How can I tell if my crabs are eating?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:22 pm

So banana's can be frozen? Wouldn't it be all mushy and stuff once it defrost? Also I saw that Crab Island (original formula) by T-Rex (not Fruit and Flower) and Hikari Bio-Pure foods (only the Bio-Pure line) are ok commerical foods, is that true because it will be easier to feed them premade food than making fresh food daily? Of course I will offer them fruits as treats as I can do that but just not daily. Would it be ok to feed them banana's and frozen bloodworms until I can get a safe commerical food or by feeding them the comerical food I have till I can get a safe one?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:00 pm

Commercial foods can be iffy, even if you read the ingredients list and find no preservatives. Pet foods are not regulated like human foods are. Commercial companies are not required to list all ingredients. You never know what is hidden in there. I picked up a bottle of the Crab Island food the other day in PetCo and found EQ in it, and it's supposedly safe.

Crabs get bored with being offered only one type of food. They are scavengers by nature and feed on wide varieties of stuff, not just one processed kibble from a bottle. Commercially made foods do not give them all the nutrition that they need. If you have to use commercial foods, get freeze dried krill, or freeze dried shrimp. Also, check out the frozen fresh stuff in pet stores.

Currently I have fresh thawed krill, grapes, yellow bell pepper, kiwi, and honey with cuttle bone in my tank for dinner tonight. I just walked through there and they are literally in a line waiting to get at the food bowl. I never saw them do this when I was feeding them FMR before I did some research. Seeing them so eager to gobble down what you put in their feeder shells is worth the extra 5 minutes of effort it takes.

Crabs aren't easy to take care of. They do require some work, but once you get a system going, it takes probably 10 minutes a day to feed them fresh stuff and spot clean the tank.

Freedomwolf · Post by **Freedomwolf** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:52 am

i have tetra fauna crab meal says it is suited for all land crabs (hermit, fidler, carriban, etc). the ingreedients are as follows:fish meal, copra meal, wheat germ meal, dried yeast, dehulled soybean meal, potato protien, corn flour, calcium propionate and ethoxyquin (i believe was mentioned as a preservitive, no?).

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:07 am

A HCA member Narnar makes very affordable organic dry kibbles. I use those in my tank and give them what ever fresh foods I have in the house in a seperate dish that I have. The dry kibble can be left in longer than the fresh stuff so I don't mix unless I am going to change the dish.
You can see the different kibbles, what is in them and buy them if you want here:
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Happy-Hermit-Crab

And about the bananas getting mushy... I think the crabs prefer them once they get a little yucky.

You can also make your own frozen or dried foods yourself. Just buy a bunch of stuff chop it up mix it all together and spoon small portons on a cookie sheet freeze it then once it is frozen transfer it to freezer bags or if you have a dehydrater just dry everything crush it up and store it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:55 am

I also keep a good stock in my freezer. I go to the meat dept and get 1/2 pound of shrimp pieces (used for salads) and freeze it. I also use organic baby food for veggies. Just drop it in little blobs on wax paper and freeze them. Then you just need to get out a small piece in the morning when you want that food. By nighttime, it will be thawed and ready to go. I also add a mix of crushed cuttle bone, cornmeal, and brown rice to any soft food I give them. The last thing is I grow a few veggies in my garden. It's never enough for the people in my house, but it's enough to chop up for crab food. Just experiment and have fun with it. Your crabs will suprise you with what they'll eat. Last thing, I get their food ready before work in the morning. I just put it in the dishes, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit on the counter. Then I just have to put it in the tank at night. They seem to like food that's sat around a little better and the plastic wrap keeps any possible bugs out.

Good Luck!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 10:53 am

I noticed that one of my crabs didn't go for the banana's even though I put it in front of him and he is still in the same position as he was last night, is that a cause for concern? So none of those foods listed on the safe commerical food list is ok to feed them?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:41 am

"Most commercial foods contain preservatives and other ingredients that may be harmful to hermit crabs." "Many of the members of the HCA have decided to feed their crabs an all natural diet. We have eliminated commercial foods from our hermit crab's diet. We have decided to do this because we are unsure of consequences of the preservatives contained in commercial foods."

For this reason a lot of us choose to not feed commerical foods. If you feed commercial foods or not is your choice. I recommend reading the information available and decide for yourself what you think is best.

I personally do not feed "commercial" foods. I feed Narnar's organic kibbles and supplement with fresh foods.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:00 pm

Is nannar a member on here, because I'd like to talk to him about this food he makes?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:05 pm

Yes, she is a member. Her kibbles are quite popular here. I think I may need to jump on the bandwagon and order some too.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:34 pm

Yes and she is very nice. You can buy her kibble at her ebay store which I stuck the link in an above post but it is also in her signature... you can also find her kibble and muffins info in the classified section.

viewtopic.php?t=34694
and
viewtopic.php?t=33699

cwaweeks: I have the pickiest PPs ever! They eat her Staple Kibble though. That is why I ordered the other varieties. I now have the bluegreen and the fruitflower. I am trying them tonight. I also feel better knowing they have a balanced diet available to them and I can feed the fresh foods for fun and not have to worry if they've had a balance diet.

Freedomwolf · Post by **Freedomwolf** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:26 pm

i keep seeing that ppl are buying shrimp on here. i am wondering is it cooked when you buy it or un cooked. if cooked does it have table salt on it which inot good for the crabs? i tried to give them cooked once but they did not eat it and i figured it have table salt on it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:55 pm

I buy my shrimp fresh and uncooked from the seafood deparment at my grocery store, and then freeze it. They don't have anything on them.

I feed it to my crabs either cooked, partially cooked, or raw.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 1:58 pm

I noticed that one of my crabs didn't go for the banana's even though I put it in front of him and he is still in the same position as he was last night, is that a cause for concern?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:54 pm

Not eating the banana is not a concern... not moving might be ... are you sure he isn't moving at night and then just coming back to his favorite spot?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:05 pm

Well there are alot of tracks around the spot he is in, I'll pat the sand down flat tonight and see if there are tracks in the morning.