Dear LB;-
        The phrase: "--inhabited by hermit crabs"--does not make the shell any less of a find, discovery, or affect its collectability. Hermit crabs are generally decent housekeepers and inhabit only the inhabitable---after dining on the original resident.
        Art

Linda Bush wrote:

> Hi, Conch-Lers,
>
> Thanks for the response to my prior question.   Now I have another; my neighbors (non shell collectors) are going on vacation to Cape San Blas, Florida and are expecting to find a lot of shells.   Having never been farther on the Guf Coast than Bay St. Louis, where all I found were a few species, inhabited by hermit crabs, I wonder if any of you can give me some information about shelling in the area.   (I have a feeling they
> will wind up buying shells in a curio shop.)
>
> Thansks,
> Linda