is this safe to feed gary?

[bobo]

is tuna without mayonaise safe, how about dog food, fish food? or is that just as bad as hermit crab food?

[wizkidsmom]

Tuna packed in water is good. No seasonings or mayo.
Dog food? No way.
Fish food - I wouldn't. I never heard of fish food that wasn't made with stuff you couldn't pronounce.
What is good.....
Dandelions - leaves & flowers.
Organic peanut butter
Sardines - packed in water
popcorn - no salt no butter

[bobo]

thanxs so much, my mom almost convinced me to feed him foods for other animals!but she is clueless!

[wizkidsmom]

Hermies can eat almost everything we do - but no seasonings, etc and you have to be careful about any chemicals they use on some plants, like pesticides. Some foods absorb it and some don't.

[HermieLove19]

If you fed food I would recommend Wellness 95% meats. They have it in venison, chicken, turkey, and salmon. You could also use the new Merrick line called B.G. which stands for Before Grain. It's just Tuna and water thats it. But some people don't feed anything to hermies out of a can. It's easier to get a packet of tuna in water in a pouch at the super market.

[bobo]

i have hermit the crab hermit crab food which i9 am not currently feeding patty, could i start, why do you guys think it is so bad?

[wizkidsmom]

Commercial food has so many preservatives and many are bad for hermies (think death). If you can't pronounce it, don't use it.

[Jedi_Sena]

No one is really saying that you can't feed commercial hermit crab food, but I don't know anyone who has really had any success with it. The chemicals and preservatives are a big concern though. And worse than that is the sheer age of the stuff by the time you get it--far from fresh! Those of us making hand-made foods feel that dehydrating and adding sea salt ought to be sufficient to preserve food quality and that if you need more than that (like chemical preservatives) then you're just trying to get the food to last toooooo long.

I can see how your mom could reason that dog food might be appropriate, because it has grains and meats and such which hermit crabs can have, but then again you get the commercial pet food aspect and you know that it is loaded with preservatives.

I don't like feeding canned goods because of the human-grade salts, the preservatives, the sugars, and the contact with metal. But Carol of Crabworks--the gal w/ 33 year old crabs--does feed FMR (commercial hermit crab food) and occasionally canned foods along with many other healthful fresh food choices. I think the reason FMR isn't trusted widely by crabbers is that they no longer disclose their ingredients (or so I've heard).

But don't get discouraged! There are many healthful items in your own pantry and backyard that crabs can eat and mom won't have to buy special items for crabs unless she just wants to.

[HermieLove19]

I find that with anyone or any animal healthy, fresh, natural foods give everyone a longer life. if you fed a dog let's say pedigree and another dog Wellness or some other premium food, the dog eating the premium food would definitely live longer and you would spend less over time. the way that works is they eat smaller servings, absorb all of the nutrients available in the food and don't need 5 cups to get full. you buy less food and save hundreds in vet bills, money you would have spend at the vet for skin problems, ear infections, allergies and so on. Artificial preservatives, fillers, by-product, and everything else crammed in there to make the food just isn't good for the cats or dogs or the hermies. So if you found a premium food or treat that didn't have any unsafe hermie ingredients in it you could technically feed it to them. usually people don't like to give their crabs anything out of a can so something in a pouch or bag would be preferred.