HCA: Hermit Crab Association

First question...back when I first got my crabs a couple years ago and didn't research properly, I bought this for them as I was told it could be used instead of freshwater.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/f ... r-298.html

I know that's absolutely not true, and I wouldn't think of every buying it again, but was anyone else told that craziness?

Also, has anyone ever gotten any dried fruit and vegetable foods made for reptiles for your crabs?

Huh... cricket water pillows... I guess the employees didn't know about shell water. Sigh.

Incidentally they're calcium fortified because crickets have phosphorous levels in their bodies that, without the addition of calcium, can bind with calcium in a lizard's body, sapping the calcium from their bodies. This is called metabolic bone disease.

In the wild, lizards have access to many more kinds of insects, with difering levels of various vitamines and minerals - calcium supplimentation is a work around for captive lizards with limited diets.

There's a fruit one (in think it was maybe ZooMed??) That's supposed to be okay... in the food&water section there is a post about commercial foods that are supposed to be safe.

Generally my crabs like dried fruits. I think it's because they're sugary.

Yes, Hermit Fruit Salad by Zoomed. It's ingredients are died apples, mangoes, and cranberries.

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I saw online they have dried fruit mixes, omnivore mixes, and veggie mixes for turtle, beardies, etc. so maybe my crabs would like that. Nothing added, just fruit, veggies, and mealworms.

robinwhiskers wrote:I saw online they have dried fruit mixes, omnivore mixes, and veggie mixes for turtle, beardies, etc. so maybe my crabs would like that. Nothing added, just fruit, veggies, and mealworms.

I use the omnivore mix as the occasional mix in and almost everyone loves it. Or parts of it.

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