8 Tips on How Much to Feed a Hermit Crab

If they're living in the wild, hermit crabs eat a wide variety of food from decaying wood, fallen fruits, leaves and grasses and items that are washed ashore. These pets are omnivorous, meaning they eat both meat and vegetables. They might be very fussy with picking the shells they will use as their homes but they are not at all picky with the food they eat. They locate food in two ways: by smelling the food and by seeing other crabs eating the food.

• You can buy hermit crab food from most pet stores that sell land hermit crabs. These commercially prepared foods are suitable for your crabs' diet. However, your pet hermit crab can also live with the foods we eat.
• Your small pets will eat almost anything you serve them. But these foods make suitable additions to your pet's diet: apples, chicken, bananas, carrots, bread, corn, cornmeal, crackers, cereal, coconut, grapes, fish, lettuce, and shrimps with its shell. If you serve meat, make sure that they are well cooked and have no butter or sauce in them.
• If the pet store near your area doesn't sell special foods, you can also buy pelleted food for turtles. Find pellets that are appropriate for the size of your hermits to prevent them from choking on large pellets.
• You don't need to worry how much to feeding your pets. You can provide as much food your land hermit crab can and is willing to eat. But don't forget to remove uneaten fresh foods from their crabitat the following day to prevent the food from spoiling and attracting insects.
• These fascinating creatures can also go for long periods of time without eating anything. Don't fret if your hermies do not eat for a period of time. Continue offering food and they will eat when they feel they're ready to eat again.
• How much to feed a hermit crab? How much of the fresh foods and the commercially prepared foods? The key here is to balance it out. Never make your hermit crabs eat too much commercially prepared food. Always alternate it with fresh foods.
• Always have fresh clean water in their cage. Keep the water in a shallow dish, or a shallow shell is preferred. These small animals can drown in the water dish if it can't climb out of the dish so make sure that it does have climbing steps of stone or wood. Seashells in their tank are the best food and water dishes since it can also be a good source of calcium for the crabs. Another good source of calcium for your hermit crabs is cuttlebone. Never use metal dishes for your crab because metal can be poisonous for them.
• You can do this test on how much to feed a hermit crab. Offer two or three kinds of food at the same time. Your crab will eat the treat that has a stronger and better smell than the others, and this is the food that they like best. But of course, offer them a variety of food and not just the same food all the time.