
Land Hermit Crab Diet
What should my Land Hermit Crabs eat???
Food dishes
(N.B.NEVER use metal dishes)Hermies are scavengers and omnivores in the wild so they will enjoy little bits of any of the following list!
It is preferable to try and feed organic foods as pesticides can be harmful to hermies, if in doubt wash well in de -chlorinated water
Each day remove the leftovers from the day before and wash the dish in dechlorinated water, dry and replenish.
The second dish can be used for a variety of treats - hermies are scavengers and omnivores in the wild so they will enjoy little bits of any of the following list!
- Apples
- Banana
- Coconut
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Grapes
- Watercress
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Dried fruits, papaya, mango flakes, raisins
- Corn
- Carrots - said to boost their carotene and brighten their colours!
- Bloodworm
- Fish flakes
- Hikari crab cuisine
- Organic peanut butter
- Dried octopus
- Krill
- Brine shrimp
- Daphnia
- Cooked chicken
- Elderflowers
- Rose petals
- Pasta
- Rice
- Low/no salted crackers
- Oats
- Unsweetened/unsalted popcorn
Additionally Hermies should have constant access to either a health mineral block specifically designed for hermit crabs and cuttle fish (widely available in all pet stores)
Check out the Ab-crab store for our huge range of great value organic and natural foods and other goodies!!
Water Dishes
It is really crucial to the health of your hermies that they have constant access to fresh drinking water and salt water. (When I was given mine the advice from the pet store said they don't need salt water-they do!)The first dish should contain fresh water - This must be de-chlorinated first: there are specific crab water conditioners available from the suppliers listed on our website or via our own Ab-crab store
(Join our forum as a posting member and get yourself access to some great deals from our suppliers in the USA and UK!)
The crabs tend to like drinking their fresh water from a sea sponge and mine like to climb right in, so it's important to make sure that all your hermies can climb out of the dish if they decided to climb in! Stones and pebbles will help with this!
The second dish should contain salt water (NEVER use table salt) it is difficult to source specific hermit salt water treatments in the UK but it can be imported from the USA. However aquatic stores that have marine fish tanks have exactly the salt to do the job! (A recipe for mixing up the salt water can be found on the basic care page)
When I first put a salt pool in with my hermies they went crackers for it some drinking from a sponge in there, others actually submerged themselves and soaked for ages - it was like they were queuing at the municipal spa to get in! - evidence enough for me that I had been misinformed by the store that said they only needed fresh water!
(Join our forum as a posting member for great deals on crab salt water conditioners! imported directly from the USA.)
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