Can I feed them these?

[erikleeson]

I wouldn't feed them sweetened coconut. You can buy unsweetened coconut and doll it up w/ honey or 100% pure maple syrup, but the sugar that is in that baking stuff is not good at all. If you don't have any unsweetened coconut, then other plain nuts would be just as good to substitute: walnuts, peanuts, pistacios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, etc.

Thanks! I got a new food dish as well, its smaller and textured, the other one was just a flat resin dish. Is it better to put various foods in, or one at a time? I hear that food should only be given in the evening, and taken out in the morning, is this true?

[lolagranola]

You can absolutely put in a few things at once or you can have several small feeder shells to add other food item to your tank.

As far as taking it out, I usually leave mine in for several days keeping a close eye on it for mold. Many of my crabs prefer "aged" fruit and flowers to fresh.

I think it depends on the food though. If you are feeding commercial food it would make no difference if you take it out in the mornings but there is nothing wrong with leaving it in there during the day.

[krabby_katie]

I leave mine in all day and all night. I take it out every few days, depending on what's in it.

[erikleeson]

Well what I usually do is when I wake up, put new food in, and when I wake up next morning, I remove that food.

In the wild they totally eat decaying foods. They even eat the moss in the moss pits.

[Jedi_Sena]

I think that if you get bugs, that is too long. If you don't salt your substrate, then I would definitely remove at the first sign of mold.

[erikleeson]

speaking of bugs, lately my house has been having an infestation of fruit flies, There are maybe 5 in the tank, but there are hundreds in the house. I'm not sure if they are coming form the tank but should I be worried and can they harm the crabs?

[Jedi_Sena]

Fruit flies will not harm your crabs.

In the summer, we often leave fruits and vegetables out on the counter or the scraps from fresh produce lingers in the garbage can which attracts fruit flies and oh how they multiply! They will infest your houseplants too. If this happens, scoop some suds from your fresh dishwater and paint it onto the surface of the dirt on your houseplants. That usually keeps them down.

[erikleeson]

Thanks, I see no more in the tank, and we had a pear that was covered with fruit flies, I was like "dad that pear is rotting," but it wasn't, it was covered with fruit flies!

ALso, can I feed the hermit crabs "tropical fruit medley" it comes in a jar and has
Papaya, Mango, Peach, Absorbic, Acid, Water, and sugar. I'm talking about as a treat. If not I got a more natural one.

"Pineapple Party"
Pineapples, 100% Pineapple Juice.

Can I feed these to them?

[Mr.Crab]

packaged Preservative CHEESE(what kind of cheese?) AND MEATS- NO , harmful preservatives to help keep the stuff fresh.
peas- YES
dog and cat food- NO
unsalted sunflower seeds - YES
unsalted peanuts- YES

[erikleeson]

Thanks for your help guys, I tried the pineapple and also got some peaches and they love it! Next I'm gonna get some leaves from my yard.