Acorns (crush and soak overnight in salt water then drain before serving) Alfalfa Almonds, crushed Amaranth (Ancient grain) Anchovy oil Apple and natural, unsweetened apple sauce Apricot Arame Artichokes Asparagus Avocado Bamboo (live plants make wonderful tank toys and grazing) Banana Barley Beans, yellow wax Bee pollen Bee propolis Bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, green or purple) Bilberries/Huckleberries Blackberry leaves Blackberry Blackstrap molasses (unsulfured) - amazingly high in nutrients such as calcium and potassium; 1-2 times monthly Bladderwrack Bloodworms (alive or dead) Blueberries Borage blossoms (Borago officinalis) Broccoli and leaves Brown rice Brussels sprouts Cabbage (all varieties) Calcium carbonate powder, plain Calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis)-Also known as "pot marigolds" Camellia (Camellia japonica) Canteloupe Carnation flowers (Dianthus caryophyllus) Carrots Carrot tops Cauliflower and leaves Celery leaves Cereal; Brown rice, soy, wheat or 7 grain, muesli Chamomile flowers Chard Cheese (be sure to get all natural varieties, serve as occasional treat) Cherimoya Cherry Chestnuts Chicken bones Chicken, cooked and unseasoned (smash the bone for marrow access) Chickweed Cholla wood Cilantro Citrus (all fruits) Clams Clover blossoms and leaves Coconut and coconut oil Cod liver oil Collards Cork bark Corn (on the cob, too) Cornmeal Cranberries (dehydrated) Crickets Crustaceans (any and all crustacea including crayfish, lobster, shrimp and other crabs) Cucumber Currants Cuttlefish bone, powdered Dairy products (milk, cheese, live-culture yogurt) ** Daisies (Bellis perennis) Dandelion flowers, leaves and roots (Taraxacum officinale) Day lilies (Hemerocallis) Egg, scrambled or soft boiled Eggshells Elderberry flowers (Sambucus canadensis) Extra-virgin olive oil Fig (ripe fruit only) Fish flakes w/out chemical preservatives Fish Oil Flax seeds/Linseeds (crushed) Flax seed oil (small amounts infrequently) Frozen fish food (esp. algae, krill and brine shrimp) Garbanzos Gladiolus (Gladiolus spp.) Gooseberry (ripe or overripe) Grape Leaf Grapes Grape seed Grapevine (vines and root) Green and red leaf lettuce (not iceburg; dark green) Green Beans Hazel leaves Hempseed Meal Hibiscus flowers (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) Hikari products: brine shrimp, krill, crab cuisine, sea plankton (no preservatives) Hollyhock flowers Honey (organic, or at least locally produced, for anti-microbials) Honeybush Honeydew Melon Honeysuckle flowers (Japanese Lonicera japonica) Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) Irish Moss Japanese red maple leaves, dried (Acer palmatum) Jasmine flowers (Jasmine officinale) Johnny-Jump-Up flowers--(Viola tricolor) Kamut Kelp Kiwi Lentils Lettuce(dark green varieties) Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) Lima Beans Lobster with crushed exoskeleton Locusts (dead) Lychee fruit (fresh; no kernel) Macadamia nuts Madrona wood Mango Mangrove (small live trees can be obtained on eBay, use in water basin) Maple leaves Maple syrup Marion Berries Milk thistle flowers (Silybum marianum) Mint (but not peppermint!) Most organic baby foods Muscadine (grapes) Mushrooms Mussels Nasturtium flowers (Tropaeolum majus) Nettle (wilted) Nettle, stinging (pour boiling water over leaves first) Oak Leaves and bark Octopus Okra Olive and olive oil (extra virgin) Oranges Oysters Pansy flowers and leaves (Viola X Wittrockiana) Papaya Parsley Parsnip Passionflowers (Passifloraceae - passion flower family) Passionfruit Peaches Peanut butter (avoid sugar, corn syrup and hydrogenated oils) Peanuts Pears Peas Pecans Pecan bark Persimmon Petunia blossoms Pineapple (including leaves) Pistachio nuts Plum Pomegranate Popcorn (unseasoned, unflavored, unbuttered) Potato (no green parts, including eyes) Psyllium & husks Pumpkin Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) Quinoa (New World grain) Raisins (no sulphur dioxide) Raspberry Red raspberry leaves (highest bioavailable calcium source + vit. C and trace minerals) Red root (Ceanothus Americanus, otherwise