HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I try to give our crabs a good variety of fresh food, and the good news is that they seem to enjoy certain things a lot — corn on the cob gets eaten and they seem to like plucking the corn out (loose corn doesn't have the same level of interest) and cherries. Their favorite thing seems to be popcorn, so maybe they're little junk food fans. Especially in the summer months and when we might be out of town more for the weekend, etc., I'm wondering what the best dried food options are so that I don't have to worry about as much fresh food going to waste if it's not eaten right away... On the list of safe foods, I see things like chickpeas, pasta (all natural), rice and all kinds of fruit—are dried fruits and uncooked chickpeas, pasta and rice acceptable, or is there an issue with consistency that might make it harder for the crabs to consume? I'd have no problem leaving some uncooked brown rice and dry chickpeas for days, mixed in with their usual assortment of fresh veggies. When it comes to things like meat, is there a difference between cooked and uncooked? I know it changes the nutritional content, but I'm also not thrilled at having raw chicken sitting around anywhere but inside the package in the fridge.

They also have been interested in nuts, but I'm wondering, should it be chopped—one crab is on the larger side, the other is quite small—do they typically like food presented to them in smaller sizes or would it be stimulation/interesting for them (like the corn cobs appear to be)? Should I be smashing the nuts up, or dropping in a whole cashew? They've also liked egg shells, but if I get them some cuttlebone (which would last longer than the eggshells) can I give them a large piece and will they be interested in breaking it apart, or should it be crushed for easier consumption?

I also noticed on the list of approved commercial foods, some of the recommended items to mix in (for instance this: https://www.zillarules.com/all-products ... hies-fruit) are sold as something to be rehydrated before giving to your reptile... is a crab likely to want it rehydrated, or is it okay to give as is?

Thanks for any advice!

For meat, cooked and uncooked are equally safe. Raw would be closer to what they naturally find in the wild but not necessary. You can definitely feed cooked if you're more comfortable with that. For the crushing it will depend on your individual crabs preferences. My crabs have always been super lazy though, i even crush up their mealworms at this point haha. You can rehydrate or leave dry and experiment with what your crabs prefer. Dry will of course last longer but depending how okay you are with mold and such even wet can last a couple days

myllkti wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 17, 2024 10:46 pm

For meat, cooked and uncooked are equally safe. Raw would be closer to what they naturally find in the wild but not necessary. You can definitely feed cooked if you're more comfortable with that. For the crushing it will depend on your individual crabs preferences. My crabs have always been super lazy though, i even crush up their mealworms at this point haha. You can rehydrate or leave dry and experiment with what your crabs prefer. Dry will of course last longer but depending how okay you are with mold and such even wet can last a couple days

Okay, so it sounds like it's all mostly crab preference. I think I'd prefer to err on the side of what's easiest to keep clean, but I'll experiment.

You don't have to rehydrate foods for crabs like for reptiles.
Popcorn isn't junk food - it's just corn in a different form!
You can also get dried foods from somewhere like Hermit Crab Patch. I tend to feel a mix of fresh and dried. If I go away, I have left just dried food for a week or so. It will be fuzzy and moldy when you get back, but that isn't harmful to the crabs, just take it out and put in some new food.
I put cuttle bone in whole and let them pick at it. If you use cooked egg shells (like from boiled eggs) they will last a long time in the tank.