Animals That Use Abandoned Burrows as Shelter
From Owls in Prairie Dog Holes to Crabs in Someone Else’s Old Shell
Not every animal digs its own home. Some species have built an entire survival strategy around moving into shelter that something else already built, and then abandoned.
A burrowing owl relies almost entirely on prairie dog tunnels it never dug itself. A hermit crab spends its whole life searching for the next empty shell to call home. A massasauga rattlesnake shelters in burrows a crayfish left behind. This guide brings together several species that have turned reusing abandoned shelter into a genuine survival advantage.
💡 Quick Fact
This guide covers six standout species and answers to common questions about why they rely on abandoned shelter.
🔬 Abandoned Shelter Use by the Numbers
standout species featured in this guide that rely on shelter built by others
times, roughly, a hermit crab may need to move into a new shell over its lifetime
categories of abandoned shelter covered: burrows, shells, and caves or mines
Standout Abandoned-Shelter Users
These species show some of the clearest, most well-documented reliance on shelter originally built by others:
More Abandoned-Shelter Users Worth Knowing
Beyond the most iconic examples, several other species have their own notable reliance on secondhand shelter:
Why Reusing Abandoned Shelter Makes Sense
Moving into ready-made shelter offers real practical advantages over building from scratch.
Saves Time and Energy
Skipping the digging or building process leaves more energy for finding food and avoiding predators
Access Without the Ability to Build
Some species simply lack the digging strength or tools needed to create equivalent shelter themselves
Ready-Made Protection
Existing burrows and shells already offer proven insulation, humidity control, or predator defense
This strategy also creates a quiet dependency between species: when the original builder disappears from an area, so does the shelter relied on by everything that came after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion: Survival Built on Someone Else’s Work
From a burrowing owl’s borrowed tunnel to a hermit crab’s ever-changing shell, these species show that not every survival strategy involves building something new. Sometimes the smartest move is simply moving into what’s already there.
This reliance also highlights a quieter kind of ecological connection, when a prairie dog colony or gopher tortoise population disappears from an area, the species depending on their abandoned shelter often disappear right along with them.
Want to learn more?
Look into research on burrow-dependent species and ecosystem engineers, and share which abandoned-shelter user on this list surprised you the most!
