What food should I feed my hermit crab?

There are so many different food options for hermit crabs on the market today, but which ones really offer your hermit crabs the nutrients and vitamins they need to thrive? We've compiled a list of some of the basic ways you can ensure the food you're buying is the best you can find.

Photo credit to the Oregon Hermit Crab Rescue. 
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Natural Ingredients: You want to look for food with wholesome REAL ingredients. Read the product label. Can you identify all of the ingredients listed? Are they natural, whole ingredients (not flours or by-products)? These are important questions to ask.

No Fillers / Additives / Colors: Hermit crabs are much smaller than us, and because of this their bodies cannot easily process the same preservatives, additives, and colors that we do. Opt for foods where you can identify everything listed on the product label.

Sea Plants And Fish: In the wild hermit crabs derive a lot of their nutrients from dead fish and washed up sea plants on the shore. Look for foods that incorporate both of these ingredients into their mix to ensure your crab is getting what they need. Fish can include dried shrimp, fish meal, fish bones, lobster shells, and oyster shells. Plants can include seaweed and kelp.

Tropical Fruits: Another main staple of hermit crabs diets are tropical fruits. They need vitamins found in fruit to stay healthy. Good fruits in hermit crab foods include banana, mango, papaya, and pineapple.

Big Variety: In the wild hermit crabs are scavengers. They eat a large array of plants, fish, and bugs. So why should your hermit crab be limited to only a few ingredients in captivity? Look for the widest ingredients list possible. A large array of seeds allows your hermit crab to pick out the ones with the vitamins their body is currently craving. Many tastes and textures also keep your pet mentally engaged, help their digestive system, and can create more healthy appetite habits.

Our Top Pick

So what’s our top pick for a commercial gerbil food today? We’re big fans of Eco Animal’s 'Wholesome Hermit Crab Food' available on Amazon.

The Hermit Crab Diet

Unfortunately, modern science still hasn't allowed humans to create a commercial food that perfects a hermit crabs needed nutrition. In fact, we lack common knowledge on what exactly a hermit crab needs in order to be healthy and survive. If we look to their natural diet we may be able to find tips into what exactly makes the perfect meal for a hermit crab.

Photo credit to the Oregon Hermit Crab Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Fish: In the wild hermit crabs will forage beaches for almost anything they can find- most commonly dead fish. Shrimp exo-skeletons, salmon, cod, halibut, whitefish, and lobster exo-skeletons are just a few examples of fishy sorts of foods that should be fed to your crabs.

Fruit: The tropical environments that hermit crabs reside offer a huge variety of fruits. Naturally hermit crabs will eat any fallen fruit, and they have a sweet tooth that seems to adore all kinds of fruits. Grapefruit, coconut, pineapple, kiwi, banana, and papaya are fruits that could be found in most tropical environments. So naturally, they make healthy treats for hermit crabs.

Sea Plants: Once again we go back to hermit crabs ravaging the beach. Things such as seaweed, kelp, and algae tend to make their way into the mouths of all hermit crabs. These things aren't always readily available. If they are- they most definitely should be offered. If they aren't you can supplement these 'greens' with things like loose-leaf lettuce, celery tops, carrot tops, and maple leaves.

Ocean Minerals: The sands on the beach have hundreds of tiny particles too minuscule for people to notice, but that doesn't mean hermit crabs don't notice. In particularly is calcium- a necessity hermit crabs need in order to grow and continue to be healthy. Unfortunately the same foods humans use to get calcium are not safe for crabs. A cuttlebone is most definitely the best way to supplement calcium in a crabs diet. All cuttlebones are the same. The flavorless ones are safest. Ones for birds, turtles, and hermit crabs are all the same. Any will work safely for your crabs, and one should always be offered.


Our commercial food recommendation is Eco Animal Pet Product's 'Wholesome Hermit Crab Food' which covers all researched dietary needs and can be found on Amazon. 

Hermit Crab Snack Recipes

Omelet: Make an egg omelet with carrots, peppers, tomatoes, corn, peas, and green beans. Avoid cheese or any extra dairy products.

Ocean Fish: Flake some raw fish into a bowl in chunks small enough for your crabs to grab and eat. Add a tablespoon of dried seaweed to the fish and mix until the seaweed is lightly coating all the flakes. Throw in some tiny shrimp, fish eggs, or fish eyes for variety.

Restaurant Scraps: Keep the shells of crabs, shrimp, and lobsters when you visit a nice restaurant. When you get home boil them for a minute to take out any seasonings and then let cool. Place them in the crabitat and let your hermits munch them up.

Seaweed Nori: Seaweed nori is dried seaweed that is used to make sushi. It also makes a fantastic snack for hermit crabs! Place a little bit of a nori sheet in your crabitat for an extra special treat!

Reptile Feed - Live Insects: Meal worms are a great example of a live insect reptile food that hermit crabs adore! Drop a couple in your crabitat and watch your crabbies have fun hunting them down!

Unsalted Dried Nuts: In the wild hermit crabs will munch on a variety of nuts including macadamia nuts, pistachios, and almonds! Try offering a small handful and let those crabs' claws go to work.

Here are some commercial foods your crabs will love!

Hermit Crab Dessert Recipes

Banana Cream Pie: peel a banana and place it in a plastic bag, zip the bag shut and mash the banana up with your hands. place a piece of plane gram cracker in the bottom of your food dish and spread a nice serving of mashed banana on top. sprinkle dried unsweetened coconut on top of that, and then chill for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.

