DOES THE FOOD NEED TO BE CRUSHED OR BABY FOOD CONSISTENCY?

[LilHurricane]

I always have plenty of fruits and veggies available. Each night I've given them something different (had them for a week). Freeze dried shrimp, carrots (not cooked - does it need to be?), grapes, strawberries, banana, hamburger meat cooked w/o seasoning, dried cranberries, flax seed, dried flakes of coconut. They also have a separate dish with store bought hermit crab food. Either they don't eat it or eat very little. What am I doing wrong?

[soilentgringa]

No.

They pick and tear their food apart in the wild. They do not need it to be pureed.

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[LilHurricane]

Thanks!! Maybe they are just new to their environment and are stressed or something.

Do you know how often I should change their salt and fresh water?

[soilentgringa]

You could leave the food in for them for a few days, really until it gets moldy. They eat rotting material in the wild and can be more attracted to stronger smelling foods.

They are stressed. They're wild caught, shipped around the world, and held in subpar conditions until someone buys them.

Then they're sent home with no good care info and often die within 6 months when they have a lifespan of over 30 years or more.

I suggest reading all of our care guides if you haven't yet.

Water changes depend on how large your pools are, how much gunk the crabs drag into them, and if you have filters or bubblers in them.


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[LilHurricane]

Oh, I have read and read and read these forums. I have one really stressed out crab. He lost is big claw yesterday. Then, this morning he changed his shell and moved to the other side of the tank. But just now, I found another leg. I'm so worried for him. They've only been in a "proper" environment since Sunday. I have more shells on the way (we had gotten painted ones). I will leave them alone for a couple days and maybe he'll make it. Thanks again for all your wonderful advice. I'm totally new to this. I'm very thankful for the forums.

[soilentgringa]

The best thing you can do for the crab is to leave it alone.

Don't handle it, period.

Provide nutritious foods and adequate fresh and salt water and allow it time to recover.

Unfortunately it my never recover.

New crabs have already been so ill treated that by the time we get them, they just cannot survive.

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[KayedeeLove<3]

I am a hands off crab owner also! In fact i got a rescue in and he's about 10 years old (baseball size) and his previous owner must have handled him allot! He was quite social with humans but hes shying off a little. He stays out while I'm cleaning and stuff but he won't crawl up your hand anymore lol!

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[GinkoCrab]

I feed mine chunks of food as well as organic baby food puree. They can eat it either way but they're quite good at ripping off bites for themselves.

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[PinchersAndShells]

The only reason I'd think they'd need a powder or puree is if they lost their BP