In: Recipes

Ingredients: 1 portion dark red/black cherries1 portion blackberries1 portion blueberries1 portion red apple (Unwaxed only, she peel is the important part)1 portion red beets1/2 portion red raisins1/2 portion dried plums/prunes2 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 feedRead More →

In: Recipes

Ingredients 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. MixRead More →

In: Food and Nutrition

Written by Julia Crab (Kerie Campbell) 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 comesRead More →

In: Food and Nutrition

Written by Julia Crab (Kerie Campbell) August 2005 This list contains beneficial foods for hermit crabs that are moderate to high in beta carotene apricotsbell pepper of any color, red being the highest in carotenidsblueberriesbroccolicantaloupecarrotchardcilantro (raw)collard greensdandelion greens (raw)fava beans in the pod (raw)grape leaves (raw)lettuce (dark varieties, not iceburg which is nutritionally empty)mangopapayaparsley (raw)passionfruitpeachespeaspersimmonpineapplepumpkin and squash, and seeds (dried)snap beans (raw)spinachspirulinaseaweeds and microalgaessweet potato Astaxanthin is another carotenid found in shrimp and krill and red seaweeds, that the crabs also use. Astaxanthin must be fed with a healthy fat/oil to be absorbed properly. Tannin is also a color booster. Dried oak or sycamore leaves,Read More →

In: Food and Nutrition

Written by Vanessa Pike Russell 2004 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! https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/tannins.shtml 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 areRead More →