HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I guess i'll add it to the grocery list since every stitch of food went bad :roll: Restocking the freezer & fridge isn't gonna be cheap!

does anyone know if peppermint oil or oregano oil would be harmful if diluted? someone recommended it for getting rid of the mites in the house that may be getting on the crabs.

Oils in general are very dangerous since they are so concentrated, and both peppermint and oregano oil are insecticides which would harm the hermits as well as the mites. If you used it in the house it would be fine, but don't use it in in/on/near the tank or anywhere else the hermits roam!

I was thinking just on the house and rug, where i think the mites are coming from

You wouldn't be having crab mites in NJ. If they're on the crab they would be staying on the crab and would have come with them from the store - they won't wander too far from their food source, and there wouldn't be any native mites where you are that would seek out the crabs for dinner.

I think they did come with Oliver, he is the only one that has it. The oils are mostly for these little mite-like bugs we got from birds living in our vents a few weeks back, that are coming in the windows, even when closed. I was mostly concerned about fumes from the oils, esp. peppermint, affecting the crabs.

Is basil(plant leaves and stem) safe for them to eat?

Yes.

What meats can they eat besides tuna and snail?

Libbster3000 wrote:What meats can they eat besides tuna and snail?

Absolutely anything as long as it's just the meat and has no seasoning and salt. Beef, pork, chicken, duck, venison, bison, any type of fish, any type of shellfish or crustacean, any type of insect or worm. Stuff from your kitchen, or from the petstore (just read the ingrediants!)

Now, whether they'll actually eat any of the above depends on the time of day, how they're feeling, what their mother fed them as children, where the Earth is relative to Sagittarius, what song is playing on the radio, and whether it's raining right now in Tulsa.

You can never tell what they'll like and what they won't, and their likes will changed from day to day, and from crab to crab.

wodesorel wrote: Absolutely anything as long as it's just the meat and has no seasoning and salt. Beef, pork, chicken, duck, venison, bison, any type of fish, any type of shellfish or crustacean, any type of insect or worm. Stuff from your kitchen, or from the petstore (just read the ingrediants!)

Now, whether they'll actually eat any of the above depends on the time of day, how they're feeling, what their mother fed them as children, where the Earth is relative to Sagittarius, what song is playing on the radio, and whether it's raining right now in Tulsa.

You can never tell what they'll like and what they won't, and their likes will changed from day to day, and from crab to crab.

Mine abhor sausage and I'm not sure why but they completely avoid it altogether

This helped me a lot thanks guys!! Cranberries are bad right?

Cranberries are fine. I feed them to mine when I can pick them.

Thanks Idk where but I read it could kill them.alrighty then good to get things strait. THank you!!

Can hermit crabs eat rosemary, mint, sage, oregano, and Thyme?