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Safe Hermit Crab Foods

Acorns

Agave

Alfalfa

Almonds

Aloe

Amaranth

Anise flowers

Apples (natural, unsweetened applesauce, dried, etc., but no seeds or stems)

Apricot (NO pit or stems)

Arame

Artichokes

Arugula (Eruca Sativa)

Ash Wood

Asian Pear

Asparagus

Avocado (NO skin or pits)

Baby foods (organic/all natural - no additives, preservatives, seasonings, or flavorings)

Bamboo (real bamboo only - NO Lucky Bamboo)

Banana/peel (peel must be thoroughly washed prior to feeding)

Baobab

Barley

Basil (flowers, leaves, whole plant)

Beans (virtually all varieties - fresh, dried, or cooked w/no additional ingredients)

Bee pollen

Beef (raw or cooked NO seasonings - beef bones/marrow are also safe)

Beets (root, leaves, whole plant)

Bell Peppers (NO leaves or stems)

Bilberries

Birch Wood (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Bison/Buffalo

Blackberries (leaves, flowers, or stems)

Blackstrap molasses (organic and unsulphured - only as an occasional treat)

Bladderwrack

Blueberries

Bok Choy

Borage blossoms (Borago officinalis)

Broccoli (leaves and stems)

Brussels sprouts

Burning Bush (flowers, leaves, and stems)

Cabbage (all varieties)

Calcium carbonate powder, plain

Calendula/Marigold flowers (Calendula officinalis)

Camellia (Camellia japonica)

Candlenuts (must be cooked/baked/toasted prior to feeding)

Cantaloupe/seeds/"guts"

Caribou/Reindeer

Carrots/carrot tops

Cashews (Unsalted)

Cat Treats (dried meat types with no additives, preservatives, or additional ingredients - duck, bison/buffalo, salmon, salmon skin, trout, venison, etc.)

Cauliflower (leaves and stems)

Celery (leaves, stalks, and roots)

Chamomile flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Chard

Cheese (organic only and only as a very rare treat - no seasonings, artificial colors, flavors, additives/preservatives)

Cherimoya

Cherry (NO stems or pits)

Chestnuts

Chia

Chicken (including liver, gizzard, and heart - raw or cooked NO seasonings - chicken bones/marrow are also safe)

Chicory (leaves, stems, and roots - - pesticide and fertilizer-free – best in Spring and Fall)

Chickpea

Chickweed (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Chive

Cholla wood

Cilantro/Coriander (leaves, stems, and seeds)

Cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon only - NO Cassia cinnamon)

Citrus (all fruits, but no peel/skins)

Clams

Clover (seeds, flowers, leaves, stems, and roots - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Coconut (husk, meat, oil, and milk)

Cod

Cod and Cod liver oil

Collard greens

Coral (Untreated/unbleached - whole or crushed)

Coriander

Cork bark

Corn (Unseasoned - husks, raw, kernels, on the cob, popcorn, cornmeal, and polenta)

Crabapple

Cranberries

Crape myrtle/Crepe myrtle (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Crickets (dead/dried)

Crushed sea shells

Crustaceans/Shellfish/Mollusks, etc. (crayfish, shrimp, lobster, crab, squid, clams, oysters, octopus, etc.)

Cucumber

Currants

Cuttlefish (fish and bone - bone can be whole, crushed, or powdered)

Dairy products (Only as a rare treat - butter, milk, natural cheese, live-culture yogurt)

Daisies (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Dandelion (flowers, leaves, stems, and roots - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Dates

Day lilies (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Dill

Dogwood (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Duck

Dulse

Durian (NO pits/seeds)

Edamame (soybean)

Eggplant

Eggs and Eggshells (raw or cooked)

Elderberries and flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Elk

Feathers (bird must be healthy and must not have been treated with antibiotics or treated for parasites - when offering wild bird feathers, visually check for mites/parasites prior to offering)

Feces (herbivore feces only - domestic - must not have been vaccinated, treated for parasites, or treated with antibiotics. If collected from the wild, must be from an area that has not been fertilized or treated with pesticides)

Feeder cockroaches (dead only)

Fennel

Figs

Filberts

Fish (all species - NO seasonings or artificial/added ingredients or preservatives)

Fish flakes - cat/dog treats (no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives)

Fish Oil

Flax (seeds, meal, or oil)

Forsythia (wood, leaves, blooms - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Frozen or dried fish foods/supplements (algae, krill, daphnia, plankton, gammarus, brine shrimp, etc. - no additional ingredients/additives/preservatives)

Garbanzos

Garlic (flowers & small amounts in food are safe)

Gladiolus (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Goji berries

Gooseberry

Grains (wheat, barley, millet, oat, milo/sorghum, soybean, flax, teff, buckwheat, etc.)

Grapes (red, white, or green, leaves, vines, bark, and roots)

Grass (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Grasshoppers (Dead/dried)

Green sand/Glauconite (organic only)

Guava

Hazel leaves

Hazelnuts

Hemp (hemp seeds, meal, etc.)

Hiawatha moss

Hibiscus (HIBISCUS SABDARIFFA ONLY, typically sold for herbal tea - dried or fresh - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Hollyhock flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Honey/Honeycomb (organic, raw, unpasteurized only. NO store brand honey.)

