Hermit Crab Care Guide

Hermit crab care is easy once you have a system in place and your crabitat established.  We'll start with food.  Many people ask how much do I feed my hermit crab?  The answer varies: how many hermit crabs you have, how big are they, are they molting or active, are they picky or eat anything?  Take these factors into consideration when deciding on how much food your hermit crabs need. 

A good start is 1/4-1/2 tsp serving size per two hermit crabs, depending on the food being served. Example - 1/8 tsp of honey granules, 1/4 tsp of plankton and 1/2 tsp of raspberry leaves would all be appropriate serving sizes as they each fall under a certain category.  There are 5 basic food categories for hermit crabs - Calcium (20% of diet), Protein (25% of diet), Fruits&Veggies (15% of diet) and Terrestrial&Aquatic Plant Litter (40%).  We can split these down further by separating protein into two categories, meat based and plant based and terrestrial and aquatic plant litter can also be split to make sure your hermit crabs are getting a little bit of each category as needed.  

Hermit Grub makes it easy to make sure your hermit crab's nutritional needs are being met by providing complete meal mixers.  Complete meal mixers contain foods from each category to make feeding easy and tasty.  We also offer individual ingredients if you would like to explore other options and create your own crabbie menu. 

Change out your hermit crab's food every other day and replace with fresh.  Notice how much your hermit crabs are eating and adjust your servings by increasing or reducing the amount. 

Shells are a must have in the crabitat.  A recommendation of 3 extra shells per crab is standard.  Measure your hermit crab's shell opening and order shells right within that range, going 1/8 of an inch up.  Many hermit crabs prefer turbo shells which are found on Etsy and Ebay. Example: If you have three hermit crabs, you should have nine extra shells for them to try on and move into.  Create a shell shop in your crabitat, a little section where all the shells are kept such a small basket. Hermit Crab's are very possessive of their favorite shell and need a variety to find that perfect one.