Recipes

Hermit crab recipes that would make Julia Crab proud!

Anthocyanin Nibbles

Anthocyanin nibbles

Anthocyanin nibbles

Ingredients:

1 portion dark red/black cherries
1 portion blackberries
1 portion blueberries
1 portion red apple (Unwaxed only, she peel is the important part)
1 portion red beets
1/2 portion red raisins
1/2 portion dried plums/prunes
2 portions red beans (do not skip, or you won’t be able to grind into a powder)


Blanch each item in a small pot of crab safe water, reserving and reusing the water for each item. Prunes and raisins get soaked in the warm water last until they are very soft. Blend all items, including the reserved soaking/blanching water (start with a little) until its a paste about as thick as pancake batter. You may feed it to them fresh like this and freeze it in portions, or continue on to drying and powdering. To dry, line your dehydrater trays with silicone inserts, or parchment paper cut to size. Do not use wax paper, it will melt into the food 😝. Spread it across each sheet evenly about 1/3 inch thick, or less. Dry at about 130°f for a minimum of 24 hours, can take a couple of days. It depends on how thick it is and how humid your environment is. To test if it’s done, let it cool through. If you can break it into pieces, it’s ready. If it only bends and will not break, dehydrate longer until it breaks. Whiz it up in the coffee/spice grinder you keep for the crabbies, no cross contamination please 🙂 Store in an airtight glass jar in a cool dark space.

Submitted by Amber Miner

Coral’s Color Boosting Crunchies

Coral's Color Boosting Crunchies

Coral’s Color Boosting Crunchies

1.5 cups organic yellow cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red mill)

1 cup packed, freshly ground coconut

1 large very ripe (brown) banana

1 package very ripe strawberries (pint)

1 cup or so sunflower seeds

1.5 cups whole, with shell, dried river shrimp (I used chubbymealworms.ca brand)

2 tbsp beet root powder

2 tbsp carrot root powder

1 tbsp chlorella powder

1 tsp powdered nutra Rose or 2 teaspoons liquid nutra Rose

1 cup dried apple ribbons

Soak/cook the cornmeal with treated hot water as per the cooking instructions.
Blend the strawberries and banana together and mix with the cornmeal after it cools a little. Mix in the coconut, carrot, beet root, chlorella and nutra rose. Spread mixture onto non stick tray liners or parchment paper and dehydrate at 135° f until crispy and crumbly all the way through. It should crumble easily into your hands. Grind up half of it along with the sunflower seeds (together in the grinder, you don’t want the seeds turning into nut butter) crumble the other half by hand, leaving crunchy texture. Pulse the shrimp until about half ground and mix it in. Crunch up the dried apple ribbons into small pieces and mix in.

 

Note:

This makes a lot. You can keep it out for a while, but since it’s so much, freeze half. The oils in the nuts and coconut will eventually go bad, just like any other nuts and seeds. Best stored in an airtight glass jar in a dark cabinet.
You can sub fresh beet or carrot juice for the powder, simply mix it in with the water and add less water. Or mix in a little mashed, cooked, carrots and beets. Just a little, maybe a 1/4 cup.
You can sub spirulina for the chlorella.
You can sub any nuts or seeds for the sunflower. Pumpkin would be great!
You can sub whatever berries you have on hand for the strawberry, but make sure they see nice and ripe!
Do not sub out the whole river shrimp for a kind with no shells. The shells contain color boosters. The freeze dried ones sometimes don’t have shells.

Does not require refrigeration

Can be frozen

 

Submitted by Amber Miner

Hermit Crab Oreo Vacation Cookie

If you are going to be away on vacation these cookies are an easy way to provide your hermit crabs enough food until you return.  In addition to offering a Hermit Crab Oreo Vacation cookie I suggest sprinkling your crabitat with some dried foods. This will encourage foraging and offer lots of different foods at once. Dried flowers, grains, seeds, egg shells, nuts and mealworms are all ideal dried foods.  I recommend that greensand and worm castings be available in your tank pretty much all of the time. You can cycle them out for a day or two if your crabs completely refuse other foods.

