Some hermit crabs questions?

1. The best substrate would be a mixture of play sand and coconut fiber, but there you shouldn't use too much coco fiber. The material will decompose much faster than sand and could biodegrade a molter. Mixtures with more sand are also more natural to the crabs.

Picture of a wild hermit crab's substrate: http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk289/framptonb...

Using all play sand would be fine, but a teensy amount of coconut fiber is good for preserving the substrate's moisture. A ratio of one part fiber to five parts sand is regarded by many owners.

Discussion of substrate: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/viewtop...

2. A salted cracker every so often wouldn't have pernicious effects to the crab, but they are scavengers in the wild and need a variety of foods to obtain complete nutrition. Feed them a wide variety of animal protein (egg, veggie, and, nut protein is also good, but you need to offer unseasoned meats on a regular basis) vegetables, fruits, and more (calcium, sea vegetables, etc). Avoid foods with sugar, salt, and preservatives. Commercial hermit crabs food shouldn't be fed. They aren't nutritionally complete and often hold several preservatives.

In-depth nutrition guide: http://www.kilimanjaroshermits.com/p/kilimanjaros-...

Rates the individual safety of some foods: http://hermitcrabcuisine.com/

Also, hermit crabs are a social animal that need the company of their own species to thrive. You should never just keep a single hermit crab.

Play sand is good and so is coconut fiber.

You can give cracker ever once in a while. Mine love banna and kiwi. They like brown rice, and green pepers. And I give them Plain popcorn ever once in a while. Not from a bag I make myself. and mine LOVE Lettus.

I would check out

http://hermitcrabcuisine.com/

You should use a natural sand for the Hermit Crab. It has a "home-y" feel to it for the crab. Also, don't experiment too much with foods. It can cause health issues. ;) Hope that helps!

1. sand and coconut fiber sounds good either one or half and half

2. they will eat many different fruits and crackers are fine to feed them

Ecoearth is excellant hermit crab bedding...no sand required.

They eat literally everything but I suggest hermit crab pellets, fresh fruit and veggies, and dog food.