said "chirping." So good job, you threw me off!
GebbieRose May 28, 2006	Thanks for the informative teaser, PM. Enjoy all your teasers, actually - those that I've seen. Hermies sound fascinating.
learningchinese Jun 19, 2006	Thank you!
bladeqw3 Nov 29, 2006	ha, I thought it was a little kid!
PineappleMama Dec 05, 2006	Well, my munchkins do a lot of those things... but they don't chirp so much as yell. Shellwise... check your beaches, hobby stores, pet shops etc. If that fails... go to ebay and type in hermit crab shells... there are a dealers that specialize in those. Send me a pm if you have more questions.
choptlivva Dec 17, 2006	Great teaser Mama!!! Interesting and challenging!! I was thinking maybe monkeys until I read the hint about being born in the sea and having ten legs!!! Good job, keep 'em coming!!
mosca Feb 09, 2008	Very, very fun teaser! Very educational! I didn't know hermit crabs also lived on land! So you have these as pets? Years ago a diving buddy and I were down in shallow water off the coast of northern Italy and we found alot of hermit crabs. I'm a bit ashamed to say we teased the little critters by pulling them out of their shells and watching them bury themselves in the sand! We did put some shells nearby and watched as they came back up and climbed into their shells.