Dry mix recipe

[purpleperson]

Does anyone have a good dry mix recipe or recipes? I am responsible for caring for the crabs at school in my biology lab, and I am looking for a new mix I can make to bring in as it isn't always possible to bring in a new fresh meal everyday. Right now I have a mix of various dried leaves, dried rhubarb, dried crabapple, dried bananas, dried bell pepper, cuttle bone, moose poop, freeze dried shrimp, freeze dried brine shrimp and freeze dried blood worms. I was going to make some more of that mix, but now that the snow has hit I can't really get some of the ingredients (fresh-freeze dried things and stuff I can get) and I am running low on the supply I already have.

Preferably I would be looking for a relatively inexpensive recipe with easy to find things.. I usually serve my crabs mostly fresh so I am struggling to find things to dry. Ordering pre made food online isn't an option as the school won't allow it :/

I do have a dehydrator at home that I can use too.

If any of you are wondering- here's some info on the school crabitat. :p it is a 20 gallon tank, plexiglass lid, UTH and heat lamp if needed, about 5 -6 inches of sub, salt and fresh water, climbing and hiding areas, etc. I'll include some pictures. Crabs are teeny/small



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[Crabinski]

I make my own dry mix from these ingredients: Fluker's Aquatic Turtle Blend (freeze dried mealworms, crickets and shrimp), eggshells, cuttlebone, Wardely's Dried Shrimp for Hermit Crabs. Just grind up the ingredients with a small mortar and pestle until it's a coarse powder. It stores very well, ensures that you always have something healthful to offer the crabs and has been a big hit with my guys for years. I'll also vary the blend by adding a bit of uncooked 10-grain hot cereal, cornmeal, steel cut oats, couscous or quinoa; if I'm using my standard mix, I'll add some of the dried grains directly to the feeding bowl a few times a week.

[purpleperson]

Do you have anything I could substitute the flickers aquatic turtle blend with? It's not available in my area and I don't know anyone who will be making the trip down south anytime soon to pick some up. :p I can get some omega one freeze dried products however.


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[megmaholm]

You can mix in pretty much any freeze dried forms of protein. I'm not sure what all is available at your pet store but you can probably get a variety - they like to have options. Mine love bloodworms, red shrimp, mysis shrimp, daphnia, etc. Any stinky seafood.

[purpleperson]

No pet store so freeze dried options can be limited. I know that on top of what I have I can for sure get mysis shrimp though! Good to know.


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[megmaholm]

No pet store complicates things! What about pet sections of grocery stores or home improvement stores? They may have some things. Mealworms can be bought in the bird food section of places like Lowes, Menard's, or Home Depot.

Is there a specific reason the school won't let you order stuff for them? Even if it's from a place like Amazon?

[purpleperson]

Only one place carries this sort of item in town, the rest just have cat and dog stuff or fish flakes, which isn't really of use to us! I'll go check out their selection later (today if they are open late, not sure) Mealworms come in tubs that are about 30$ each, which isn't really worth it considering we farm live ones at school for some of the other animals, so they get some from there.

The school won't let us for a couple reasons.. Amazon Canada doesn't really carry anything of use, there isn't much money in the budget left until next year, and lastly because they usually only order from specific educational resource sites. (Which don't have the best info.. The crabs came from one and they tried telling my teacher that 30 crabs would be just fine together in the 20 gallon...)


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[megmaholm]

Makes sense! That has to be frustrating to work around. Since you have a dehydrator, you can always hit up the grocery store for fresh meats and dehydrate them - chicken, pork, beef, fish and shrimp, etc. and make a good protein blend that way.

Since the school farms mealworms, that's be perfect for them I've never fed mine live ones but I've heard they enjoy them.

[fantasybookworm]

Another thing to check, since you said that the stores do carry cat & dog things - look for freeze-dried dog & cat treats such as beef liver, chicken, and salmon. I've also seen a freeze dried shrimp cat treat (from Pure Bites). If nothing else, freeze-dried beef liver is getting pretty common for dog treats these days. I have beef liver & chicken for my guys & I know they like the beef liver.

[purpleperson]

Oh it is frustrating for sure! I'm not too good with the dehydrator yet, so this will be good practice. is there concern with what could be in the meats from the stores? Do they even have organic meat options? I'm not too sure as most of the meat my family eats is home grown or harvested. I suppose I could just use what I have too!

They LOVE the live ones. The pupa and beetles they will eat too. They go through them like crazy which is good, but we can't always be there to give mealworms.

I had no idea that dogs and cats had that sort of thing. How do I tell if they are crab safe?


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[megmaholm]

Ideally everything we feed them would be organic but it isn't always practical; I don't really worry too much, personally, about meat. Fruits/veggies I worry about a little more.

For dog and cat treats just check the ingredients and make sure, again, there isn't anything added to them.

[purpleperson]

Awesome! This helps a lot! Thanks everyone.

I tried going to the store with the freeze dried food section but they were closed :/ tomorrow I guess!


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[Crabinski]

This is probably a stupid question @purpleperson, but are there any Walmarts near you in Manitoba? I know they've invaded Canada but perhaps not in your area. They carry a variety of freeze-dried items in the pet section, usually by the fish tanks. You may be able to find Wardley's Dried Shrimp, Tetra Blood Worms, etc.

[purpleperson]

The closest one is about 2 hours away and last time I was there I checked and unfortunately they didn't have any :/ I may be able to go to another one though when I am Christmas shopping


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[jocelyndale]

If I'm doing a big cooking night (or weeding my garden!!), I save anything crab-safe that would otherwise go into the compost and dehydrate it that night:
carrots, apples, clover, sweet potatoes, greens, corn, beets, peppers, etc. Thin slices will be easier to pulverise. Once it's dry, I pound it with the pestle or use my food processor to break up the pieces. And I often add some corn husk, because why not. They can enjoy deconstructed tamales, right?

You can also freeze veg trimmings and then dehydrate them later.

I'm debating picking and drying the nasturtium leaves that are about to get frozen as winter comes closer. My crabs are going nuts for nasturtium right now. I either need to see how it goes over dried or have it growing indoors.

I also cook and freeze meat trimmings. Those are fatty, so dehydrating wouldn't work so well. It's possible, but then it can still spoil. You could easily dehydrate bits of lean meat. Freeze drying removes more moisture and that requires a different set-up, so simply dehydrated meat may not last as long as freeze-dried would. But you can dehydrate it, pulverise it, and store it in the freezer.

I keep kelp and spirulina on hand to throw in a mix. A little goes a long way, it seems. I also always have almond and coconut meal (celiac disease means I eat as well as my crabs). Chia seeds and quinoa and millet all live in my pantry. Pecans. I'm pretty much always staring at the pantry and thinking about what I can share with the little critters.