Before welcoming a hermit crab into your home, understanding their dietary needs is crucial for their health and well-being. Like many fascinating creatures, hermit crabs have specific nutritional requirements. So, What Do Hermit Crabs Eat? The good news is that feeding them isn’t overly complicated, but providing a balanced diet is key to their longevity and happiness. In their natural habitats, land hermit crabs are omnivores, consuming both plant and animal matter. When kept as pets, their diet should mimic this natural omnivorous nature, primarily consisting of a high-quality commercial hermit crab food supplemented with a variety of fresh, nutritious options and occasional treats.
Let’s delve into the specifics of what to feed your hermit crab and what foods should be strictly avoided to ensure they thrive in their captive environment.
Commercial Hermit Crab Food: A Convenient Base
While a varied diet is essential, commercial hermit crab foods provide a convenient and often nutritionally balanced foundation for your pet’s meals. These formulated diets are designed to meet the basic vitamin and mineral requirements of hermit crabs. While you might find limited options in smaller local pet stores, a wider selection is readily available online from reputable pet supply retailers.
Two well-regarded brands for commercial hermit crab diets include:
- Florida Marine Research (FMR): FMR is a long-standing and trusted source for hermit crab food. They offer a range of commercial foods and treats specifically formulated for hermit crabs.
- Zoo Med: Zoo Med is another reputable manufacturer in the reptile and amphibian pet industry that offers a pelleted hermit crab diet. Their products are designed to be palatable even for picky eaters, and they also provide a variety of hermit crab treats.
Pelleted foods are generally easy to use and can be offered once daily. For smaller hermit crabs, it’s recommended to crush the pellets into smaller, more manageable pieces. You can also moisten the pellets slightly with dechlorinated water to make them more appealing. It’s important to remove any uneaten food, including commercial pellets, from the enclosure daily to maintain hygiene and prevent mold growth.
Fresh Foods and Treats: Mimicking Nature’s Bounty
While commercial diets are a convenient starting point, supplementing with fresh foods is vital for enriching your hermit crab’s diet and overall well-being. Hermit crabs are known to appreciate variety in their meals, and offering a rotating selection of fresh foods mimics their natural foraging behavior and provides essential micronutrients. Aim to offer a diverse array of fresh foods from the lists below, changing the selection daily or every other day to provide optimal nutrition and prevent dietary boredom.
Consider incorporating these fresh foods and treats into your hermit crab’s diet:
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Fruits:
- Mango
- Papaya
- Apples
- Applesauce (unsweetened)
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Strawberries
- Melons (cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew)
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alt: Dried coconut flakes in a white bowl, a natural treat for hermit crabs. -
Vegetables:
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Watercress
- Leafy green lettuces (romaine, green leaf, red leaf – avoid iceberg)
- Broccoli
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Other Plant Matter:
- Coconut (fresh or dried, unsweetened)
- Grass (pesticide-free)
- Leaves and bark strips from deciduous trees (oak, maple, fruit trees – ensure no pesticides or pollutants, avoid conifers)
- Seaweed (nori sheets, found in grocery stores – check for no added salt or seasonings)
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alt: Dried seaweed sheets, a healthy and natural food option for hermit crabs. -
Protein Sources & Treats (Offer in Moderation):
- Nuts (unsalted almonds, walnuts, pecans)
- Peanut butter (natural, unsalted, and given sparingly as a treat)
- Raisins (unsulfured)
- Crackers (plain, unsalted, low salt varieties)
- Unsweetened cereals (plain Cheerios, puffed wheat)
- Plain rice cakes (unsalted)
- Popcorn (plain, air-popped, occasional treat)
- Cooked eggs (plain, no seasonings)
- Cooked meats and seafood (plain, no seasonings, in small amounts)
- Freeze-dried shrimp and plankton (available in pet stores, fish food section)
- Brine shrimp (live, frozen, or freeze-dried)
- Fish food flakes (as an occasional supplement)
While this list is extensive, it’s not exhaustive. Generally, most fruits (fresh or dried, unsweetened) are safe to offer. However, it’s often recommended to avoid highly acidic or citrus fruits in large quantities (such as oranges, lemons, limes, and tomatoes) as they may irritate some hermit crabs.
Foods to Avoid: Protecting Your Hermit Crab’s Health
Just as important as knowing what to feed your hermit crab is understanding what foods to avoid. Certain foods can be detrimental to their health, and it’s crucial to steer clear of them.
