HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I just got my first hermit crabs around a month ago. They're three moderately sized pretty active and friendly crabs. My crabitat is set up to their liking and they seem pretty happy. But I'm not sure if they're eating or not? I can't tell if they're just eating super minute amounts of food or just not eating at all. I try to provide them with lots of variations of food. Dried shrimp, pineapple and other fruits, nuts, etc. I replace it around every 48 hours. Am I doing something wrong? Or maybe I'm just worried for no reason? Help!


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Crabs eat very little, so sometimes it's hard to tell if they're eating. They also tend to eat during the night when you're not awake to see them. I feed a lot of dry foods and I make a note of how everything looks in the bowl and then re-check in the morning to see if anything has been disturbed.

It's good you're offering a lot of variety, because they get bored easily! Dried shrimp usually isn't refused, but I would also try rotating in some other options like dried bugs like mealworms, crickets, etc. Mine love popcorn, organic peanut butter, and honey.

Oh I didn't think about feeding them popcorn, and I'll definitely have to go out and get some PB and honey! Thanks for the advice! I'll start making a mental note of the bowl morning and night... I think I'm just being a paranoid first time owner


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You can also smooth out the sand around the dish (es) to see if there are any "tracks" come morning. It's not foolproof as they could've just scuttled past, but gives an idea.

Mine didn't seem to eat much until I started giving them mostly dry food also. They LOVE crushed up Honey Nut Cheerios cereal, and the rest I buy from Hermit Crab Patch and Antique Hermits on Etsy.