Post by Sach-Crabministrator on Dec 24, 2010 1:12:52 GMT -5
Roaming the world‘s beaches at night, hermies are scavengers. They can often travel a mile or more a night just looking for something to nibble on, so they get a wide variety in their diet, everything from dead leaves and fish to pieces of driftwood, fruit and nuts.
Although we get closer every day to understanding the exact dietary needs of our crabby friends, it has been discovered that they need a lot of the same healthy things we need like antioxidants, calcium (especially during and after molting), protein, vitamins, minerals and even things like carotene!
As long as you leave out over-processed food for anything but the occasional treat, you can feed your crabs almost everything that you eat! This makes them EXTREMELY cheap to feed. There are even things (like egg shells, shrimp tails, meat bones, decomposing fruit, melon rinds, cereal crumbs, corn cobs and strawberry/carrot tops) that you can give them, that you would normally throw away!
Your crabby friends can eat veggies, fruit, nuts, fish, seeds, grass, leaves, wood,rice, meats, cereal, bark, eggs, brine shrimp and all sorts of things! They are omnivorous scavengers so keep their diet varied. Most crabs won't eat the same thing 2 days in a row and something they hate one night, they may love the following week & vice versa! Crabs are also very good at knowing what they can’t eat and if it isn’t good for them, they won’t eat it-they know what’s crabalicious & what isn’t. The only exception to this is commercial foods sold for hermit crabs; with so many ingredients processed together, it is too hard for your crabs to identify the individual ingredients & determine they are safe so they will eat it even if it's bad for them in that instance. So stay away from commercial foods; natural is cheaper anyway and there are a couple reputable businesses who sell good crab supplements.
The following is the official Sach’s Crab Page Safe Foods List. This is compiled from personal experience, expert advice & other crabbers round the world. If you wanna try something you don’t see here, you can always ask.
*Note that in terms of herbs, plants, woods and produce-make sure they have no pesticides & wash all produce.
Safe Fruits
*Unless otherwise specified, this include leaves as well as fruit; your crabbies will know what's best.
Apples (including applesauce, dried, chunks, etc)
Apricot
Banana
Bilberries
Blackberry
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherry
Cherimoya
Citrus (all; don't believe the myths)
Coconut (husk, oil & milk too)
Cranberries
Currants
Elderberries (flowers too)
Figs
Gooseberry
Grapes (white/red, vines, bark, roots & leaves too)
Huckleberries
Honeydew
Kiwi
Kumquat
Mango
Marion berries
Nectarine
Oranges
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pears
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plums
Pomegranate
Pumpkin
Raisins
Raspberries (Red Raspberry leaf too)
Squash
Star fruit
Strawberries (leaves too)
Tamarillo
Tangerine
Tomato
Watermelon
Safe Veggies
*Again, unless otherwise noted, this includes leaves.
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocado
Beans (yellow, wax, green, Lima, garbanzo, etc)
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Collard greens
Corn (kernels, on the cob, cornmeal or even popcorn!)
Eggplant
Cucumber
Lentils
Lettuce (red, green, romaine, iceberg, etc)
Mushrooms
Okra
Olives (& extra virgin oil)
Parsnip
Peas
Potatoes (cooked, raw, flakes, mashed, fries, tater tots, etc)
Spinach
Sprouts (bean, wheat, etc)
Squash
Sweet potato
Tomato
Turnip greens
Watercress
Zucchini (flowers too)
Safe Grains & Nuts
*Nuts may be served whole, chopped, crushed, etc.
Acorns
Alfalfa
Almonds
Amaranth
Barley
Brown rice
Cereal (brown rice, soy, wheat, etc any that aren't overly sugary)
Chestnuts
Flax (seeds, oil)
Hempseed meal
Macadamia nuts
Parsley
Peanuts
Pecans (bark too)
Pistachio
Popcorn
Quinoa
Rolled Oats (oatmeal)
Semolina
Sesame (seeds-crushed, oil, tahini)
Soy (soy products too)
Sorrel
Spelt
Spirulina
Sunflower (seeds-crushed, leaves & flowers too)
Timothy hay
Triticale
Walnuts
Wheat (grass, couscous, & germ too)
Wild rice
Safe meats, seafood, poultry, etc
*Meats should always be cooked
Anchovy (oil too)
Beef (hamburger, steaks, roast, bones, etc)
Bloodworms (alive or dead)
Chicken (bones too, crush or snap for marrow)
Clams
Crickets
Crustaceans (any & all, crayfish, shrimp, lobster, even other crabs)
Eggs (cooked, and also shells)
Fish flakes (with no preservatives)
Fish oil
Frozen fish food (krill, algae, brine shrimp, etc)
Lobster
Locusts (dead)
Meal worms
Mussels
Octopus
Oysters
Pork (bones too)
Sand dollars
Sardines
Scallops
Salmon
Sea sponges
Shark
Shrimp (and the exos)
Snails (not wild snails)
Squid
Tuna
Turkey
Whitefish
Safe Plants, Woods, Herbs, etc
*As far as flowers go, I will only include common ones, if you're curious, ask or try it out.
