If they live in the wild, hermit crabs eat a wide variety of foods, from decaying wood, fallen fruit, leaves and grasses, and items washed ashore. These pets are omnivores, which means they eat meat and vegetables. They can be very picky about the choice of shells they will use as their homes, but they are not at all picky about the food they eat. They locate food in two ways: by smelling the food and by seeing other crabs eating the food.

• You can buy hermit crab food at most pet stores that sell land hermit crabs. These commercially prepared foods are suitable for your crabs’ diet. However, your pet hermit crab can also live with the food we eat.
• Your small pets will eat almost anything you serve them. But these foods are suitable additions to your pet’s diet: apples, chicken, bananas, carrots, bread, corn, cornmeal, crackers, cereal, coconut, grapes, fish, lettuce, and in-shell shrimp. If you serve meat, make sure it is cooked through and has no butter or sauce.
• If the pet store near you doesn’t carry specialty foods, you can also buy pelleted turtle food. Find pellets that are appropriate for the size of your hermits to prevent them from choking on large pellets.
• You don’t need to worry about how much to feed your pets. You can provide as much food as your land hermit crab is able and willing to eat. But don’t forget to remove uneaten fresh food from your crab the next day to prevent the food from spoiling and attracting insects.
• These fascinating creatures can also go long periods of time without eating anything. Don’t worry if your hermies don’t eat for a period of time. Continue to offer food and they will eat when they feel ready to eat again.
• How much to feed a hermit crab? How much of fresh food and commercially prepared food? The key here is to balance it. Never make your hermit crabs eat too much commercially prepared food. Always alternate with fresh foods.
• Always have clean, fresh water in his cage. Keep the water in a shallow dish, or a shallow shell is preferred. These little animals can drown in the water dish if you can’t get out of the dish, so make sure it has stone or wooden steps to climb on. Seashells in your tank make the best food and water dishes, as they can also be a good source of calcium for your crabs. Another good source of calcium for hermit crabs is cuttlefish. Never use metal dishes for your crab because metal can be poisonous to them.
• You can take this quiz on how much to feed a hermit crab. Offer two or three types of food at the same time. Your crab will eat the treat that smells stronger and better than the others, and this is the food it likes best. But of course offer them a variety of foods and not just the same food all the time.