known as red root; high in tannin) Rolled Oats Rooibus (or rooibos) Roquette (Eruca vesicaria) Rose petals (Rosa spp) Rose hips Royal Jelly Russian Olive leaves (Elaeagnus angustifolia) Sage blossoms (Salvia officinalis) Salmon Sand dollars Sardines Scallops Sea biscuits Sea fan (red or black) Sea grasses Sea salt Sea Sponges Semolina Sesame seeds (crushed) Sesame oil (in tiny amounts as appetite stimulant) Shrimp and exoskeletons Snails (use human food grade only; not wild snails) Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) Soy and soy products (human grade; miso, tofu, etc.) Spelt Spinach Spirulina (complete protein and chlorophyll source; highest in beta carotene) Sprouts (flax, wheat, bean, alfalfa, etc.) Squid Squash (and squash blossom) Star fruit (carambola) Strawberry and tops Sugar cane Sunflower Seeds (crushed), flowers and leaves (Helianthus) Swamp cypress wood (false cypress, taxodium sp.) Sweet potato Sycamore leaf Tahini (no garlic variety) Tamarillo Tamarind Tangerine Timothy hay Tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa) (ripe fruit only; avoid feeding foliage and unripe fruit) Tomato Triticale Tulip flowers (Tulipa spp.) Tuna Turnip greens Viola flowers Violet flowers (Viola odorata) Walnuts Wasa All-Natural Crispbread (Oat flavor) Watercress Watermelon Wheat grass Wheat Wheat germ Whitefish Whole Wheat Couscous Wild rice Zucchini (and zucchini flowers)* *This food list is mainly adapted from Summer Michealson and Stacey Arenella's book, The All-Natural Hermit Crab Sourcebook, and expanded on by Julia Crab and others ** After extensive tests in several EH member tanks, it has been discovered that dairy items are not lethal to crabs. In fact, most crabs really enjoy cheddar cheese, live-culture yogurt, and the occasional drink of milk. While extended long-term testing is still underway, there has been 8 months of trials with no harm to the test crabs. For now, dairy is acceptable, once every 30 to 60 days as a treat. It should not be relied upon as a food base. Last Updated ( Sunday, 04 February 2007 )
The person to credit is Julia Crab and I don't think she'd mind sharing the info if you credit her. Here is her site epicureanhermit.com - Home
Wow thats a very detailed list thanks! although my problem is, my hermit crabs don't seem to eat. its like the food doesn't get eaten.what am i doing wrong? should i grind down the food into a fine substance?
I saw sand dollars on your list. Are you talking about the dried white ones or fresh dead ones? I have a dead, dried white one in my tank and was wondering if they might be nibbling little pieces off of it? I recall somone else on the site making a comment about their crabs being in love with a sand dollar they added to their crabitat.
I've been feeding mine freshly killed (squished actually) mealworms. I bought a small container, filled with 50 of them, thinking my newts would eat it. My newts ended up just running away from the mealworms... So, I'm stuck with a ton of them now and some have started to try and turn into beetles! So before that happens, I've been grabbing my pair of tongs and squishing them really fast, then tossing it into the hermit crab tank. I toss about 2 per night. They're all gone in the morning. I have 29 crabs in that tank, although not all are up. I think my crabs like the worms a lot, because I tried throwing in dead ghost shrimp/fish and they don't even touch it.
My mealworm tub ended up getting infested with ants over the past few days. Threw em away instead Ughhhhh... I hate ants that bother my crab (and dog) food!
Now that Julia's site has moved, where is the safe list? and the unsafe list? I only see a forum when I go to the new site.
I want to see if my hermits like to nibble on lilacs.... How do i go about cleaning them, or is it ok to just give it to them right from the bush?
Lilacs have a tendancy to have a lot of tiny mites, so I'd give them a good rinse in saltwater. Thanks for directions to the food lists!
I have frozen dead bloodworms that my fish eat. Would those be ok to give to my crab, or should i defrost them or something?