Crablover Don On: Food
Message 50
From: SKRIPEand DUKE <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date: Fri Oct 8, 1999 11:45am
Subject: Re: FMR Hermit Crab Food
A couple other alternatives might
be checking online places like Sea Shell City at:
http://www.seashellcity.com/
Or you can call Kathy at FMR and
give her your zip code and she can give you some names of stores around you
that carry FMR products! Their number is 1-800-535-2722. They are there from
9-5 EST M-F. If you would rather check via the mail, their mailing address is:
fmrpets@gte.net . FMR does have a website at: http://www.fmrpets.com where you
can go and view the items that are available. FMR does not sell to the public,
but at least you can make a 'wish list'.
We have over two hundred little guys and mine LOVE the
FMR Treat and Food. Dawn is right.... they are the best and the smell is not
offensive like many of the other products out there that are based with dried
shrimp, etc. A good solid diet with a commercial food is a good thing, with
fresh fruits, plain popcorn, crackers, etc. as a suppliment. We grind all the
commercial food in a food processor to make it easier for my guys to handle...
my smallest are the size of a blackeyed pea up to fist sized jumbos.
Once a week, we cut up all kinds
of fresh fruit (in very small pieces), such as: kiwi, papaya, mango, seedless
grapes, strawberries, plums, nectarines, peaches,banana, fresh coconut,
pears,apples...offering them a choice of six or seven choices. It is amazing
how even the tiny guys will 'attack' a small piece of the offerings and chow
down! My Ecuadorians make up about a third of the population and are the
biggest fruit eaters of the fellas.
Happy Crabbing and Good Eatin'
for your little creatures of God!
Don
--- Mgilmo1969@a... wrote:
From: Mgilmo1969@a...
Where I live
(Massachusetts) it seems that the chain pet stores like Petco don't carry it.
I've found it at a few of the > independant pet stores. I contacted FMR
about finding more stores that carry it and they told to simply ask the manager
to order it for me. I haven't done that yet, but it's something you could try
if it's not in the stores around you.
BTW, FMR has a web site with a care page.
http://www.fmrpets.com
Dawn G.
Message 372
From: CRABLOVER
DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date:
Sat Nov 13, 1999 10:16am
Subject: re: Suggestions for better food
acceptance.....another hint from Kritterland!
Fellow
Crabbers:
While
discussing 'food' and other related topics, let me reiterate the importance of
using a good commercially made crab food for the 'mainstay' diet for your
crabs. I realize that many folks are limited to selections of the varieties
offered in your pet stores. I know my guys 'turned up their noses'
(sic)at many of the odorous ones such as those by Tetra and Terrafauna... heck,
these offended my sense of smell too! FMR is one company that has solved the
'eating' problem for me and many others. The FMR Food and Treat have
a pleasant smell and that seems to agree with my two hundred and fifty plus
guys!
Believe
me,in the beginning, I tried the products made up of the dried shrimp and other
by-products. My guys did eat a small amount when that was all I had to
offer.... but that offending odor! Luckily, I found the FMR products early in
my days of crabbing. Crabs don't eat a great deal, but they seem to
eat more of these products than others. We use these as a base for their daily
diet... offering 'special goodies' of fresh fruit, veggies, snacks etc. to
suppliment their regular diet! The results have paid off with
happier and healthier crabs at Kritterlandusa!
I
do not add addition moiture to the 'food', but I do 'grind' up ALL the FMR
products and chop up and 'mince'the fresh fruits and treats because my colonies
consist of various sized crabs living together and the teeny ones are better
able to handle the smaller bits of food... The big guys seem to like to eat
more, too, as they don't have to do all that work breaking up larger pieces of
the food. The addition of the water probably would help dissolve and breakdown
these larger pellets...in the same manner as the grinding down process used for
a similar purpose/reason. I have to purchase our food and treats in
bulk, because of the number of fellas we have to feed... Thank goodness our
guys have their own 'food processor' for the grinding task. (I know
that Jenn and some others have been using this process of breaking down their
foods.) They have used other methods to break up the pellets...and
but they have also discovered a better acceptance of the food and witnesssed
theor guys eating 'more'. Jenn can better explain her process... of doing her
'grinding', but a simple ziplock baggie and a jar or rolling pin can
net the same results. (food in bag... a couple of 'rolls' with the jar or
rolling pin...and presto... finely 'crushed' food ) This might be a suggestion
or remedy for your food eating problems. It has worked for
us! Happy Crabbing from CLD and Kritterlandusa! CLD
Message
620
From: CRABLOVER
DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date:
Wed Dec 8, 1999 6:41pm
Subject: Re: Cuttlebone
Yes,
I have a quick and simple way to 'prepare' the cuttlebone... I powder my
cuttlebone and add it to the food.... I have a small 'wire strainer' that I
turn over and run the cuttlebone over... and presto! Powdered
cuttlebone... I then give the remaining 'shell' to the guys who love to climb
on it, eat it and carry it around! We buy it in bulk at PetSupplies Plus and I
keep powdered cuttlebone at all times... adding it to the commercial food for
an extra boast of calcium... (approx. a teaspoon per oz. of food) Happy
Crabbing! CLD
--- Vanessa Pike-Russell vanessap@t...