Strictly avoid feeding hermit crabs the following:
- Starchy Vegetables: Potatoes and other starchy vegetables offer little nutritional value and can be difficult for them to digest.
- Iceberg Lettuce: Iceberg lettuce is mostly water and provides minimal nutritional benefit. Opt for darker leafy greens instead.
- Salty, Fatty, or Sugary Snacks: While tempting to offer, human snacks like pretzels, chips, sweetened cereals, candy, and cookies are very unhealthy for hermit crabs. Their systems are not designed to process high levels of salt, fat, or sugar, and these can lead to serious health problems.
- Dairy Products: Hermit crabs are lactose intolerant and should not be given any dairy products like milk, cheese, or yogurt.
- Avocado: Avocado is toxic to many animals, including hermit crabs, and should be strictly avoided.
- Chocolate and Caffeine: These are toxic to many pets and should never be given to hermit crabs.
- Onions and Garlic: These can also be toxic in large quantities and are best avoided.
- Processed Foods with Preservatives and Additives: Stick to natural, whole foods whenever possible and avoid heavily processed human foods.
Calcium: Essential for a Healthy Exoskeleton
Calcium is a vital nutrient for hermit crabs, particularly for maintaining a healthy exoskeleton. It is especially crucial during molting, the process where they shed their old exoskeleton and grow a new one. Providing adequate calcium sources is essential for successful molting and overall health.
Excellent sources of calcium for hermit crabs include:
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Cuttlebone: Readily available in the bird section of pet stores, cuttlebone is a fantastic source of calcium. It can be offered whole for crabs to nibble on, or it can be shredded or ground and mixed into their food.
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Calcium Vitamin Supplements: Reptile calcium supplements (powdered calcium without added vitamin D3, unless your crabs also get UVB lighting) can be lightly sprinkled on their food.
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Crushed Oyster Shell: Also found in the bird section of pet stores, crushed oyster shell is another excellent natural calcium source.
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Coral Sand: Fine coral sand can be used as part of the tank substrate or offered in a dish as a calcium supplement. Ensure it is aragonite sand, specifically for marine tanks.
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Crushed Eggshells: A readily available and cost-effective calcium source. Boil eggshells for a few minutes to sanitize them, then dry them thoroughly and crush them into small pieces or a powder.
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alt: Crushed eggshells in a pile, a simple and effective calcium supplement for hermit crabs.
Water: Fresh and Saltwater are Both Necessary
All hermit crab species require access to both fresh water and salt water. Fresh water is essential for drinking. Most hermit crabs will also drink salt water, and some species even enjoy bathing in it, which aids in maintaining proper gill function and hydration. Providing a dish of salt water large enough for them to enter is beneficial.
Crucially, all tap water must be treated with a dechlorinator (available as liquid drops at pet stores) to remove harmful chlorine and chloramines, which are toxic to hermit crabs.
For preparing saltwater, use a commercially available marine salt mix like Instant Ocean, designed to replicate natural seawater. Avoid using freshwater aquarium salt or table salt, as these lack the necessary trace elements found in natural seawater. The ideal salinity level is debated, but generally, mixing the salt and dechlorinated water according to the proportions recommended for a saltwater (marine) fish tank is suitable. Hermit crabs can regulate their salt intake by drinking from both fresh and saltwater sources as needed.
Food and Water Dishes: Practical Considerations
For food dishes, choose shallow, sturdy, and easily cleanable options. Heavy, flattened plastic dishes designed to resemble rocks, often found in reptile sections of pet stores, work well. Shallow ceramic dishes intended for small animals or even clean, natural seashells (like clam or oyster half-shells) can also be used.
Since hermit crabs need both fresh and saltwater, you’ll need two separate water dishes. These should be large and deep enough for the crabs to climb into if they wish to soak, particularly the saltwater dish. However, they should also be easy to exit and not so deep that they pose a drowning risk. For smaller species, shallower dishes are appropriate. Strawberry hermit crabs, known for their love of saltwater baths, can benefit from a deeper saltwater pool.
To aid crabs in entering and exiting deeper dishes, especially water dishes, use smooth river stones or pieces of coral to create ramps or steps. It’s also highly recommended to place natural sea sponges in both the fresh and saltwater dishes. Hermit crabs will drink from these sponges, and they also help regulate humidity levels within the enclosure through evaporation.
By providing a varied and balanced diet of commercial food, fresh foods, essential calcium, and both fresh and saltwater sources, you’ll be well on your way to ensuring a healthy and happy life for your pet hermit crab.
