What do you feed hermit crabs?

Question

My boyfriend got me a hermit crab (little strange i know). I'm not sure what to feed it. the net says they arnt picky eaters but ive tried giving him carrots, grapes, lettus, meat, bread, crackers, oats. He doesnt seem to eat any of it. And i never see him at his water. He just likes to sit in the corner of his cage. Is this normal behavor for a hermit crab?

Answer 1

First off: Good luck seeing your hermit crab actually eat. He'll probably do it at night, and he probably won't do it very much. The only way you'll know it's gone is when it's not there. Keep in mind that they sometimes don't eat very much.

Secondly: What you fed him so far was good. The keep to hermit crabs is feeding them a good variety. They can eat most fruits and vegetables, meat, even unseasoned pop corn. As long as you don't give him anything with salt, sugar, or most preservatives he'll be fine.

Thirdly: You should really, really think about getting multiple hermit crabs. They're very social creatures, and having only one isn't very healthy for it. Lone hermit crabs have a habit of getting depressed, eating less, and even dying. The more the merrier! You don't need that much room for them. A ten galleon tank and hold at least four-five small-medium hermit crabs, but the bigger they get the more room you'll need to hold them.

Basically I really suggest you find some hermit crab help sites out there...There's a lot you really should know if you want to keep your hermit crab happy and healthy for a while. You should also look into learning what species of hermit crab you have. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it was a purple pincher, but you sometimes stumble upon rarer things.