Anise flowers
Arame
Bamboo
Basil flowers
Bladderwrack
Carnation flowers
Cedar( totally safe)
Chamomile flowers
Chive
Cholla (wood)
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Clover (blossoms, grass, stems, roots, leaves, etc)
Coriander
Cork
Daisies
Dandelion (flowers, leaves, roots, etc)
Day lilies
Dill
Dogwood
Elderberry flowers
Fennel
Gladiolus
Garlic (flowers & small amounts in food are ok)
Grass
Hazel leaves
Hiawatha moss
Hibiscus
Hollyhock flowers
Honey bush
Honeysuckle
Impatiens
Japanese red maple (leaves, syrup, wood too)
Jasmine
Kelp
Lilac
Mangrove
Mint
Oak (leaves, acorn & bark)
Onion (they may not like it raw but suffer no harm from foods cooked with it)
Oregano
Pansies
Passionflowers (blooms, leaves, roots, etc)
Peonies (they love ‘em & it’ll make your tank smell GREAT)
Petunias
Pine (another myth, PPs love it & live in plenty of places with it)
Roses
Rose petals
Rose hips
Rosemary
Sage
Salvia
Sea salt
Sea fan
Sea grasses
Sea weed
Sphagnum moss
Spider plant leaves (plant can go in tank too!)
Sugar cane
Sunflowers (flowers, leaves & seeds)
Swamp cypress wood
Sycamore
Thyme
Tree Fern
Tulip flowers
Viola flowers
Violet flowers
Everything else
Baby foods
Bee pollen
Blackstrap molasses
Butter (now & then)
Cereal
Cheese
Cod liver oil
Coral, whole or crushed
Crackers
Cuttlefish bone, powdered or whole
Dairy products
Fruit jellies
Royal Jelly
Grass
Crushed up sea shells
Corn leaves/husks
Pickles (yup, a surprise!)
Cat food (as an occasional treat)
Cookies, cake, etc (again, as a rare treat)
**Honey & peanut butter are advised against as the stickiness can easily get spread into gills, mouthparts, etc & cause problems.
There are probably as many more things as there are crabs in the world, but this gives you a pretty good idea.
Although we get closer every day to understanding the exact dietary needs of our crabby friends, it has been discovered that they need a lot of the same healthy things we need like antioxidants, calcium (especially during and after molting), protein, vitamins, minerals and even things like carotene!
As long as you leave out over-processed food for anything but the occasional treat, you can feed your crabs almost everything that you eat! This makes them EXTREMELY cheap to feed. There are even things (like egg shells, shrimp tails, meat bones, decomposing fruit, melon rinds, cereal crumbs, corn cobs and strawberry/carrot tops) that you can give them, that you would normally throw away!
Your crabby friends can eat veggies, fruit, nuts, fish, seeds, grass, leaves, wood,rice, meats, cereal, bark, eggs, brine shrimp and all sorts of things! They are omnivorous scavengers so keep their diet varied. Most crabs won't eat the same thing 2 days in a row and something they hate one night, they may love the following week & vice versa! Crabs are also very good at knowing what they can’t eat and if it isn’t good for them, they won’t eat it-they know what’s crabalicious & what isn’t. The only exception to this is commercial foods sold for hermit crabs; with so many ingredients processed together, it is too hard for your crabs to identify the individual ingredients & determine they are safe so they will eat it even if it's bad for them in that instance. So stay away from commercial foods; natural is cheaper anyway and there are a couple reputable businesses who sell good crab supplements.
The following is the official Sach’s Crab Page Safe Foods List. This is compiled from personal experience, expert advice & other crabbers round the world. If you wanna try something you don’t see here, you can always ask.
The Official Sach’s Crab Page Safe Foods List
{You can print this for reference, but no reproductions without permission}*Note that in terms of herbs, plants, woods and produce-make sure they have no pesticides & wash all produce.
Safe Fruits
*Unless otherwise specified, this include leaves as well as fruit; your crabbies will know what's best.
Apples (including applesauce, dried, chunks, etc)
Apricot
Banana
Bilberries
Blackberry
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherry
Cherimoya
Citrus (all; don't believe the myths)
Coconut (husk, oil & milk too)
Cranberries
Currants
Elderberries (flowers too)
Figs
Gooseberry
Grapes (white/red, vines, bark, roots & leaves too)
Huckleberries
Honeydew
Kiwi
Kumquat
Mango
Marion berries
Nectarine
Oranges
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pears
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plums
Pomegranate
Pumpkin
Raisins
Raspberries (Red Raspberry leaf too)
Squash
Star fruit
Strawberries (leaves too)
Tamarillo
Tangerine
Tomato
Watermelon
Safe Veggies
*Again, unless otherwise noted, this includes leaves.
