HCA: Hermit Crab Association

What were the first foods you offered your hermies? I'm an over thinker, and want everything to be perfect. I'm thinking honey in an eggshell, some hemp seed (I'm assuming it's safe since the list mentions hemp meal), some greens, ground beef, and sunflower butter (it has no preservatives and our peanut butter does). Is that too much variety right off the bat?

I don't think there's such a thing as too much variety. Whenever I get a new crab, I try to load them up on high protein, high energy yummy foods since I'm sure it's been a while since they've had a good meal. Plus, if they decide to dig down quickly to destress but take time to eat, they'll have a good meal first. What you're planning sounds good!

I seem to have a go-to spread that I do for all new crabs - fresh chunk coconut, one krill, tiny pile of bee pollen, a piece of coconut popcorn, crushed coral & oyster shell, and an amaranth cookie. It just sort of happened that way, and every time a new one comes in, I always seem to put that plate together the same way without thinking.

For me, the perfect offering is - one protein, one fruit, one calcium, one treat, one plant-based item, one bee product. Crabs can only eat so much in one meal, and after I make sure they've been given a choice of a little bit of everything - since I can't know ahead of time what they may have been missing from their diet or for how long it was missing - then they get the normal mix the rest of my crew gets on a daily basis.

I fed My hermit crabs pineapple when I first got them.

After reading through all the forums here, I decided to go for protein, calcium, and the nutritive properties of honey because not only are they likely in less than ideal conditions and stressed, there's a 2.5 hour car ride to get home after getting them. The only fruit I have is some frozen bananas. I could cut one up for them. I'm hoping to have zero fatalities. Heartbroken 5 year old is not something I want to deal with lol.