Ingredients

2 TBL Peanut butter (natural with no added salt, sugar, preservatives)

4 TSP Seeds and/or grains (use any mixture you want)

1 TSP Flax seed milled

1 TSP Bone meal powder (substitute any comparable calcium powder)

 

Instructions:

Mix the seeds into the peanut butter until well mixed

Mix the flax into the peanut butter mixture until well mixed, it should be thicker consistency now

Gently mix in the bone meal powder

Separate the mix into three 2 inch portions

Sprinkle worm castings on a paper plate and press the portions into flat patties on the castings. Then gently begin to shape in a ball while rolling in the worm castings to thoroughly coat. Repeat for the other two portions so you end up with three 2 inch balls.

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If you wanted to store these in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use that won’t harm them and might help the cookie harden.  I just placed mine right in the tank for the feeding trials. The crabs eventually pulled it all apart but it held up well for a week and they eventually ate every bit of it even with their regular food being offered at the same time.

Wild Craft

Wild Craft

Wild Craft by Amber M.

Ingredients:

“Wild Craft” all dried ingredients.
passion flower, nettle leaves, African honey bush, mushrooms, chamomile, oak leaves, maple leaves, raspberry leaves, rose, marigold, rose hips, black sesame, chia, flax, wakame (seaweed), coconut, hemp seeds.

About equal portions crumbled dried leaves, rose and marigold. A little less of the rest of the ingredients, except the seeds and rose hips. Put enough seeds that it is well distributed throughout, or to your liking.
No hard rule on quantities 🙂

Wild forage, clean, blanch and dehydrate yourself, our buy from a reputable source. This is a combo of purchased and foraged ingredients.

 

Instructions:

Crunch up all the leaves and flows into small bits and mix well. Chop the dried mushrooms and dried rose hips into small bits and mix in. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well in a big bowl.

This may be given in the food dish, or sprinkled around the tank to encourage natural foraging behaviour.

Additional info:

Does not require refrigeration

Can be frozen

Store in a cool dry location, out of the sun in an airtight glass jar.
If you make a giant batch, like me, you can freeze the extras. It will last a very long time in an airtight container though. Treat it like tea.

Can be purchased here: https://www.facebook.com/coenobitacanada/

Grand Slam

Grand Slam by Amber M.

Grand Slam by Amber M.

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.

Breakfast Bowl

Breakfast Bowl by Amber M.

Breakfast Bowl by Amber M.

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 right before serving.

Dry version does not require refrigeration. Can be frozen.

Submitted by Amber M.

Sushi

Sushi by Amber M.

Sushi by Amber M.

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.

Does not require refrigeration. Can be frozen.

For an authentic meal, offer fresh cucumber, edamame, avocado and mango in the fresh food dish.

Submitted by Amber M.

Suet for hermit crabs

Suet for hermit crabs

Suet for hermit crabs

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. Mix as well as you can using the spoon then place the lid on the bowl and shake it. You may need to add more oil. If so just add a bit and shake again. You want the seed to be just coated enough to stick together. I used a shallow terra cotta tray as my dish. I transferred the suet into the tray and used a spoon to press it flat. The terra cotta should also help absorb any excess oil as it warms up in the tank.

submitted by Stacy G.

2016-07-21 20.22.13

Suet for hermit crabs

Spicy Chicken Liver Popcorn

Spicy Liver Popcorn by Pam

Spicy Chicken Liver Popcorn by Pam

Two tablespoons of whole organic yellow corn kernels
Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Chicken liver powder (Isopod Connection)

Mix 2 tablespoons of evoo in a microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of organic yellow corn kernels.

Remove kernels from the bowl and place in a brown bag and set popcorn button. Keep an eye on the bag so it doesn’t catch on fire.
Once finished take a hand full of popcorn and break it up.

Then dust with about 1/2 teaspoon of chicken liver powder and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper.
Put the popcorn in crabitat and watch it disappear.

I keep the popcorn in a ziploc bag and make the recipe fresh each time.

Does not require refrigeration

Do not freeze

Submitted by Pam