Food and Nutrition

Re-classifying Lavender

Tagged: food hermit crabs, lavender, safe, unsafe

Dried or dehydrated Lavender flowers are being removed from the UNSAFE list. Fresh Lavender is still considered UNSAFE. After some discussion regarding long time crabbers feeding the dried flower without any obvious issue we are changing our stance to dried/dehydrated Lavender is likely safe. We can’t truly test dry Lavender or know the effects without a controlled laboratory experiment and an autopsy of any animals that die during (or after) the test. Therefore, we ask that all sellers who wish to sell dry or dehydrated Lavender note on the product that is believed to be safe but the buyer should be aware there is noRead More →

A Holiday Feast for Hermit Crabs

In: FAQ, Food and Nutrition, General

Tagged: christmas, diet, eat, food, holiday, meal, nutrition, potatoes, safe, thanksgiving, turkey

***REMEMBER NO SEASONINGS OR ADDED SUGAR*** Safe to feed: Turkey raw or cooked Save the neck and giblet bag for the crabs Turkey bones Crack them open so they can get at the marrow. Potatoes No eyes or green parts raw or cooked. Veggies raw or cooked *no onions or garlic* Dark Leafy Greens must be cooked first. Nuts ground, whole, chunks. Fruits Sour fruit will not be eaten (for example: they will not eat like lemon) Oils pure and cold pressed are best Herbs No Rosemary evergreen family. If you brine or injected with rosemary or rosemary oils compound butters etc could have absorbedRead More →

Grand Slam

In: Food and Nutrition, Recipes

Tagged: corn meal, food, hermit crab, meal, nuts, recipe, worms

Ingredients 1 Cup+ dried meal worms 1/3 Cup dried beef or chicken (break into small pieces first) 1/2 Cup polenta or cornmeal (it’s the same thing) Several clean dry egg shells 1/3 Cup peanuts 2 tbsp sunflower seeds 2 tbsp pine nuts Instructions Blend all ingredients until smooth except nuts. Pulse in nuts last and leave a little chunky. Nuts eventually go bad. Store in a cool dry place, or put in fridge/freezer for long term storage. Store in an airtight container. I prefer glass jars. Does not require refrigeration. Can be frozen. Submitted by Amber M.Read More →

Breakfast Bowl

In: Food and Nutrition, Recipes

Tagged: bowl, breakfast, chia, dry, flax, hermit crab, recipe, wet, wheat

Ingredients 1/3 Cup Plain Oats 1/4 Cup wheat germ 1/4 Cup dried coconut 1/4 Cup dried mixed fruit (chop a bit first) 3 tbsp Chamomile Flowers 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast 2 tbsp flax seeds 2 tbsp chia seeds Instructions Blend all ingredients until desired consistency. Store in an airtight container. I prefer glass jars. Optional prep method: For a wet mix add into the blender last: Pure virgin cold pressed oil and honey or maple Add enough until it just mixes together to form a crumbly paste. Keep wet version refrigerated. Both can be served “as is” or mix in a little warm water rightRead More →

Sushi

In: Food and Nutrition, Recipes

Tagged: algae, hermit crab, nori, recipe, rice, shrimp, sushi

Ingredients Dried green or red algae 3 sheets Kombu (break into pieces or use scissors to chop) 3 medium pieces Nori 3 sheets Red cargo rice, or your favorite nutritionally dense organic rice or grain. 1/4 or 1/3 cup. Freeze dried shrimp 2-3 tbsp Dried salmon skin 3+ tbsp (do not sub, healthy fat is important!) Dried salmon 2+ tbsp Instructions Blend everything until desired constancy. I don’t like it totally powdered, it should still have a little texture so the crabs can get what they want, or eat the powdery bits. Their choice 🙂 Store in an airtight container, I prefer glass jars. DoesRead More →

Suet for hermit crabs

In: Food and Nutrition, General, Recipes

Tagged: coconut oil, dish, food, hermit crab, recipe, seeds, suet

Ingredients: Flax Seed Chia Seed Amaranth Wheat Sesame Seeds Quinoa (Red and White) Kelp Powder Mixed seed bird seed with dried fruit Organic Coconut oil Quantities needed depend on how many hermit crabs you have. I used a pinch of each of the items listed. You can use any combination of dry items. You could also substitute organic peanut butter for the Coconut Oil. In a small bowl with a lid add all of your dry ingredients. Add a small amount of Coconut Oil (room temp is ideal). Use a spoon to smear the oil around so it begins to pickup the dry ingredients. MixRead More →

Hermit Crab Food Foraging List

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: bark, bugs, collect, feed, feeding, flowers, food, forage, foraging, fruit, hermit crab, insects, leaves, legumes, list, pick, plants, scavenge, scavenging, seafood, shellfish, vegetables, wild, wood

For the outdoorsy hermit crab enthusiast we have compiled a list of foods that can be collected or harvested. It’s perfect to tuck into your backpack for easy reference. Please forage responsibly! Don’t over collect. Respect all local, state and federal laws regarding wild foraging and collection. Sustainable Foraging “In addition to considering your own safety when foraging, it is also important to take a long-term view: sustainable foraging means remembering that you are not the only creature which may wish to make use of a given resource. For example, wild berries play an important role in birds’ diets. Whatever you take, leave plenty forRead More →

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What’s for dinner? A hermit crab food guide!

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: benefits, diet, feeding, food, guide, healthy, hermit crab, information, needed, nutrition, nutritious, sick, what to buy, where to buy

In an effort to simplify feeding for hermit crab owners we have put together a few printable hermit crab food guides. These should be used in conjunction with our safe and unsafe lists. *Nutritional Guide *Foraging Guide *Where to Buy Guide *What to Feed and Why Guide ****The files can be downloaded at the bottom of the article.**** If you have additions or corrections for any of these guides or other food lists please send them to crabstreetjournal@gmail.com As we don’t allow commenting due to spammers. Additional food related articles: Safe and Unsafe Wood Edible Flowers What Foods are Good and Bad? Beneficial Foods ContainingRead More →

Beneficial Foods Containing Zeaxanthin

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: beneficial, benefits, booster, carotenoid, color, diet, enhancer, feeding, food, guide, healthy, hermit crab, important, information, nutrition, Zeaxanthin

Written by Julia Crab Saturday, 19 November 2005 Zeaxanthin is an important precursor to astaxanthin, the carotenoid crustaceans need most to regulate their body systems. If astaxanthin is hard to come by, then zeaxanthin is the substance that coenobita need most. Beta carotene, while a valuable carotenoid, is not used as efficiently by crabs and is not of as much dietary use as zeaxanthin is. The following lists are of zeaxanthin-containing foods. There are three lists, one each for foods containing high, moderate, and low or trace amounts of this important substance. They are partial and will be updated as new information comes in. FeedRead More →

Learning to prepare food for your hermit crabs

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: benefits, diet, feeding, food, healthy, hermit crab, nutrition, prepare, tools

Written by Julia Crab 2005 Coconuts: A Really Tough Nut to Crack Yeah, these guys are tricky to open. But the fresh meat and milk inside are crab ambrosia. The best method for opening them is to employ an adult human male. Barring access to one of those, note the three depressions at one end of the coconut. These are the coconut’s eyes. An icepick, a chisel, or a strong slot head screwdriver placed firmly in the center of one of the eyes, and bashed firmly and repeatedly by a hammer will eventually reward those with perseverance. A drill or jigsaw can also be employedRead More →