Category: Food and Nutrition | Page 2 | The Crab Street Journal

Color enhancing foods

Tagged: astaxanthin, benefits, booster, carotenoid, color, diet, enhancing, feeding, food, healthy, hermit crab, nutrition, tannins, Zeaxanthin

Great idea for an experiment. I have done some research on colour enhancing foods and figuring out how to get crabs a certain colour. If you want really dark brown colour hermit crabs then give them lots of foods rich in tannins such as Brown Oak Leaves, Brown Oak Bark (pesticide free). This comes from Carol of CrabWorks. Her hermit crabs have been eating this since they were itty bitty crabbies, 28+ years ago! If you want orange hues that foods such as carrots, marigold petals have been known to create an increase in orange colour. Foods rich in Astaxanthin are what you are lookingRead More →

Adulterants & Additives in hermit crab food

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: addivitives, avoid, cakes, chemicals, copper sulfate, diet, ethoxyquin, feeding, fish meal, food, healthy, hermit crab, information, label, meal, nutrition, pellets

Written by Julia Crab Monday, 01 August 2005 What follows is a list of ingredients added to commercial and processed foods that may harm hermit crab health when fed. While I believe that these substances should be avoided, there is no actual scientific proof that these are harmful. This list is being compiled as a guide to dietary harm reduction. The key to good diet, in crabs, other pets, and people, is informed label reading. Anything enzyme modified * Anything fermented * Anything protein fortified * Ascorbyl Palmitate Autolyzed yeast * Barley malt * BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) Bouillon and Broth * CalciumRead More →

Atypical things hermit crabs can eat

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: atypical, edibles, food, hermit crab, hermit crab care

Hermit crabs are omnivorous scavengers in the wild. There are lots of different foods that a hermit crab can eat. We have several different food lists for commonly fed items. Check out a few of the atypical things that hermit crabs can eat: Feces – herbivorous animal droppings. In Quirimba hermit crabs are known to eat human waste as well. Fish flakes or pellets Bloodworms Mealworms Earthworms Cuttlebone – great source of calcium Bonemeal – great source of calcium Cicadas and their exoskeletons (most other bugs too) Worm castings GreensandRead More →

Going Natural Beginner’s List

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: beginners, diet, eating, feeding, food, foods, going, hermit crab, hermit crab care, list, natural, nutrition, organic

If you are limited to what organics you can find or afford check out this list of foods that are safe to buy non-organic and foods that you should always buy organic: Dirty Dozen Food List written by Kerie Campbell If you’ve decided to get rid of commercial diet completely, and go natural, here is a list of the recommended human-grade beginner foods. These are the highest in nutrition and will make a good base for adding fresh fruit, vegetables and meat too. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (olive oil will do in a pinch) for cooking eggs, etc. Hemp seed meal (very high in HUFAs,Read More →

People food for hermit crabs

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: food, hermit crab, hermit crab care, people food, safe, snack, treats

Aside from the obvious flowers, plants, leaves, fruits and vegetables, there are some other people foods that can be safe to feed to your hermit crabs. This is not an exhaustive list but the most common we come across: Popcorn – plain (no salt no butter). If you don’t care for plain popcorn you can always buy a small quantity of kernels and pop two or three in the microwave using a paper bag. Hot dogs – go for all natural and only feed occasionally due to nitrates and other chemicals. No known research on their effects but you should limit the chemicals you areRead More →

Growing your own hermit crab food

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: garden, growing, hermit crab, hermit crab care, seeds, sprouts

With a small seed sprouter and some seeds you can easily grow a mini garden of tasty and tender sprout shoots to feed your hermit crabs. This could be an easy way to provide some fresh food while you are on vacation. If you use some time of eco earth substrate you may be able to get some seeds to sprout directly in the tank, assuming the crabbies don’t eat the seeds before the get going. Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of the substrate and mist them with dechlorinated water each day until they begin to sprout. The crabs will likely start munching onRead More →

Hermit Crab Food Recipes

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: benefits, diet, feeding, food, guide, healthy, hermit crab, hermit crab care, home made, natural, nutrition, organic, recipes

Unfortunately I have no indications as to who may have created this list though I suspect the list came from Kerie Campbell. I know there are endless food ideas but these may help get you started. Fruity Fish & Flowers II dried calendula (about 2 tsp.) dried chamomile (about 1 tsp.) coconut chunk large papaya chunk pink flame rose bud Kibble and place in the serving dish. Air-pop about 1 Tbl. amaranth shred some dulse 1 Tbl. Flott tuna 1 tsp rolled oats large pinch dandelion root large pinch dried dandelion leaf. Kibble and place on top of the fruit dish, sort of a reverse-chutney.Read More →

Hermit Crab Nutrition Table

In: Food and Nutrition

Tagged: diet, food, health, hermit crab, hermit crab care, minerals, nutrition, vitamins

Feeding your hermit crab a balanced diet as they would experience in the wild is vital to their ongoing health. We highly recommend keeping worm castings, calcium, and greensand on hand and in your tank daily. Both are highly nutritious and are loved by hermit crabs. This chart breaks down the nutritional needs and includes some food suggestions. Hermit Crab Nutrition Table by Lisa L. Download the chart as a PDF Also check out Kilimanjaro’s Guide to Hermit Crab NutritionRead More →

The importance of the right kind of salt

In: FAQ, Food and Nutrition, General

Tagged: aquarium, brands, hermit crab, ocean, salt, types, water

written by Jennifer Nielsen The existence of an ocean water dish is a source of great controversy in the world of hermit crab owners. Why the importance of this type of water is rarely debated, it seems that the products used in the creation of Ocean Water are the source of much debate. Just as all hermit crab owners know not to use table salt for their crabs, there are two types of salt available for aquarium use. Fresh Saltwater as well as Ocean Water Salt, which although made of the same components have vastly different role within the world of fish keeping. A saltwaterRead More →

FAQ A Close Look At Salt Products

In: FAQ, Food and Nutrition

Tagged: brands, comparison, hermit crab, mix, products, salt, water

Hermit crab enthusiast Jennifer Nielsen compares several brands of sea salt mix in this article. Written by Jennifer Nielsen (aka redjln) While many hermit crab owners realize the importance of providing Ocean Water to their pets, there is a question over which type and which specific product is the best. To answer this, I got Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals enriched blend by Aquarium Systems, Doc Wellfish’s Aquarium Salt, and Aquarium Salt by Jungle. I have gotten a container of Distilled Water to test the products in. Now, I will disclaim right now that I do not have access to a laboratory of equipment. AllRead More →