Honey bush

Honeydew Melon

Honeysuckle (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Horn Melon (Kiwano or Jelly Melon)

Huckleberries/Bilberries

Impatiens (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Indian Almond Leaves

Irish Moss

Jackfruit/seeds (seeds can be boiled, baked, or roasted, as well)

Japanese Maple (leaves, branches, bark, dried or fresh - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Jasmine (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Jicama

Johnny-Jump-Up flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Kale

Kelp

Kiwi

Kohlrabi

Lavar (seaweed)

Leeks

Lentils

Lettuce (red, green, romaine, iceberg, etc.)

Lilac flowers (branches and leaves - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Liver (raw or cooked NO seasonings -chicken or beef)

Locust shells

Lychee fruit (fresh - NO kernel)

Macadamia nuts

Madrona wood

Mango

Mangrove (wood or leaves)

Marion Berries

Milk thistle flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Millet

Mint

Moose

Mopani Wood

Mulberry

Mushrooms (all varieties safe for human consumption)

Mussels

Nasturtium flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Nectarines (No pit)

Nettle, stinging (pour boiling water over leaves first)

Nutritional yeast

Oak (wood, leaves, acorn, & bark - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Oats

Okra

Olives and olive oil (extra virgin)

Onion (they may not like it, but it isn't harmful)

Oregano

Pandan leaves

Pansy flowers and leaves (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Papaya

Parsley

Parsnip (roots and greens)

Passionflowers (blooms, leaves, roots, etc. - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Passionfruit

Pawpaws

Peaches (NO pits or stems)

Peanuts and shells

Pears (NO seeds or stems)

Peas/sprouts

Pecan bark

Peonies (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Peppers (NO STEMS OR LEAVES - bell, jalapeno, ghost, pablano, chili, etc.)

Persimmon

Petunias (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Phoenix worms

Pimentos (NO salt, artificial flavors, additives/preservatives)

Pineapple (NO leaves)

Pinkie mice/frozen feeder mice

Pistachio

Plantain

Plum

Pomegranate

Ponytail palm

Popcorn (microwaved or cooked in coconut, olive, or other crab-safe oil – no salt/seasonings)

Pork (NO ham and NO bacon. Pork should be cooked - NO seasonings - pork bones/marrow are also safe)

Potato (no green parts, including eyes)

Prickly Pear (fruit and cactus)

Psyllium & husks

Pumpkin, plus entire plant (flowers, seeds, stems & leaves)

Purslane (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Quinoa (MUST be thoroughly rinsed prior to feeding)

Radish, roots and greens

Raisins (no sulphur dioxide)

Rambutan (NO outer peel - fruit only)

Raspberries (Red Raspberry leaf too)

Rhubarb (STEMS ONLY – LEAVES ARE POISONOUS!!)

Rice (any variety - MUST be parboiled/cooked prior to feeding)

Rooibos

Rose (entire plant - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Rosemary

Rowan/Mountain Ash (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Royal Jelly

Safflower Oil

Sage/Sage blossoms (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Salvia

Sand dollars (Untreated/unbleached)

Scallops

Sea biscuits (Untreated/unbleached)

Sea fan (Untreated/unbleached)

Sea grasses

Sea Horses (Untreated/unbleached)

Sea sponges (Untreated/unbleached)

Sea Urchin (Untreated/unbleached)

Sea weed

Semolina

Sesame (seeds-crushed, oil, tahini)

Snails (food grade or canned reptile food only - NO additional ingredients and no wild snails)

Snake shed **(snake must be healthy and must not have been treated with antibiotics or treated for parasites)

Sorghum

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Soy and soy products (human grade/organic with no added/artificial ingredients, flavors, preservatives; miso, tofu, tempeh, etc.)

Sphagnum moss

Spider plant leaves (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Spinach

Spirulina (complete protein and chlorophyll source; highest in beta carotene)

Sprouts (flax, wheat, bean, alfalfa, etc.)

Squash/Squash blossoms (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Star fruit

Starfish (Untreated/unbleached)

Strawberry and tops

Sugar cane

Sunflowers (flowers, leaves & seeds - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Swamp cypress wood

Sweet potato (cook prior to feeding)

Sweetgum (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Sycamore (Leaves, bark, wood - pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Tamarillo

Tamarind Pods/Tamarind Paste

Thimble Berry

Thyme

Timothy hay

Tomatillo

Tomato (No stems or leaves)

Tree Fern

Triticale

Tulip flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Turkey (raw or cooked NO seasonings - turkey bones/marrow are also safe)

Turnip (both roots and greens)

Ugli Fruit (Tangelo)

Venison

Violet flowers (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Walnuts (NO shells, husks, wood, bark, or leaves)

Watercress

Watermelon

Wheat (ORGANIC ONLY - including whole wheat products - pasta, freekeh, couscous, whole grain, and sprouts)

Worm Castings (organic)

Worms (freshly killed only and from pesticide/fertilizer-free area - meal worms, bloodworms, wax worms, superworms, red wigglers, earth worms, night crawlers, calci-worms, Goliath worms, hornworms, and silkworms) (Most can be bought at pet stores)

Yogurt (organic only and only as a very rare treat - no artificial colors, flavors, additives/preservatives)

Zinnias (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

Zucchini/Zucchini blooms (pesticide and fertilizer-free)

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