HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello!

So, I'm almost always either visiting family or away from home, which is pretty bad!!!

I used to just give them some extra food if it was a 1-2 day trip, but I hated the idea of old food in their tank.

Up until recently I found these little mineral rocks to give them when I'm gone (found at Petco) and they seem to eat them while I'm gone.

They come in a three pack, pretty small, and I used up all three in the past month or two.

I put one next to their food bowl and a little bit of coconut shavings.

In the picture is the packaging it was in and a (pretty eaten up) mineral rock.

I'm not sure if I trust it or not, I'm worried it falls into the category of "commercial food". I'll stop using them because I have hunch that that is the case.

What do I feed them while I'm gone? Is this safe?

Thanks!

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I've left my crabs up to two weeks before with no issues.

Dried food mixes are the best if you have to be away for a while. Shrimp, krill, crickets, dried fruits and veg, eggshells, bee pollen, leaf litter and worm castings are all good foods to mix up.

I don't know about the mineral blocks. I've never used them and pretty much anything marketed to hermit crabs in the store is useless with the exception of some of the Fluker's dried insects, meal worms, river shrimp, etc that may be marketed as "hermit crab treats".



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When i have to leave for various reasons, i lay out 2 food dishes with enough dried food to last them while i'm gone. Since it's dried, i haven't had any issues with bugs or anything.

I agree with the dried food. It will eventually get moldy too, due to the humidity, but not nearly as fast as fresh food. I have left mine for up to 10 days with dried foods, and no issues.

Sounds good, thank you guys!

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Ingredients
Calcium Sulfate, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Squid Meal, Soybean Meal, Krill Meal, Fish Oil (Naturally Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid), Shrimp Meal, Dehydrated Beets, Lecithin, Garlic Powder, Iron Oxide, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Beta Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodate, Astaxanthin, Canthaxanthin,,Propionic Acid (A Natural Preservative), Rosemary Extract.

Here's a list of the ingredients from Petco's website. Along with having a lot of add-ins (I casually call them unpronouncables) it also has copper sulfate, which makes it a no go.

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PinchersAndShells wrote:

Ingredients
Calcium Sulfate, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Squid Meal, Soybean Meal, Krill Meal, Fish Oil (Naturally Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid), Shrimp Meal, Dehydrated Beets, Lecithin, Garlic Powder, Iron Oxide, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Beta Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodate, Astaxanthin, Canthaxanthin,,Propionic Acid (A Natural Preservative), Rosemary Extract.

Here's a list of the ingredients from Petco's website. Along with having a lot of add-ins (I casually call them unpronouncables) it also has copper sulfate, which makes it a no go.

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Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

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