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocado
Beans (yellow, wax, green, Lima, garbanzo, etc)
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Collard greens
Corn (kernels, on the cob, cornmeal or even popcorn!)
Eggplant
Cucumber
Lentils
Lettuce (red, green, romaine, iceberg, etc)
Mushrooms
Okra
Olives (& extra virgin oil)
Parsnip
Peas
Potatoes (cooked, raw, flakes, mashed, fries, tater tots, etc)
Spinach
Sprouts (bean, wheat, etc)
Squash
Sweet potato
Tomato
Turnip greens
Watercress
Zucchini (flowers too)
Safe Grains & Nuts
*Nuts may be served whole, chopped, crushed, etc.
Acorns
Alfalfa
Almonds
Amaranth
Barley
Brown rice
Cereal (brown rice, soy, wheat, etc any that aren't overly sugary)
Chestnuts
Flax (seeds, oil)
Hempseed meal
Macadamia nuts
Parsley
Peanuts
Pecans (bark too)
Pistachio
Popcorn
Quinoa
Rolled Oats (oatmeal)
Semolina
Sesame (seeds-crushed, oil, tahini)
Soy (soy products too)
Sorrel
Spelt
Spirulina
Sunflower (seeds-crushed, leaves & flowers too)
Timothy hay
Triticale
Walnuts
Wheat (grass, couscous, & germ too)
Wild rice
Safe meats, seafood, poultry, etc
*Meats should always be cooked
Anchovy (oil too)
Beef (hamburger, steaks, roast, bones, etc)
Bloodworms (alive or dead)
Chicken (bones too, crush or snap for marrow)
Clams
Crickets
Crustaceans (any & all, crayfish, shrimp, lobster, even other crabs)
Eggs (cooked, and also shells)
Fish flakes (with no preservatives)
Fish oil
Frozen fish food (krill, algae, brine shrimp, etc)
Lobster
Locusts (dead)
Meal worms
Mussels
Octopus
Oysters
Pork (bones too)
Sand dollars
Sardines
Scallops
Salmon
Sea sponges
Shark
Shrimp (and the exos)
Snails (not wild snails)
Squid
Tuna
Turkey
Whitefish
Safe Plants, Woods, Herbs, etc
*As far as flowers go, I will only include common ones, if you're curious, ask or try it out.
Anise flowers
Arame
Bamboo
Basil flowers
Bladderwrack
Carnation flowers
Cedar( totally safe)
Chamomile flowers
Chive
Cholla (wood)
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Clover (blossoms, grass, stems, roots, leaves, etc)
Coriander
Cork
Daisies
Dandelion (flowers, leaves, roots, etc)
Day lilies
Dill
Dogwood
Elderberry flowers
Fennel
Gladiolus
Garlic (flowers & small amounts in food are ok)
Grass
Hazel leaves
Hiawatha moss
Hibiscus
Hollyhock flowers
Honey bush
Honeysuckle
Impatiens
Japanese red maple (leaves, syrup, wood too)
Jasmine
Kelp
Lilac
Mangrove
Mint
Oak (leaves, acorn & bark)
Onion (they may not like it raw but suffer no harm from foods cooked with it)
Oregano
Pansies
Passionflowers (blooms, leaves, roots, etc)
Peonies (they love ‘em & it’ll make your tank smell GREAT)
Petunias
Pine (another myth, PPs love it & live in plenty of places with it)
Roses
Rose petals
Rose hips
Rosemary
Sage
Salvia
Sea salt
Sea fan
Sea grasses
Sea weed
Sphagnum moss
Spider plant leaves (plant can go in tank too!)
Sugar cane
Sunflowers (flowers, leaves & seeds)
Swamp cypress wood
Sycamore
Thyme
Tree Fern
Tulip flowers
Viola flowers
Violet flowers
Everything else
Baby foods
Bee pollen
Blackstrap molasses
Butter (now & then)
Cereal
Cheese
Cod liver oil
Coral, whole or crushed
Crackers
Cuttlefish bone, powdered or whole
Dairy products
Fruit jellies
Royal Jelly
Grass
Crushed up sea shells
Corn leaves/husks
Pickles (yup, a surprise!)
Cat food (as an occasional treat)
Cookies, cake, etc (again, as a rare treat)
**Honey & peanut butter are advised against as the stickiness can easily get spread into gills, mouthparts, etc & cause problems.
There are probably as many more things as there are crabs in the world, but this gives you a pretty good idea.