I've fed my hermit crab some food with a bad ingredient!

[Guest]

OK, so i just got my first hermit crabs and i've put some Zoo Med Dried Hermit crab food in the food dish. I just looked at the ingredients and it has ethoxyquin in it. I took the food out. Will my hermit crab be alright?
What shall i feed him?

[Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs]

The best foods consist of fresh or dry fruits and vegetables. You can order the dry types of food off of www.petdiscounters.com or www.hermitcrabaddictionstore.com.

[dbolack]

OK, so i just got my first hermit crabs and i've put some Zoo Med Dried Hermit crab food in the food dish. I just looked at the ingredients and it has ethoxyquin in it. I took the food out. Will my hermit crab be alright?
What shall i feed him?

Most of the questionable ingrediants found in commercial foods seem to be of the "Long term, potentially damaging" variety rather than short term death, so you shouldn't stress too much about the food. Depending on the store you bought it at, it's quite likely your crab is already accustomed to it.

If you aren't able to regularly provide fresh food(like you're in a dorm and have no fridge), here's something you can do.

In the bird and small animals sections of most pet stores you can find Kaytee dried foods. The product is called "Healthy toppings." They run from about $1.29 to $3 a bag and are almost always all natural. ( I would say always, as I don't recall any that weren't, but I can't recall empirically )

These are almoist all mixes of 2-4 different dried fruits and veggies, and there's also one that's a nut pack. I don't recall ever finding one that had anything that wasn't on the safe food list, but I'd take a copy just in case.

I take several of these and mix them in a plastic bowl with a sealable screwtop lid and shake them up. We use this to supplement the fresh food and ensure a regular variety for our little guys.

We find that $10 of this stuff lasts a very long time, and if sealed, doesn't spoil at all. You'll still want to get a container of dried krill, baby shrimp, and or bloodworms to go along with it.

Oh, and you can regularly find these 2 for 1 at Petco and other pet stores.

[bksbuddha]

Feeding natural is not as daunting as it appears. I used to think it was really hard, but now realize that I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Any fresh fruits or veggies you eat, can be given to them so long as there is no seasoning on them. Gerber also makes freeze dried fruits in little resealable pkgs. Any trail mix w/no salt or preservatives also works well. The bloodworms, krill, plankton, tubifex dried worms are also great so long as they have nothing else in them. Just be sure to read all the labels. In the bird section, there are also Oat Groats which mine love. Just oat groats in it, made by Kaytee. The reptile section provides freeze dried Meal Worms & Crickets that are an excellent source of protein...low in fat too! I also give mine grits & oatmeal, w/no additives...no salt & no preservatives. Hope this helps ya out some. Any question, feel free to ask.