Hermit crabs are invertebrates, i.e. they do not have a backbone and they are from the superfamily Paguroidea.These creatures live on land and are omnivores; they consume plant grown products such as vegetables and fruits but also consume meat, especially for protein intake. You would be surprised to know that even though we humans know about only land hermit crabs which are taken as pets, there are 800 different species of hermit crabs that live in the ocean.Hermit crabs are known to be omnivores in general, but at times, they are considered scavengers too because hermit crabs eat small bits of dead animals too if possible. Interestingly, even though we refer to these creatures as crabs, they do not have all the body features of a crab. Crabs in general have a hard exoskeleton all over their body but these hermit crabs have the hard exoskeleton structure only on the front end of their body. They use shells of other animals to protect their tails which are present at the rear end of their body. These physical features of a hermit crab make this creature seem like a combination of crabs and lobsters. Lately, especially for the hermit crabs which live in jungles or in the ocean, there has been an imposing life threat caused by the alarmingly increasing plastic pollution. Studies have shown that in 2020 over 5,70,000 hermit crabs died due to plastic pollution; they mistakenly consider bottle caps or containers as their new home and are later unable to free themselves from the plastic debris. What is even worse is, these crabs naturally send a pheromone signal when they pass away to other crabs indicating that there is now a shell available for a crab to occupy, whereas, in reality, it’s a plastic container. The signal thus released works like a trap and leads to the death of more hermit crabs. Let us now turn our attention towards land hermit crabs, the ones we see in pet shops or perhaps the ones which are present at your home and look at what foods can it eat.If you enjoy this article, why not also read about different types of crabs and how many legs does a crab have here on Kidadl?Are hermit crabs carnivores or herbivores?When a hermit crab lives in the wild, it eats anything ranging from fruits, vegetables to macroalgae and microscopic mussels. However, when you keep a hermit crab at home as your pet, it is an entirely different ball game altogether. It is important that you feed your hermit crab a well-balanced diet and the best possible way to achieve this is to start with the commercial diet foods available in the market. Although it might be difficult for some of you to get your hands on these products as they might not be available in some of the remote locations.Contrary to the usual focal point of discussion on whether hermit crabs are carnivores or herbivores, in reality, these creatures are omnivores. Hermit crabs when in wild, eat both fruits and vegetables that they can find but also small insects that they find in their range. Not the same foods but the same diet can be seen in hermit crabs which stay in captivity or as pets in homes. These hermit crabs eat a varied diet ranging from vegetables like kale, broccoli to safe fruits such as papaya, and banana. However, these foods do not fulfill the amount of protein they require for their muscle strength and for their exoskeletal strength. In order to consume the required amount of proteins, hermit crabs eat turkey, lobster, and catfish. Now, what might surprise you here is, other than eating vegetables, fruits and meat, these hermit crabs also enjoy wood as a food! Along with eating them, hermit crabs can also play with them, woods last relatively longer than other foods and are a good food source for these creatures.What can I feed hermit crabs?Well, this should be the last thing to worry about when you pet a hermit crab. Hermit crabs are omnivores and eat a large variety of food. It is your responsibility to ensure that the food you are including in your crab’s diet is healthy and fresh. At the same time, you need to take care of the quantity of food it is consuming and the nutritional content in it. Calcium is an important part of a hermit crab’s diet along with protein in order to develop the exoskeleton of the hermit crab and keep it healthy.On a daily basis, you can use commercial crab food as the staple diet of your hermit crab, although some owners argue that it is better to give organic food such as fresh fruit and vegetables rather than commercial food. On the flip side, the commercial food available in the pet stores contains all the important nutrients which must be present in hermit crab food. This food is available in powder form or gel form depending upon what you need or what is available in the pet store. Other than commercial food, fruit and vegetables constitute a large part of a hermit crab’s diet. The biggest positive here is, hermit crabs eat a lot of this natural food so if you keep feeding it different vegetables, your pet will stay excited with the variety in colors and textures. Food items like bananas, papaya, coconut, broccoli, nuts, raisins, grapes are pretty healthy to feed to your hermit crab. Other than these, you can include wood in your crab’s diet if you want to feed them something that will last for a long duration. Moving on to the meat section for protein intake, cooked eggs, seafood, plankton and freeze-dried shrimp, fish food flakes, earthworms are some of the best food items for your hermit crab. This will keep the health of your crab in a good condition. For calcium, you can feed cuttlebone or crushed eggs shells, crushed oyster shells, or coral sand. All