Mmmmm... Calcium!!!

[Carrie]

THE TASTE... of calcium. Scientists are working to prove that we can actually taste calcium.

I've had the theory for some time that hermit crabs can taste calcium. Many of my post-molt crabs will clutch a cuttlebone for a day or more, eating and eating and refusing to let go. Cuttlebone, of course, is a fish skeleton: calcium!

THE HOW AND WHY of the theory... After one of Kali IV's molts I showed her an extra shell; she grabbed onto it immediately--but not to move into it. She started scraping the inside of it w/ her little claw and eating whatever it was she was getting, if anything. I gave it some thought. What are our crabs' homes made out of? When snails (and other aquatic creatures) grow the shells that they live in, the main ingredient is calcium. My dad's friend (very scientific-minded) used to give his aquatic snails calcium pills (vitamins) and they'd locate them in the water and eat them and grow strong, healthy and ever larger shells.

There's a recent article on msn.com about humans possibly having a 'sixth taste' receptor (there's the four we all know already: bitter, sweet, salty, and sour, along w/ a recently discovered one called 'savory'). If even humans--by no means as dependent on calcium as hermit crabs--can taste calcium... what about our crabs?

One of the scientists states:

"Many animals have a specific calcium appetite, which implies they can detect the mineral and consume sufficient quantities of it to meet their needs."

I think this idea finally hit home for me with Claude the Clawless; she too was drawn to cuttlebone, even tho she couldn't eat it w/o claws. She held onto it for dear life. After some trial and error I figured out how to make it into a watery paste that she enjoyed for several days after the molt that almost claimed her life and cost her both of her claws. Claude 'licked' the cuttlebone paste off of every leg, with decreasing urgency over time. Presumably she had the sense (nutritionally speaking) of assimilating that 'sufficient quantity' over time. After about two weeks out from her molt (a long time for that calcium 'craving') she lost all interest in the cuttlebone.

Want to read the full article? Find it at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315648/

[HermieLove19]

I never understood how the crabs would eat cuttle bone for hours. i got them some of the cuttle bone with wheat grass so it would have a different flavor for them but it doesn't matter if it's infused with something or plain. They could eat it all the time! Now I know why =)

[Jedi_Sena]

Yeah, my crabs have recently decided to dine on eggshells. I've offered eggshells for years with little interest and just now they've gone crazy for it.

I appreciate your post very much! I've noticed a difference when I make soups with boneless meat and soups with the bone-boiled stock and I really prefer the one "flavored" with bones. I don't know if it is the calcium or the rich marrow, but something about the bones makes it better.

[pattycake101]

thats cool!