Hickory Leaves

[CrabbyLover77]

Just want to double check pignut hickory leaves are ok for crabbies. Thanks!

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[GotButterflies]

I do not have Hickory on any of my safe lists, so I would avoid it to be on the safe side.

[Xenocrab]

Hickory leaves, bark and nuts are safe. I asked that in a fb group. My crabs love the bark! I get mine from someone who owns land and is 100% insecticide, herbicide and fungicide free. However, they are not on any list for safe or unsafe. I think some of those food lists should be updated.

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[CrabbyLover77]

I do not have Hickory on any of my safe lists, so I would avoid it to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the reply. Always good hearing from you on here.

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[CrabbyLover77]

Hickory leaves, bark and nuts are safe. I asked that in a fb group. My crabs love the bark! I get mine from someone who owns land and is 100% insecticide, herbicide and fungicide free. However, they are not on any list for safe or unsafe. I think some of those food lists should be updated.

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Hi Xeno,

Thanks so much! I have an acre of property and never use any chemicals. So I'm excited to wash and dry up some of the leaves I picked today!
I'll leave the nuts for my squirrel friends. I love watching them run up and down the tree trunks collecting their goodies lol.

I agree, a good update to the food list would be awesome.


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[GotButterflies]

Yes...the lists do need to be updated! I'm not on social media, so I don't have access to that info. Thanks Xena! That's why I always play it safe!

[wodesorel]

Food items don't just magically appear on the safe food list, food trials have to be instituted to make sure that an item is safe for multiple crabs in multiple homes over a long period of time. Hickory can have juglone, which is a powerful insecticide and what makes black walnut trees so dangerous to eat - for anything, including arthropods. It's in much smaller amounts but there is a risk, and someone has to be willing to sacrifice their hermits in order to test out a unknown food item, and unless someone strongly suspects that it's safe that just isn't happening. I've got one person saying they are feeding bark with no other info. Is that enough info to declare it safe if the tree ID was actually wrong? Or if those crabs were just healthy enough to make it through a few meals?

[CrabbyLover77]

Food items don't just magically appear on the safe food list, food trials have to be instituted to make sure that an item is safe for multiple crabs in multiple homes over a long period of time. Hickory can have juglone, which is a powerful insecticide and what makes black walnut trees so dangerous to eat - for anything, including arthropods. It's in much smaller amounts but there is a risk, and someone has to be willing to sacrifice their hermits in order to test out a unknown food item, and unless someone strongly suspects that it's safe that just isn't happening. I've got one person saying they are feeding bark with no other info. Is that enough info to declare it safe if the tree ID was actually wrong? Or if those crabs were just healthy enough to make it through a few meals?

Thanks so much for the feedback. If Xeno has been feeding baked hickory bark for years, that wouldn't be some evidence that it's safe?

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[Brian_T]

I've given my crabs shagbark history leaves without issue. The isopods seemed to like them too. I didn't have any problems, but I'll keep the above post mind I think.

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[CrabbyLover77]

I've given my crabs shagbark history leaves without issue. The isopods seemed to like them too. I didn't have any problems, but I'll keep the above post mind I think.

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Thanks! A crabby friend on here (who asked some experts) told me if you bake the leaves first, they are ok for the crabs.

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[wodesorel]

Thanks so much for the feedback. If Xeno has been feeding baked hickory bark for years, that wouldn't be some evidence that it's safe?

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That's what I'm asking, at what point is the community satisfied that a food item is safe. The ones on there now have been throughly tested among multiple people and crabs over a long period of time, and/or researched to be safe. Research is when two items are closely related with no differences aside from flavor/shape.

Lavender should be on the safe list because multiple crabbers have reported no issues having it in their tank, but I guarantee if we added it that there would be meltdowns about us killing crabs because it's considered an insecticide.

Hickory has never been brought up on this board before.