HCA: Hermit Crab Association

GotButterflies wrote:They each so little that they probably do eat it and you don't realize. Have you tried grinding the protein up? Try plankton, crab, lobster, real shrimp- my crabbies go BONKERS for those proteins


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They eat all the protein foods. My crabbies are big guys. They have no problem with whole shrimp, mealworms, etc. They are also happy to eat the bits of dried proteins (HCP surf n turf or complete diet) and scrambled eggs.

The only non-protein they eat consistently is diced apples. They eat a full dish of food most nights (2 T apples, 2 tsp protein, 1/2-1 tsp mineral or calcium powder, each in a scallop in the main dish). They have moss and oak twig/dried leaves. I don't know if they're eating that.

They don't eat other fruits, veggies, much nuts, grains, etc. No honey, no seaweed, coconut, peanut butter, mango, avocado, bananas, strawberries, spinach or nuts. They pick around it and eat the meat and apples.

I put in omnivore diet tonight: Sun Dried Bok Choy, Freeze Dried Zucchini, Freeze Dried Green Beans, Freeze Dried Peas, Freeze Dried Bananas, Sun Dried Carrots, Freeze Dried Crickets, Freeze Dried Mealworms, Freeze Dried Silkworms with Calcium.

Also apples and crushed oyster shells. We'll see if they eat any of the fruits and veggies in the mix.

But ultimately, my question is if they're eating a variety of protein, minerals and apples, does it matter it they don't get other variety?

tonight i moved the tank around; added a new climbing branch. then decided since the forever shy RoxSand is my only girl up id offer her two shells of the same mix. HCP blossoms sub mix (looks and smells sooooo good), blood worms, krill, red shrimp half an egg shell that the blood worms frozen cube was thawed in. didnt try anything food wise but was loving all the climbing being very active.

They didn't even disturb the shell with the mealworms, grubs, crickets and veggies last night. Just ate apples.

Tonight- scrambled eggs with the shells crushed in, apples, oyster shell.

Hollym2247 wrote:They didn't even disturb the shell with the mealworms, grubs, crickets and veggies last night. Just ate apples.

Tonight- scrambled eggs with the shells crushed in, apples, oyster shell.

What if you stopped giving them apples for a few days and tried other foods? They may finally eat the other foods if their favorite it out of sight for a few days.

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i agree you shouldn't be feeding the same food every night. it took awhile of offering new things in new combinations.

Dried marigolds and lilac flowers, bee pollen, blue popcorn and red shrimp.

i got two new crabs last night. one medium/small Eugene is what im thinking for a name and a teeny crab im calling Herman. they were sadly bought from a petco (i hate to say) but with not horrible conditions. so i offered some super foods for dinner.

Dish A-
plankton, red shrimp, minnows, raw organic honey (local source), and calcium powder.

Dish B-
mineral supplement powder from HCP (sample i got from an order earlier this week very happy to have on hand), dehydrated strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and blueberries, pistachios raw out of the shell and dried banana (bird treat mix), and HCP greens and Things mix (pretty sure) that is wild and brown rice, mixed greens, coconut, split peas, lentils, chia, hibiscus leaves quinoa, amranth and pasta.

loose in my tank i also have egg shell, cuttlefish, cork and grape wood, some leaves and flower petals from a few nights ago (still clean and mold free so ill leave it), a millet clipping (can you tell i have birds? lol), a dried Kaplan and a bit of sea sponge thats dry on the sub for munching.

the hcp mixes were very fine and the things i added were half ground with my pestle and mortar along with whole bits added.

Tonights menu-

fresh clams, oats with organic honey drizzled on top, and unsweetened applesauce

Hollym2247 wrote:Dried marigolds and lilac flowers, bee pollen, blue popcorn and red shrimp.

^they ate none of that.

Sat night- scrambled eggs with shells, dried sorghum sticks, ground oyster shell, leftovers from yesterday. Ate only calcium.

Last night- eggs/shells, seaweed, bee pollen, flowers. Ate none.

Tonight- krill, mineral powder, coconut popped popcorn. If they don't eat tonight, they're getting shrimp and apples tomorrow!

Hello Hollym2247! Sometimes hermits can be like toddlers. (As far as it taking several tries to get them to try new things). Introduce foods a couple of times. Also, have you ground up the foods?


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They are all the mineral powder, coconut popcorn and some of the krill last night. Tonight- freeze dried meal worms and a cricket and apples.

Shrimp, whitefish, strawberries + the tops, chia seeds, Himalayan pink salt, spirulina, honey, and fish oil. Tomorrow I'm going to harvest some crab-safe flowers and leaves so their next meal should be more interesting

I snapped off some raspberry leaves from my communal courtyard plants (technically planted by my neighbour, but they're impossible to control, let alone damage, so I doubt she'll mind ) & popped them into the tote & the 20 gal.

The crabs have given me to understand that they approve of this! I kinda feel bad I didn't offer them earlier in the season - they seem to like them much more than dandelion, kale, spinach, sprouts, fresh oak leaves, or fresh maple.

One small leave is half gone in two hours!
And I thought they just didn't care much for greens.

Dinner is chicken, turkey, pear, banana, apple, watermelon, clover blossoms, and maple leaves. I put the dishes in and they were on the watermelon within minutes!

on todays menu we have prickly pear, cantaloupe, kale, freeze dried shrimp and bloodworms.