HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a green ash tree and lavender bushes in my yard. I see them both on the safe food list. Do I need to do anything before adding them to the crabitat?

That is up to you. I would probably bake or freeze them for a short but to kill bugs to prevent adding any to your crabitat.

Also- make sure no pesticides or fertilizers have been used on them to make them crab safe!

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HI, I jsut want to add a quick quesiton to this thread; HOW DO I BAKE THE TREE BRANCHES?? I think that they will catch on fire if I put them into my oven.....the freezing is an option, but should I also maybe dip-boil it in salt water as well? I have a lot of fruit trees and some other shade treas that I think my crabs will like but I want to make sure they are totally safe first....

For big branches I used to soak in the bathtub and then rub down with saltwater. Now I just bring them in and toss them in tank. You may end up with unwanted visitors, but unless you live in Florida there won't be anything that could harm the crabs.

People do bake branches, at around 250 for several hours, but it will make the house smell funny. Boiling is an option if they are small enough, I do that with chunks of store bought wood.

I have a lilac bush that I purchased from the store several years ago. I have never fertilized or fed it. Would it be safe by now?

Hermiesguardian wrote:I have a lilac bush that I purchased from the store several years ago. I have never fertilized or fed it. Would it be safe by now?

Probably, but personally I would still bake the sticks and branches from it.

I would think so. I use branches from the ones in my backyard that are probably 100 years old. (The biggest ones are a foot across!)

When you bake it, you crack the oven door open. I personally like the smell - reminds me of a fireplace. We don't need those here in Florida

I think the most annoying bug that might travel in on a branch would be a gnat, and thanks to all my other indoor plants, they are already inside the house. The spiders love me for it though.

The lilac bushes I can just do flowers and all, correct? I wouldn't want to freeze or bake those?

I would recommend fresh, they love it! Blossoms and leaves dry nicely if you have a dehydrator. They are delicate so use the lowest setting, and if you have allergies do it outside or you won't be able to breathe in your house because of the smell of lilacs!

I never even thought of using my new dehydrator for the crabs. i need to start thinking smarter here.

Mine love the lilac blossoms, too. I also dry them so I can feed the rest of the year when they aren't fresh. They're such small flowers I don't even bother with a dehydrator, I just lay them out on wax paper in my sunroom and they dry beautifully in only a few days.