HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have recently got very tiny hermit crabs. Size of finger nail. I put in organic crushed up vegs n nuts mixes. Cant tell if they are eating. Havent seen them touch the food. They are on soil. Do they eat soil? what would you feed them? am i worried for nothing?

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Hello, and welcome to the HCA! Congratulations on your new crab babies! You should check out our basic care guide here:viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457 It gives all the ins and outs of basic crab-keeping.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend soil as a substrate but instead a 5:1 ratio of sand and cocofiber as they need to burrow and make tunnels to molt at least 3 times as deep as your largest crab. Unfortunately, soil becomes too moist and creates mud- not so ideal for tunneling.

Hermits eat very small amounts, and it can be nearly impossible to tell if they've eaten or not, especially with the size of your crabs. They are also nocturnal, so they may be eating while you are asleep. I'm going to link a popular nutrition guide that elaborates a bit on their nutritional needs. viewtopic.php?p=852657#p852657

Ok i have switched out the soil for sand. We dont have ecoearth here. Is there any difference in caring for small crab to big ones? should i grind up food or put them in whole?

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Small crabs and large crabs require the same care, the only difference is shell size and depth needed for molting/ tank size. Just sand is fine as long as it is sand-castle consistency. (Moldable but not drippy.) There are other users here that use just sand successfully. Some choose to grind up food but it's not necessary, those little claws are pretty strong. I try to remind myself that there is nobody in the wild to grind food for them!

thanks! that helped alot.

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Yeah, we have a couple small guys too and they don't seem to have a problem eating the food that isn't ground up:)


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When i first got Tina my smallest crab she was about the size of my thumb nail. Now she is a little bigger and growing every few weeks! I find she will eat food either way. Tho i have noticed if things are easier for her to eat them she is more likey to try it and often eat more of it. So since she's the only hermit i have up right now ive been making Tina friendly meals. Also when my bigger crabs are up with Tina I'll usually try to offer one food shell with Tina in mind. Weather or not she eats it is her business.