these food items are great when it comes to replenishing calcium levels in order to help strengthen the exoskeleton of the hermit crab. Now, it is good that you feed such healthy food items to your pet but every once in a while you can be feeding some treats to your crab. Food items like peanut butter, honey, popcorn, washed grass are some of the best food items to keep your pet crab happy and engaged. While you feed these food items to your hermit crab, remember not to cook anything in butter and you can feed the vegetables in raw form if they are washed with fresh water.Picking A Balanced Diet Important To Pet Land Hermit CrabsThe commercial diets available in the market provide a balanced diet to the pet hermit crabs. There are several different manufacturers who make these food packets especially for pet land hermit crabs rich in all the nutrients they require. Although, which brand to choose particularly depends upon which one is available frequently in your nearest pet shop. It is better if you stick to one particular brand of hermit crab food from the market. Other than these commercially available items, there are various other fresh foods and treats as well.Some of the fresh foods which are good for feeding hermit crabs include fruits, green leafy vegetables, some dry fruits and some other non-vegetarian foods as well. Keep in mind that you must rotate these foods every day. Some of the best fresh fruit for feeding to a hermit crab are apples, bananas, mango, papaya, pineapples, and strawberries. Fresh coconut or dried coconut is also a good fruit option for your hermit crab’s diet. Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, grass are arguably the best items in the balanced diet of a hermit crab. Seaweed as well if available can be included in the diet of your hermit crab. You can get some seaweed in some health food and perhaps in grocery stores as they are used for authentic fish dishes such as sushi. Dry fruits like raisins, unsalted nuts and other food items such as fish food flakes, plain popcorn, air-popped popcorn are good options for your hermit crab’s diet. Look to include food items that contain salt, as hermit crabs enjoy them more than the sweet ones. When building a healthy diet for your pet crab, keep in mind to include food items that have high calcium content. Crushed oyster shells and crushed eggshells are some of the best sources of calcium for a hermit crab. Even the crushed eggshell of a bird would be a pretty good addition to your pet crab’s diet.What do wild hermit crabs eat?The diet of a wild hermit crab depends on its species, i.e. whether it is a land hermit crab or an aquatic one. The aquatic hermit crabs are usually always found on the seabed and thus sustain themselves on the food items found in the water body. Land hermit crabs on the other hand, rarely venture towards stepping into the water, they thus scavenge food on land once the sun sets.Aquatic hermit crabs are usually seen feeding on a dead animal, coral reefs, algae, mollusks and small snails, whereas, the hermit crabs living on land eat cadavers of a dead animal, wood, fecal matter or even garbage at times. What is common between these two species is, although they need fresh water for drinking, they can at times drink salt water too. Moreover, it has been found that some crabs also prefer to bathe in saltwater. Researchers usually advise that if you are bringing home a wild hermit crab as your pet, replicate its wild diet for some time so that it doesn’t feel hostile and can adapt to its new surroundings without any significant hiccups. A phase called the post-purchase syndrome can well be avoided with these ideas.How to keep your hermit crab healthy?There are a number of things to keep in mind while petting a hermit crab. The owner must, first of all, keep in mind that it is not living in its natural environment so a lot of things you might have heard earlier may be in fact untrue. These tips include how to take care of the shells of a hermit crab to its treats and the water it requires daily.First of all, when a hermit crab goes through the molting process, keep it away from its fellow friends as it is quite vulnerable at that point in time. Also, keep in mind not to drop these crabs from a considerable height as it can be harmful to their shells. In certain cases, it has led to complete destruction of the shells and eventual death. If sometime in the future you do not want to keep the little crab as your pet anymore, do not release them in the wild environment as it may be harmful to them and at the same time they can harm people too. Feed your hermit crab only natural chlorine-free water, moreover, it is known as a fact that these crabs thrive when the humidity levels are between 70-80%. The tank where you keep the crab must have the mentioned humidity levels and should be filled with natural water. It is recommended if you can use an under-tank heater to regulate the humidity levels but cover the inside base of the tank with a sheet so that the crabs do not feel uncomfortable. During the nighttime, keep the temperature around 65-75 F (18-24 C) at night. You can also add a marine-grade saltwater dish for your crabs to soak in within their shack, it keeps them in a healthy condition. Following this set of instructions will keep your hermit crabs in a healthy state.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what do hermit crabs eat, then why not take a look at how long do hermit crabs live or Australian land hermit crab facts?
Hermit crabs are invertebrates, i.e. they do not have a backbone and they are from the superfamily Paguroidea.
