HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Sometimes I over think things, and this might be one of those times. I made eggs for breakfast this morning, and threw the shells in a saucepan. After breakfast I boiled the shells, then I carefully peeled the inner membrane from them so I had just the crunchy shell left. I crushed those into small pieces and spread them out to dry while I was at Church. After Church I dried them a little more with a hair dryer (on low).

Is this the right way to prepare them?
Can I save them that way for a while, or will they still spoil?
Have I gone overboard?

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The shells can be served with the excess egg still inside. The crabs will eat the egg and the shell. There's no need to clean the shells unless you really want to I leave half a shell in the tat for a few days and let the crabs tear it apart before taking it out.

Like Hermitcrabdc, I just give mine raw eggshells. They clean them up pretty quickly so I don't remove them unless they become nasty (they usually don't).

But you can boil, bake, or microwave if you're worried about using raw ones. It's perfectly safe for the crabs either way.

I, too, give the crabs half-shells with raw albumin. Other egg shells I'll wash in hot water and just air dry, then pulverize them in a mortar and pestle to add to their dry base mix. Whatever is left after preparing a jar of the mix is stored separately and sprinkled on fresh foods once or twice a week.

I also give them the shell without any special prep. They love the little bit of egg left inside. I do grind up the shell and save it in a vacuum sealed bag between the times I take shell out to feed them or add more shell. I sprinkle it over their food each day. In addition to the cuttlebone I keep in the tank.