Seaoned food

megan_noel · Post by **megan_noel** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:44 am

if i give my crabs human food can it be seasoned?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:35 pm

@megan_noel, no unfortunately hermitcrabs can not tolerate any kind of seasoning as it is said to irritate their digestive tract.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 1:16 pm

Check out the food list on here there are tons of human foods you can feed them just don't season it don't hardly have to buy commercial food, mine are having pork roast today.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:19 am

Our safe food list is on the zoea forum at the top. No seasoning, baby food is ok, for fruits and veggies it is best to have organic because the pesticides used on most food will eventually build up in the crabs system and kill them. A crabs body is just like an insect body even spraying your house for bugs can hurt them. Anything in a metal can should be avoided also.

Shawn · Post by **Shawn** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:25 am

It depends on the seasonings. Onion, Garlic, table salt and Black Pepper which are my favorites, are not considered safe.You can season with Sea Salt, ground and dried bell peppers, cilantro, Basil, possibly Sage (or at least the blossoms), and Soy that I know of. Most of the things that the crabs can eat is stuff humans wouldn't or couldn't eat. They can eat hot peppers without dying but is it good for them? Not sure. In small amounts occasionally, probably ok. If you're going to try to feed yours hot peppers, i'd stay away from anything hotter than chili peppers. Jalapenos? At least remove the seeds. your best bet is to prepare your side dishes without seasonings and add them to the food on your plate. that way the unseasoned stuff still in the pan is ok to give them. Apparently, I'm pickier than my crabs are. A lot of the human food they like to eat is stuff that will never pass my lips. I'm in the process of trying to convert our eating habits to conform to theirs. Seasoning our food with just sea salt before cooking. Their natural diet is dead animals, bugs, leaves and feces. If you can give them plenty of that you're good to go. I gave mine a thawed, uncooked shrimp and at least half of my crabs sat and picked at it. This spring I'm going to start an organic potted garden with plants that are crab safe: Spinach, Parsley, Strawberries, Cilantro, Chia (whatever that is), bird seed sprouts and a couple of Sunflowers.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:55 am

@Shawn, we actually do not recommend using any type of seasonings though pure sea salt can be used on occasion.Peppers which are spicy contain an ingredient/chemical called Capsaicin which responsible for causing the heat sensation that we feel when we eat these peppers.Capsaicin in large enough quantities can kill certain insects and since hermitcrabs are in the insect phylum and so are just as likely to be injured or killed when exposed to large quantities of the chemical.While black pepper doesn't contain enough Capsaicin to even register on the SHU or Scoville Heat Unit index there is still enough of it present than it can be a digestive irritant and if the crabs are exposed to it long enough it can build up and become quite toxic.The Jalapeño has a SHU rating of 2,500 to 10,000 units depending on the soil composition where the peppers are grown.Chili Peppers have an SHU rating of 100,000 to 580,000 because there are so many types and hybrids of these peppers and they come from all over the world.Most hermitcrabs will be repulsed by the smell of the peppers as it can be strong and irritating to the respiratory system.A lot of the spices we use also have medicinal side effects intended for humans which makes these spices toxins to the hermitcrabs.Take garlic for instance fresh garlic contains an antibiotic, antimicrobial, anti-fungal agent called Allicillin which is produced by the garlic bulb when it is under attack in the field or has been crushed in the home and Doctors have found that this naturally occurring antibiotic will kill infections like Methicillin resistant staff infections(MRSA)as other synthetic antibiotics have stopped have any effect.Due to the aggressive nature of Allicillin it will attack anything and everything which makes it a toxin for hermitcrabs as it would essentially destroy them from the inside out.For these reasons we have adopted a no spice policy because there are too many that are more harmful than good.