PB&J: lay an unsalted cracker in the bottom of a food dish, spread a thin layer of organic crunchy peanut butter and then top with sliced grapes.

Fruit Parfait: drain the milk from a whole coconut and then cut it in half. in a bowl puree strawberries, papaya, and the coconut milk to create a 'yogurt' texture. mix in some fresh blueberries and then pour into a half of the coconut. lay the coconut in the crabitat and watch your crabs feast upon it all.

Pumpkin (autumn) Pie: Make a plane egg omelet without anything added. Lay in the bottom of your food dish. Puree some pumpkin and then pour a large serving on top of the omelet. Sprinkle with apple skins and crushed pecans.

Here are some human sweet treats that crabs love too!

https://amzn.to/2GN0Mxw

Hermit Crab Kibble Homemade Mix

This is a recipe for a homemade Hermit Crab Kibble mix. It's a great staple to keep on hand for nights when you don't have any fresh produce or you just don't feel like making a meal for your little pets. It's great for a three to four times a week meal- and crabs love it!

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of Wardley Hermit Crab Premium Food
2 Tablespoons of Tetra Freeze-Dried Blood worms
1 Tablespoon ZooMed Hermit Crab Fruit Salad
1 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded Coconut
1 Tablespoon unsalted crushed Cashews
1 Tablespoon dried Alfalfa (can be found at all pet stores for Rabbits)

Directions:
Simply mix them all together! Pack them away in a sealed-tight zip block bag and keep refrigerated for freshness. This little array has a variety that will keep your hermit crabs healthy and happy, and can be used on nights when you don't feel like making an extravagant meal.

Hermit Crab Weekly Meal Plan

We've created a weekly meal plan that fits in all of the necessities a hermit crab needs in order to be happy and healthy. Each day has a variety of choices to choose from- most of which you most likely already have in your kitchen.

Photo credit to the Oregon Hermit Crab Rescue. 
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Sunday

shrimp- dried, canned cocktail shrimp, prawns with exo-skeletons, lobster, lobster exo-skeletons
citrus- grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime
green veggies- seaweed, kelp, lettuce, green beans, peas, celery, carrot tops
extras- unsalted popcorn, cracker bits, peanut butter

Monday

white fleshed fish- whitefish, pike, grayling, halibut, cod, trout
tropical fruit- coconut, banana, pineapple, papaya, kiwi, avocado
green veggies- seaweed, kelp, lettuce, green beans, peas, celery, carrot tops
extras- cooked noodles, scrambled eggs

Tuesday

bones with marrow- chicken, turkey, beef ribs, duck, swan, crane
fruit- apple, pear, tomato
veggies- carrots, potatoes, cucumber, corn
extras- toast crumbles, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds

Wednesday

nuts- walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews
berries- strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries
leaves- maple, oak, banana, pineapple tops, kelp, seaweed, spider plant
extras- fish bones, fish eyes, fish heads, fish fins (scraps)

Thursday

fish- salmon, char, whitefish, pike, grayling, lush, cod, tuna
citrus- grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime
veggies- carrots, potatoes, cucumber, corn
extras-cooked rice, honey, raw red meat, raw white meat

Friday

shrimp- canned cocktail shrimp, prawns with exo-skeletons, lobster, crab, crab skeletons
tropical fruit- coconut, banana, pineapple, papaya, kiwi, avocado
green veggies- seaweed, kelp, lettuce, green beans, peas, celery, cabbage
extras- honey, unsalted popcorn, scrambled eggs, fish scraps

Saturday

snack day- the things your crabs eat the most, it's a weekend, let them party!

Hermit Crab Water and Food Dish Ideas

Every hermit crab home should have three dishes. One for food, one for saltwater, and one for freshwater. And many times there will be many more dishes than that scattered around the floor of a crabitat. Some people have dishes specifically for fish, dry foods, or fruits. But it isn't necessary to invest in professional reptile or small pet dishes from your local pet store. Many are expensive and not necessarily better than a similar object you could find laying around your house. Here are some ideas for affordable 'hermit crab dishes' you can create within your own home.

Photo credit to the Oregon Hermit Crab Rescue. 
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Antique Glass Ash Trays. Ash trays are naturally shallow and make great water holes for small and medium hermit crabs. They come in a variety of shapes and colors. Goodwill is full of hundreds of antique trays. Surely you can find one that will match your crabitat interior decor. Boil the tray for five to six minutes, scrub well with some vinegar, and then boil again for another 3 minutes to clean it out.

Small Tupperware Containers. Don't throw that old discolored tupperware container into the trash. Instead wash it thoroughly with boiled water and use it as a hermit crab food or water dish. The sandwich ones work best for saltwater and freshwater areas. Throw some gravel in the bottom for a textured 'pond-like' appearance that your hermit crabs will adore.

Plastic Cups. For stinky foods like fish, meats, and seaweed you can create a disposable dish with a plastic cup. Simply use scissors to cut around the edge and make it a height small enough for your crabs to crawl into. The next morning you can pull the cup out and throw it away without having to worry about scrubbing out all of that ucky fish residue.

Plastic Mixing Spoons. So you broke another handle off of one of those cheap plastic mixing spoons? Instead of throwing it away use the spoon part as a food dish for your crabs. The natural curve will fit nicely into the sand and create a perfect little place for your crabs to go and forage.