HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I have been doing a lot of research info foods as I want to give my crabs something better to eat. Right now All I have is fish like flasks which are HBH dried food from petsmart. I know it's not the best and probably the worst on the market but I am looking for a nice bag of replacement organic food to use. I also feed them honey, cuttlebone obviously and veg. I have been looking at the FMR food you can get from the crabbage patch and I have read on here some people don't like it.

So just out of interest what do you feed your crabs and where do you get it. My main concern is some of the stuff that is in this HBH dried food. I would change over to fish flakes which are more organic but I would rather just buy something I know has been made fully organic and doesn't contain anything nasty or dangerous.

Try plain human grade foods. Fruits and veggies, plus cooked meats without salt/butter, cooked rice without salt/butter, cheese once a month max, potato and more. Look at the ingredients of your hbh stuff. It should have things like oats. Natural foods on that list are great too.

flower crab wrote:Try plain human grade foods. Fruits and veggies, plus cooked meats without salt/butter, cooked rice without salt/butter, cheese once a month max, potato and more. Look at the ingredients of your hbh stuff. It should have things like oats. Natural foods on that list are great too.

Sadly no cooked meats. Were both vegetarians. I'm just looking for something dried to go with the veg I am putting in as some of the stuff we make isn't going to be crab safe. I don't even really want to think what would happen if a little hermie got its claws on curry.

Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to offer some kind of meat source to your land hermit crab's diet. They need an animal-protein source and cannot do without it (like humans can). I totally respect your lifestyle as a vegetarian, but the crabs need some sort of meat.

There are many great kibbles available at The Happy Hermit Crab and The Hermit Crab Addiction Store. There you can buy different types of protein and other dry kibbles.

I cannot express how important a protein source in the crab's diet is. It is often the most left out, too.

I know, well I don't have any means to take that source away from them thats why im looking for a dried source mixed in with a few other things. I don't mind it dried and easy to store.

This is why I was looking at the crabbage patch own FMR mix. I know it has meat and bone meal in it. Though from what I have read and been told the chopper sulphate isn't good for the crabs.

I wouldn't get the FMR food. It is full of bad stuff.

If you're looking at the Crabbage Patch, their "Surf N Turf" protein mix has a great protein analysis. Also, Colorado Care Co. makes a kibble that is sold there and is also very good.

While at the pet store, you could always buy freeze-dried krill or freeze-dried crickets. Both are a good protein source.

ok cool, Its so hard looking for dried foods that are good. I have been though some many websites looking for a good sized pack around 1lb or so to use as I don't have an endless supply of money. I am looking though crab addiction and happy hermit crab right now to see if they have anything with a large pack to last me a while. My hbh food will do for now until I can find what I am after with from fresh veg and such.

Just out of interest, what are the really bad things just so I can make a note of them and what to avoid.

You can find a list of harmful ingredients here and also a food guide here.

ok cool thanks , didn't see that post. I know that nasty little white container has chopper sulphate in it like most foods which is a real shame. With your good advice though I can now go though these sites and pick out what I want and know its good

Please forgive my ignorance, but do vegetarians eat eggs? While eggs can eventually lead to chickens, etc., it's not an actual red meat, or come from an actual formerly living creature. I thought I heard somewhere that at least some vegetarians incorporate eggs as a protein source, and eggs can be fed to the crabs as well (unseasoned, of course!)

And on the topic of eggs, I had my mom scramble an egg for me, and I cut it up into little bite-sized pieces (or it was bitesized to a human, LOL) and fed only a sliver of the amount. I couldn't tell if it was a hit or not. Should I prepare it differently?

Lady WolfStorm wrote:Please forgive my ignorance, but do vegetarians eat eggs? While eggs can eventually lead to chickens, etc., it's not an actual red meat, or come from an actual formerly living creature. I thought I heard somewhere that at least some vegetarians incorporate eggs as a protein source, and eggs can be fed to the crabs as well (unseasoned, of course!)

And on the topic of eggs, I had my mom scramble an egg for me, and I cut it up into little bite-sized pieces (or it was bitesized to a human, LOL) and fed only a sliver of the amount. I couldn't tell if it was a hit or not. Should I prepare it differently?

yes in deed some do and i do . I'm not a vegan. It's funny, most people think vegetarians and vegans are the same thing. Vegans are the one who refuse to use or eat any animal related products. Me i just don't like meat anymore and most stuff I have found i don't get on with has animal fat in so I just spend time avoiding it.

Technically if you eat out and everything is fried its probably animal fat but there is nothing I can do about that. Oh yeah we have a stash of egg shells which I am going to add to there next meal to see how they get on with it.

I think the food that we have the dried stuff (look down on can of food) is making the crabs want to hide and be less active than they normally would be. Hence why I want to change it.

Canned foods? Beware of the metal in tin cans. While foods themselves are great, if the storage container is a can, it can lead to metal poisioning.

Also, baby foods I heard is a good substitute too, but they're not dried stuff

And thank you for clarifying -- I didn't know there was a difference between "Vegetarian" and "Vegan"

I would highly recommend everything from NarNar's site, http://thehappyhermitcrab.com . Most of her products come in one and two ounce sizes, and are very affordable. I spent about $10 at NarNar's, and have easily 4 months worth of food in a variety of flavors (meats, fruits, veggies, fish, and sea veggies.

I wouldn't recommend buying a pound of anything...hermies eat tiny bits at the time, and a pound (even a dried pound) will lose nutritional value over time and get stale. You can buy a little more time by keeping it in the freezer, though.

MamaZelly wrote:I would highly recommend everything from NarNar's site, http://thehappyhermitcrab.com . Most of her products come in one and two ounce sizes, and are very affordable. I spent about $10 at NarNar's, and have easily 4 months worth of food in a variety of flavors (meats, fruits, veggies, fish, and sea veggies.

I wouldn't recommend buying a pound of anything...hermies eat tiny bits at the time, and a pound (even a dried pound) will lose nutritional value over time and get stale. You can buy a little more time by keeping it in the freezer, though.

Good point. I'm just about to eat then order a load of stuff , Also stocking up on some of the fresh veg and putting it in the freezer to use in bits. Even though freezing takes away some of the nutrients its better than having it left around rotting.

You could ask Narnar if she'd let you special order a larger quantity. I would imagine it could be stored in the freezer for quite some time.