How to Hermit Crabs Poo?

[Nighthawk]

Does anyone know? Their bottoms are in their shells, so how & where do they poo? Do they hang their bottoms out & go, or do they use thier little legs inside the shell and pass it out the shell opening, or do they go Inside their shells and that is why they like to change them all the time?
I can find no answers to this burning question. I have looked in books, I have searched online. I even asked them directly, but they just looked at me like I was crazy.
I have 5 of them, and it bugs me.

 

[NCC]

This looked like a reasonable explanation to me.

Yes they do... they use tiny legs on the abdomen hidden within their shell to push it out of their shell.. sometimes you can witness them rocking back and forth to get larger ones out. Also they have been seen walking through their water pools and flushing their shells out and leaving their droppings in their water pool.The actual poop doesnt [sic] smell and is easily decomposed within the coco-fiber bedding many people use in their crabs tanks. It looks like small toothpick sized brown droppings.

Source
It isn't a scientific source, but it sounds reasonable.

 

[instamix]

feed them some food coloring and then put your self on crab poo watch..

maybe even post a youtube vid for other(surely there's millions asking the same thing)you could become famous...

 

[jj2]

Go for the food coloring---we'll be waiting for the answer.
I don't know why, but we will.
Well you know the saying curiosity killed the cat. In this case it'll solve the poo question.

 

[Nighthawk]

Thanks NCC! They like to eat their coconut bedding too, so I don't think the food coloring thing would work well.
I LOVE this place! You all ROCK!