Feeding a Hermit Crab- The Healthy Hermit Crab Diet

So you have purchased your hermit crabs and you have their environment set up like a nice home from home. They seem happy exploring their new area, but then it comes to chow time. So the important question is, when it comes to feeding a hermit crab what exactly do they eat?

Strangely enough, but great for you, hermit crabs are not fussy eaters and have a good palate. Therefore you will have a lot of choice when feeding a hermit crab. If you go into any reputable pet store they will have 2 or 3 different foodstuffs that are deemed

Always try to check the label of any commercial crab food and avoid anything containing ethoxyquin as well as copper sulphate. These ingredients are found in common pesticides and many hermit crab enthusiasts often feel uncomfortable about feeding these substances to their crabs. However, there is little evidence to say that they are indeed harmful, so it is really up to individual preference.

If you really want to please your crabs then there is nothing more that they enjoy than "people food"

by this I don't mean mac and cheese or a portion of fries, I mean fresh fruit and vegetables, or cereals. Basically all the things that are healthy for us.

For example things like:

Dried cereals, crackers and bread

Fruits such as,peeled grapes, pears, bananas.,apples and coconut

Peanut butter (the smooth or crunchy variety, he's really not fussy!)

Vegetables such as shredded spinach or lettuce, or cooked and cooled potatoes

A point to remember when feeding a hermit crab is to make sure all the food is in small crab sized pieces.

A little chocolate in your life isn't necessarily a bad thing and this goes for the hermit crab also. They just love to munch on something a little less savoury. Although please give in moderation.

Another great way of feeding a hermit crab is baby foods! Believe it or not baby foods contain fresh fruit and vegetables as well as essential nutrients that the hermit crab needs.

Try flavours like:

Apple, mango and kiwi,

Apples and bananas,

apple sauce,

Sweet potato and apples,

Sweetcorn casserole,

Fruit medley

Try feeding the crabs by hand using a large plastic spoon or simply drop a spoonful into a dish that they can locate themselves.

As you can see feeding a hermit crab can be an enjoyable experience as they like variety in their food as much as we do. Even small pieces of cooked meat and fish would not be frowned upon. But again, it's all about moderation. I would say that if you can feed your crabs commercial crab food in conjunction with everyday healthy food that we eat, then you can be sure that your new found friends, will be receiving all the nutrients and vitamins that they need to stay healthy and indeed live a lengthy life.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/feeding-a-hermit-crab-the-healthy-hermit-crab-diet-3324779.html

Jerry Montgomery is reviewing a book to help you raise healthy Hermit Crabs http://www.ugothermitcrabs.com