Feeding Schedule Pyramid Confusion?

[ChaoSile]

Hello. The pyramid chart in the "Hermit Crab Nutrition by Kilimanjaro" article has confused me. So do you feed them plant and animal based protein every day of the week, while you give fruits and vegetables only 6 days a week, and so on? Or is it like, protein for 7 days, then fruits/vegetables for 6 days, and so on?

I apologize if I appear to be silly. I'm extremely new to learning proper hermit crab care.

[CallaLily]

The foods on the bottom are most important the foods on the top are less important. However, all of the food groups are imperative to hermit crab health. The key on the right-hand side describes how many times to feed this food group a week. When the pyramid level is broken in half, you can choose either food group. The larger the section, the more important it is.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92554

Honestly, I keep protein, fruits/veggies, and calcium available daily.

[Giner13]

My guys like having greens & fruits available all the time. I stock the calcium fresh, and a protein is always there for them too.


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[Rawrgeous]

I also offer a variety of everything every night. They really only need a tiny piece of everything, (I only have 6 crabs) and I figure they're all bound to be somewhat different in their molting cycle, eland require different foods, so I figure why not just offer, and then I know they're getting everything they need.


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[ChaoSile]

I see! Thank you all! Your responses have all been extremely helpful. For animal based protein, could I use crickets and meal worms (Raised and humanly killed, by me) to give them?

[Rawrgeous]

That would be fine.

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[Crabinski]

An easy way to ensure that they always have access to calcium is to get a small cuttlebone (Bird section in any pet store or Walmart) and stick it into the substrate on end, like a surfboard. The crabs will happily pinch away at it at their leisure. You can always include a pinch of crushed eggshell in their daily food dish, too.

[Jedi Sena]

Variety is the key to successful crab nutrition. Keep in mind that in the wild, they encounter a wide variety of food sources and it is not scheduled. It even rotates seasonally. I've had very good success keeping hermit crabs, have a really good handle on understanding nutrition, and my recommendations would be very different in the proportions and ratios. And no matter what you offer, the crabs will be making the final decision about what they will eat.

Here are a few recommendations I would like to share:
If you're crabs are pale, then serve more nutrient-dense food that are intensely colored.
If you're crabs show signs of aggression, serve more meats and proteins.
If you have molters, offer more calcium sources.
Don't neglect to offer fats and oils.

[CallaLily]

Variety is the key to successful crab nutrition.

Absolutely. I don't think my post was clear on that, though I think the guide somewhat is. Even though my crabs have veggies, fruits, protein, and calcium daily - they are not the same things day in and day out and often I have at least a couple different options of each. I also agree that fats and oils get forgotten too easily, though I don't offer these daily. The nutrition guide is, in my mind, a good starting point for new crabbers that are overwhelmed and still trying to figure everything out.