Carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, and leafy greens are among the best vegetables for hermit crabs. Most vegetables are safe, but Allium family members, like onions and garlic, are toxic.
Bright colors, like orange and red, mean a vegetable is high in carotenoids. These natural antioxidants give hermit crabs a robust immune system and a deep, vibrant skin color.
Wash vegetables in purified, distilled, or bottled water before giving them to hermit crabs.
Vegetables You Can Feed Hermit Crabs
Let’s take a closer look at the different vegetables hermit crabs can eat:
Asparagus
Asparagus is a good source of vitamins A, C, E, and K, potassium, iron, calcium, and dietary fiber. It’s a prebiotic that supports the beneficial bacteria in the digestive system.
Beans And Legumes
Beans and legumes are natural protein sources and high in flavonoids and antioxidants.
Don’t pour tinned beans into a food dish, as most contain harmful components in the brine. Instead, cook and simmer the beans before serving to soften them. This may take up to two hours.
Beetroot
Beets are deep purple, which means they contain lots of carotenoids. However, beets are also high in oxalic acid, which inhibits calcium absorption.
Broccoli
Broccoli is high in calcium and protein, essential to a hermit crab’s diet. Chop the broccoli into small chunks, but retain the stem because it contains the most nutrients.
Cabbage
All varieties of cabbage are safe for hermit crabs. High quantities of calcium and vitamin K keep hermit crabs’ exoskeletons strong.
Raw cabbage also contains carotenoids and antioxidants, which are healthy for hermit crabs.
Carrots
Hermit crabs relish carrots’ crunchy texture. More importantly, carrots contain carotenoids, which give this vegetable its distinctive orange color.
The best way to offer carrots is sliced or in small batons. Also, the green tops of carrots are safe. Carrots are high in vitamin A (retinol).
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is high in calcium. This is essential for a strong exoskeleton, making it a good choice for hermit crabs expected to molt. You can offer cauliflower in chunks with the leaves.
Cucumber
Cucumber is 96% water, which is vital because hermit crabs can dry out. It’s also high in calcium. Fresh, sliced cucumber is good for hermit crabs, but you can dehydrate it.
Cucumber carries no scent, meaning some hermit crabs will ignore it. Add a dab of honey.
Eggplant
The eggplant’s fleshy interior appeals to hermit crabs. Its deep purple flesh is also high in carotenoids. You can cut the eggplant into chunks and dehydrate it to improve its shelf life.
Green Beans And Peas
Hermit crabs can eat green beans or peas boiled in a pan of water. They can also be consumed raw by defrosting them before serving. You can dehydrate beans or chop them into flakes.
Hermit crabs will benefit from vitamins B6, C, and K, magnesium, iron, and calcium.
Kale
Kale is a good source of protein, calcium, vitamins A, B6, C, and K, and antioxidants. If you want to sustain the lifespan of kale, dehydrate it, as hermit crabs like eating kale chips.
Lettuce
Lettuce leaves of a darker green shade are healthy.
Iceberg lettuce contains calcium but otherwise offers little nutrition. It is also tasteless and devoid of scent, so your hermit crabs are unlikely to pay much attention.
Romaine or Boston lettuce is likelier to interest hermit crabs. Shred the lettuce leaves so hermit crabs can benefit from vitamins A and C, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium.
Mushrooms
Hermit crabs are scavengers, so they often encounter fungi. If you’re unsure if certain mushrooms are safe for humans, keep them out of the hermit crabs’ tank.
Hermit crabs favor chestnut mushrooms due to their taste and chewy texture. They’re also high in antioxidants, protein, and calcium.
Parsnips
Vitamins C and K are the main benefits of parsnips. Avoid peeling parsnips too deeply, as the flavor is below the skin. Hermit crabs don’t mind chewing through the skin of parsnips.
Peppers
Peppers are bright-colored and packed with carotenoids, vitamins A and C, and potassium.
Hermit crabs are likelier to be drawn to yellow, orange, and red peppers due to their sweet taste and scent. However, most hermit crabs will crunch through less flavorful green peppers.
Potatoes and Yams
Potatoes and yams are a good energy source, high in vitamins B6 and C and potassium. Peel the skin for the safest serving option, as the stems (eyes) are toxic.
Radishes
Radishes are root vegetables with a crisp and crunchy texture. They’re an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, calcium, potassium, and sulforaphane.
Sea Vegetables
“Sea vegetables” is a generic term. Seaweed is more common, although algae is available.
Aquatic hermit crabs love sea vegetables as they mimic their natural diet. However, land hermit crabs scavenge seaweed and algae when the tide is low.
Spinach
Like other leafy greens, such as kale, spinach is protein-rich. This makes spinach leaves (raw or cooked) an excellent addition to the diet of hermit crabs.
Spinach spirulina is essentially powdered spinach that has the same nutritional value.
Sprouts
Brussel sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable with a highly nutritious, chewy texture. While not the tastiest vegetable, sprouts are a good source of vitamins B6, C, and K, copper, iron, potassium, and fiber.
Tomatoes
Botanically, tomatoes are considered a vegetable. Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, providing hermit crabs with vitamins A, C, K, potassium, lycopene, and fiber. Tomatoes are highly acidic.
Zucchini (Courgette)
Zucchini contains vitamins A, C, and K and calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
You can shred it in a mandolin, creating courgetti. This is a vegetable spaghetti, so hermit crabs will enjoy picking at the strips. It can be dehydrated, making it a suitable vegetable for flakes.
Vegetables Unsafe for Hermit Crabs
Onions and garlic are the only vegetables strictly forbidden from a hermit crab diet. Their toxic properties can cause breathing problems.
This becomes an issue if you offer hermit crab pellets. Check the ingredient list, as you may find trace amounts of garlic powder have been added to create an enticing scent.
Never feed rotten vegetables to hermit crabs. Also, never wash them with chlorinated water.
Hermit Crab Won’t Eat Vegetables
An aversion to vegetables likely has one of these explanations:
Overfamiliarity
Hermit crabs are scavengers that grow bored of familiar foods. According to The Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, hermit crabs rarely eat the same food twice in 24 hours.
Unsuitable Environment
An inappropriate environment can cause stress, which results in a loss of appetite. Check that the tank’s temperature and humidity are at suitable levels.
Hermit crabs choose food by scent, and they rely on saltwater. Ensure that the pool of saline water isn’t depleted. If it has evaporated or been knocked over, refill it. Hermit crabs usually regain their appetite.
Bad Experience
Hermit crabs memorize bad experiences, which may taint their relationship with food.
It may be that the hermit crab’s consumption of a particular vegetable made it unwell. A rotten tomato may have caused digestive distress, which it’ll recall.
