Advice please

[Lanaisaacs]

I am wanting to make my own hermit food instead of ordering, what is some advice on things they like most and what should I be feeding and what times are the best to feed?

[curlysister]

Have you checked out the nutrition care sheet? It pretty much covers everything you need to know about crab nutrition, and then some!
Variety is the key with crabs. You can feed them many of the same foods that we eat. Some people literally just make a little bowl with whatever they are cooking for supper that night! Some people feed dried foods - the benefit of this is that you don't have to replace it as often. I do some fresh and some dried. Fresh food will only last 24-48 hours before it gets moldy and gross. Dried foods can be left in longer, you usually only need to change it out a couple of times a week. I often leave things until they are fuzzy LOL.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 25&t=92554

[Lanaisaacs]

I did check it out!! But I wondered if I could just mix and match things on the safe list. Or is there like certain things they have to have every day or can it be mixed up. I’m experimenting as I am new to crabbing!! The only food I had was whatever food they give you at a gift shop!! And I researched and hear that’s not good to feed them?!

[curlysister]

Yeah, most commercial foods aren't great long term - they have preservatives and not a lot of nutrition. Kind of like eating junk food all the time.
You can for sure mix and match foods! The only things that are needed on most if not all days, are protein and calcium. Many people buy a cuttle bone for calcium (you can find them in the bird section of a pet store, and they are cheap!) and leave it in the tank all the time for the crabs to pick at. Egg shells are another great source, and if they are dry (like peeled off a boiled egg) they can stay in the tank forever too. Protein can be the dried shrimp, or any meat.

[Lanaisaacs]

Thank you so much!! As of right now in the food bowl I have the walnut and pecan chopped. Egg shells from just a regular raw egg. And those wet shrimp! No one has touched anything yet though!

[Lanaisaacs]

ALSO!! Just put a new crab into the crabitat. It keeps going to the salt water pool and just sitting there?? Is this normal?? I only have one other crab and it is down in the substrate I can hear it moving around.

[Motörcrab]

We use a combination of hermit crab shop food mixes and make our own mixes. We purchase lots of single ingredients and mix and match based on the nutrition guide here.

The only difference we do is offer all food typed at all times rather than a time or two a week.

[Wlfwo]

One of my crabs hangs out in the salt water a lot. If he's new, could be there wasn't any available and he's making up for lost time. I offer a dried and a fresh protein and a calcium always, everything else is apt to change depending on what I have.

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[mool]

I keep a purchased "complete meal mix" in each 'tat at all times. I usually take it out when it gets so fuzzy I don't recognize it anymore. I rotate single source foods and do the same. Each bowl gets replaced 1-2 times/week.

I'm pretty laissez-faire in my crab keeping methodology. I don't sweat the small stuff; and it's all small stuff.