Crawfish, as well as many other shellfish, moult their shell (exo-skeleton) in order to keep up with their rate of growth. It's a bit like a child, that needs to buy new clothes as they grow - the crawfish crawl out of their old shell to reveal a brand new bigger shell which fits them.
After moulting, shellfish are very soft and therefore vulnerable, the process also uses up a lot of energy and vital resources, and one tasty and nutritious way of them to replenish themselves is by eating the moulted shell afterwards! The old shell is full of calcium carbonate which helps the crawfish to harden his new shell.
You can probably see our crawfish closely guarding its shell, which has since faded greatly in comparison with its shiny new orange exo-skeleton.
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