Offer a varied diet and keep calcium available at all times.
What do I feed them?
Think varied scavenger diet: fruit and protein (meat, insects, seafood) daily, plus vegetables and plant matter, with calcium (cuttlebone, crushed coral, eggshell) available at all times. Swap out fresh food every day so it doesn’t mold in the warm, humid tank.
On commercial hermit crab foods: both major references lean against making pellets the foundation of the diet. HCA and CSJ note that ethoxyquin and copper sulfate appear on many pellet ingredient lists and advise against pellet-centered diets. That is keeper caution about what the ingredient lists show — not product-specific evidence about any particular product’s dose or exposure — so assess products by their own ingredient lists, and keep the diet varied rather than pellet-centered.
Sources: HCA Basic Care Sheet (https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457); CSJ food guide (https://crabstreetjournal.org/blog/hermit-crab-food-guide/)
Put food where the crab can reach it and let it eat voluntarily. For a weak, shellless, or soft crab, follow the protective-care guidance rather than introducing an improvised energy paste. See Q9 for water and Protecting a weak, injured, or molting crab for that exception.
Editorial source review: October 4, 2026. This is an editorial draft of keeper guidance, not veterinary approval. Guidance generally focuses on Purple Pinchers (Coenobita clypeatus).
