In this article we will discuss how to provide a balanced diet for your Hermit Crabs. This will involve commercial hermit crab food and fresh options.
Commercial Diets
What to look for Commercial Diets
Before you rush to your local pet shop, do take note of the following considerations you need to look for before buying:
- Formulated EXCLUSIVELY for hermit crabs. Your hermit crabs have their own nutritional needs. So be sure that the product that you’re going to buy is formulated exclusively for your hermit crabs. You can’t just buy something and feed it to your hermit crab because again your hermit crabs need to meet their nutritional needs from their food.
- Is it nutritionally complete? Do your research, ask questions if the food you’re about to purchase will meet the daily nutritional requirements. If it turns out it isn’t you can use it as an alternate food, better than nothing.
- Packaging is essential. Hermit crabs eat in small portions which means the food should stay fresh until it’s all consumed.
- NO artificial additives. Just like with us humans, eating food with artificial additives has NO BENEFITS, it will do more harm than good in the long term. So be sure to look for a product made with natural ingredients, is it more pricey? Likely. Will it make your hermit crabs healthier? Yes.
Depending on your location, finding good commercial food for your hermit crabs can be quite difficult. But it’s a good starting point to check in pet shops which are most common in every city if your luck runs out, buying online is another option as well. But pellet-based food can be a good commercial choice for your hermit crabs. You can feed it to your little critters once a day.
Fresh Foods
If you’re a busy individual, then commercial food is a convenient way to provide food to your hermit crabs, but if you have time to spare, you can’t really go wrong with fresh foods. And this includes organic vegetables and veggies and even dried shrimps.
Hermit crabs like having a variety of food choices. And the great thing about going fresh is that the majority of the food choices are commonly found in supermarkets or local farmer’s markets.
It is recommended that you rotate your hermit crab food so they won’t experience any food fatigue.
Fruits
You can start with the following commonly available fruits:
- Apple
- Avocado
- Banana
- Cucumber
- Grapes
- Mango
- Orange
- Tomato
Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Broccoli and leaves
- Cabbage (all varieties)
- Carrot
- Cauliflower
- Corn (can be on the cob as well)
- Kale
- Potato (do not include green parts and the eyes)
- Spinach
Grains & Seeds
- Chia Seeds
- Oats
- Rice bran
- Sesame Seeds
Unprocessed Dried Foods
- Berries
- Mangoes
- Raisins
As you can see there’s a lot of options in the fresh section. There’s no need to worry about not finding one in stores since the majority of them are quite common and easy to obtain. They are rich in nutritional values for your hermit crab. The great thing also about this is you’re the one preparing their food, you can control the portions and you know yourself that these foods will be beneficial for your hermit crabs.
