Pet Hermit Crab

Tips On Caring For Your Hermit Crab

Hermit Crab Food
Feeding your pet hermit crab can be fun, but just like any other pet it’s important that you feed him the right hermit crab food. In the wild, hermit crabs eat just about anything - goodies that wash in with the tide, decayed wood, fruit that falls from trees even grass but in captivity you probably want something a bit more specialized to make sure your crab gets all the nutrients he needs.

While no one is 100% sure of the perfect diet for hermit crabs, there is some knowledge in this area and we know that they need antioxidants, calcium and carotene. One interesting thing is that the best food to feed your hermit crab is the foods you should be eating yourself - fruits, vegetables and meats! In fact, feeding your crab yellow and orange colored vegetables like carrots and corn will make sure he gets both carotene and antioxidants.

Of course, you don’t want to feed your hermit crab any of those processed foods that you eat like candy bars and snack foods - they aren’t good for you and they aren’t good for your pet either!

Today you can buy commercially prepared hermit crab food, but a lot of people think this is not necessary if you just give him a varied diet of good quality human food. If you buy him foods from the pet store such as freeze dried foods, brine shrimp, seaweed and the like, make sure they are good quality and made without additives that can be harmful to your shrimp.

The foods you can feed your crab can be found in the grocery store and are foods you would find in nature. Try to avoid giving him anything that is commercially prepared or packaged. You might try fruits and vegetables, nuts, well cooked meat and even cereal (but not the sugary kind). Make sure you remove any food that hasn’t been eaten in a few hours as your crabs my drag it off and bury it and it will sit in their cage and decay.

When you find that special hermit crab food that your crabs adore, you can try hand feeding them by holding out the food to him and getting him to take it from you.