Leaf Litter?

[bridgettbiologist]

Hi y'all!

I'd like to offer my purple pinchers some leaf litter, but the only trees we have are a desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), a sandpaper anacua (Ehretia anacua), and a redbud tree (Cercis canadensis). Are these safe for hermit crabs? Also how should I prepare the leaves? (we don't use pesticides)

Do y'all have a favorite place to buy leaf litter online for cheap? I appreciate the advice!

[GotButterflies]

I don't know of those trees being safe. You could check out this page that has shops listed: viewtopic.php?f=122&t=119315

Edit: to prepare leaves, you wash leaves in dechlorinated water, and then I bake them to kill bugs.

[CrabbyLover77]

Ask VickieG if she still has some goodies left. She's only charging shipping for her leaf litter:

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic? ... source=app

I collect fresh and crunchy dead leaves for my crabs. If I'm not putting them in the oven to dehydrate them, I give them a wash and dry and then put them in the tank as is. I usually dehydrate and crunch up most of the leaves though because it's easier to store them that way.

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[GotButterflies]

Ask VickieG if she still has some goodies left. She's only charging shipping for her leaf litter:

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic? ... source=app

I collect fresh and crunchy dead leaves for my crabs. If I'm not putting them in the oven to dehydrate them, I give them a wash and dry and then put them in the tank as is. I usually dehydrate and crunch up most of the leaves though because it's easier to store them that way.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

By putting them into the tank "as is", you are risking putting bugs into your tank...

[CrabbyLover77]

By putting them into the tank "as is", you are risking putting bugs into your tank...

Oops, when I said as is, I mean not dehydrated. I still wash and dry them in dechlor water.

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[CrabbyLover77]

By putting them into the tank "as is", you are risking putting bugs into your tank...

Usually I bake and crunch them up, but the crabs seem to like a fresh leaf once in a while. Should I not do that, even if I've washed and dried them? Thanks!

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[bridgettbiologist]

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking about using the desert willow leaves. I've read that the leaves are not known to be dangerous to pets.