It is not necessary to buy expensive pet foods to feed your hermit crabs. You can get them fresh food and treat them with different kinds of snacks. Here are some tips for fresh food feeding. Nuts and Popcorn are good options for your hermit crabs. Also, you can feed them with the meat and marrow of chicken bones. But you should never feed them for more than an hour. In addition to that, you can offer them pieces of raw or cooked fish.
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Popcorn
Popcorn is a healthy, nutritious treat for hermit crabs. Try Bee Blue-tiful or Berrylicious popcorn. They are both made with flax seed oil and contain coconut milk powder. Sweet Claw popcorn contains honey and banana. Tutti Poppin’ Fruitti is dusted with organic banana, honey, and coconut milk powder. You can even add a little bit of ground flax seed.
Popcorn is an excellent treat for hermit crabs, but try to use air-popped popcorn instead of microwave-popped varieties. Also, try vegetables, non-citrus fruit, fish flakes, or crushed cuttlebone, which is high in calcium. You can also add carotene and calcium flakes to the food. To supplement the nutritional value of the food, mix in two to three tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Chia seeds
Hermit crabs enjoy a varied diet, and they do best on a variety of fresh foods. Mixtures for hermit crabs should be rich in animal protein and fat, with a small amount of sugar. You can also use organic foods whenever possible, as they contain no chemicals. Dark green lettuce, cucumbers, and bell peppers are good choices, too. Chia seeds can be used as a supplement to the food your hermit crabs are already eating.
You can also grow chia seeds in your home aquarium and give your crabs a treat. You can sprinkle chia seeds on substrate or in their food dish. These foods are organic and can be purchased at MT Pet Emporium and other pet stores. Chia seeds should be stored in a dry and cool place to maintain their quality. Once you have purchased them, use them within one year. They are packaged in a facility that processes eggs, dairy, nuts, fish, and wheat.
Fruits
Besides rotting meat, your hermit crab also likes fresh fruit. Its natural diet is mainly composed of fruits and vegetables like carrots, capsicums, broccoli, romaine lettuce and spinach. Fruits that hermit crabs enjoy are mostly tropical fruits, which are commonly found in their natural habitat. Coconut, mango, pineapple, strawberries, avocado, raisins and pineapple are among the best fruits for hermit crabs.
For best results, try to give your crab fresh fruit. Choose fruit that has wrinkles and is still mushy. Citrus fruits are especially good for your hermit crab’s diet, as their peels contain limonene, a potent insect repellent. Moreover, citrus fruit peels break down quickly and are highly appealing to crabs. However, don’t give your crabs rotten fruits, since it could cause them harm.
Nuts
A diet full of fresh nuts and sprouts is the best thing you can feed your hermit crab. These critters thrive on a varied diet with a variety of grains, animal protein, and fat. Some ingredients should be avoided, however, such as sweet things and fatty foods. Always remember to place a desiccant packet under the lid of your container. Stir ingredients with a special spoon. Hermit crabs require a moist environment, so be sure to mist them each day.
Feed your hermit crabs every day. This is important because they eat just a few ounces of food a day. Make sure to feed your hermit crabs before dusk to prevent them from starving. They will likely want to feed early in the morning, so feed them a small snack just before dusk. Some hermit crabs tolerate handling, but most do not. If you’re feeding a group of hermit crabs, monitor them for fighting and separate them if necessary. Most commercial hermit crab foods are fine, but don’t forget to add vegetables, fruit, and cuttlebones to their diet.
Coconut
Hermit crabs love coconut. It provides calcium, fat, and protein to keep them healthy. You can add a desiccated coconut to your pet’s diet to increase its appetite. Coconut shells can double as a toy and food for hermit crabs. Hermit crabs enjoy hiding in the shell of coconuts, and this can increase competition or hostility amongst the hermit crabs.
Young coconut crabs will sometimes use broken pieces of coconut as food. Coconut crabs have excellent senses of smell and will sniff out rotting meat. It’s believed that the coconut crabs use the same technique to transport water into their mouths. However, their appetites are very different from those of humans. Nevertheless, coconut crabs are a wonderful way to give your pet a variety of healthy and interesting foods.
Fish flakes
Hermit crabs like animal protein, so a good source of protein for your pet is discarded bones. Hermit crabs have sharp claws that allow them to shave meat from bones, but be sure not to give them bones covered with sauces and herbs. The meat is a natural calcium source for hermit crabs, so they need plenty of it. Alternatively, hermit crabs will happily eat fish flakes as fresh food.
Some types of hermit crab diets contain traces of toxic chemicals. Fish flakes and algae wafers often contain ethoxyquin, a known molt inhibitor. If you are unsure of what to feed your hermit crab, always opt for organically grown foods. Even if your crabs are omnivorous, keep in mind that they can often resort to cannibalism if they are deprived of food. It’s also important to know that raw meat may be dangerous for hermit crabs, so don’t give them meat unless they are prepared by a veterinarian.
