HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi all,

I have three PPs, and I've had them since April 2020. I got them from a family I nannied for who did not want them, but they're still pretty small (~1.5 yrs old). None of them have molted with me yet, they do seem to be active at night but find their preferred hiding places throughout the day. No obvious issues with heat, humidity, disease/pests or water based on what I've read on here.

They were given some sort of dry food from petco/amazon before April, but I don't know if they were actually eating it much. I swear that they've never eaten much of their food at all with me, sometimes I'll catch them in or by the food bowl in the evening, but the food bowl usually stays pretty full, and I don't notice them eating much. I usually replace dry food every four nights, and fresh/cooked food every night. Haven't seen them go near it or noticed any eating in the last two weeks or so. I've bought some packs of dry food from EarthWaterFireStudio on Etsy (worm castings, meal worms, seaweed, dried fruit, red clover, etc.). I've tried feeding them fresh eggshells, carrots, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, arugula, apricots, spinach, EVOO, and unseasoned, cooked chicken and turkey. I've also tried dry river shrimp, vegetable mix, and other bugs like crickets... They have cuttlebone and cholla wood in their tank that they've never eaten. Always stuff from the safe food list!

Does anyone have any suggestions of foods their PPs really love? Dry or fresh? I just want them to be happy.

They could just be eating at night and you might not even notice they ate. If you have lettuce you can try and put a piece of that on top of their food bowl. Yeah they will probably eat it, but they might just push it out of the way to get to everything else underneath. I know my crab do not like any fresh fruits or vegetables. I like to buy some of off etsy shops occasionally and they love them. Also how often are you feeding each food? Because if you keep giving them the same foods over and over again they will get tired of it. I'm not saying never feed them the same food again after they have already had it once lol. But maybe wait a food change or two before putting it back in the tank.

My crabs love oats...good ole Quaker Oats! I just crumble some up and it’s always the first thing to go!


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My crabs LOVE:

Freeze dried mealworms
Flaked coconut
Sesame seeds
FMR Hermit Crab Treat
Quinoa
Crab/lobster shells
Worm castings
Popcorn
Greensand
Amaranth seeds

My crabs aren't big fans of fresh foods. However, they do love spring mix and eggs. They enjoy scrambled eggs, or the yolks from hard-boiled eggs. They tend to ignore the white parts lol.

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My crabs love worm castings, honey, crabby granola(from EarthFireWaterStudio, popcorn, crab shells, worm castings, greensand, apples, bananas, oats, emu, and leaves (birch, maple, and oak). Crabs dont really eat that much, and you often dont really see a hue dent in the food dish. If you have given or are offering all that you said you are I wouldn't be worried.