wrote:
> Hi Melissa,
>
> I have crushed some of my cuttlebone
up in a pestle and mortar and added it to a shell. The other part I put up
against the wall of the tank and they like crawling underneath it. To break it
up I had half the cuttlebone over the edge of the bench and hit down hard on
the part that was over the edge and it snapped. It took a few goes but it got
there. Does anyone have an easier way?
Vanessa
> "Melissa A. Britton" wrote:
> > Hi everyone..
> >
> > I just bought a cuttlebone from
pet discounters, and I was just wondering how I'm supposed to feed this massive
thing to my babies... if there's some clever way to cut it up or break it
apart, because I'd hate to put the entire thing in their crabitat!
> > Thanks a lot!
> Melissa
Message
627
From: CRABLOVER
DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date: Thu Dec 9, 1999 6:51am
Subject: Re: Cuttlebone
Jad:
Putting
into the water will not hurt your guys... but you NEED to make sure that you
change out the water DAILY as the cuttlebone will start to 'sour' and give off
a rather unpleasant odor...my little ones didn't bother the water dish too
much...favoring the humidity sponge for water. For this reason, I went from
adding pieces to the water dish in favor of blending it into their food.... now
they are happy with their clear dechlorinized water...
Happy
Crabbing! CLD
--- "Jad B. Johnson" Jad@a... wrote:
I usually ass some cuttlebone to thier water
dish... is that bad?
Jad
Message
668
From: CRABLOVER
DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date:
Thu Dec 16, 1999 1:27pm
Subject: Re: Exo Question
Hi
Jenn:
I
used to 'save' it... but no one really seemed to interested as you mentioned.
So now I usually just 'pitch' it out... Have had a couple of thoe quick
re-bounders, but I think that it might just be 'in their constitution'... I was
once told that the guys ignore the exo after a period of time as it dries out
only 'chowing down' on it while still a freshly molted material... but with
these little guys, who knows!
Happy
Crabbing!
Don
--- Jennifer Borgesen amborg@a... wrote:
DeeDee and Spike rejoined the rest of the
tribe today during snack-n-bath time. I just completed cleaning up the ISO tank
for the next guest ... which leads me to my question ....
What do you-all do with the left over bits
of exo? I usually pitch them out but have been wondering if I should put the
leftovers in a shell for the group at large.
I did do this last time and it was pretty
much ignored ... except for Spike who molted shortly there after! I've gotta
say his molt was one of the best yet. He was walking around ISO 24 hours after
his molt! He could have gone back to the group but DeeDee was still a bit
sluggish and I didn't want her to be lonely.
So whaddaya say? Scrap 'em or serve 'em?
:)Jenn
Message
723
From: CRABLOVER
DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxxx>
Date:
Sun Dec 26, 1999 2:04pm
Subject: Re: Merry Christmas Molt/Cuttlebone
MERRY
CHRISTMAS and SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL!!!!
And WAY
to go "NOODLES"!!!!
.......................................................
Misty:
In
answer to your question about cuttlebone...
Cuttlebone
is an excellent source of calcium and it is fairly
cheap! It is found in the 'bird' dept. We place a
dry cuttlebone in the tank and let the fellas go for it.... my smaller ones 'eat' more on it, but they also love to play on it. Good Luck and Happy Crabbing! D
P.S.: If
you are interested in seeing more info on cuttlebone, (or in fact, any
topic)...there are several references posted in earlier digests at
the Hermies site. Go there, log-in and then go
to 'messages'... type in the item you are looking for and you will
be prompted as to where to look.
---
Czmcgirl@a... wrote:
I just read
you wonderful story about the crabs you helped in the petstore and I
notice you metioned cuttlebone...could you tell me what that is and
if i can get that in any local petstore...thanks....merry christmas
Misty
Message 977
From: CRABLOVER DON <kritterlandusa@xxxxx.xxx>
Date: Wed Feb 23, 2000 6:00am
Subject: Re: Diet and Calcium.... Rus and Jimmy
Jimmy and Rus---
Are your crabs active and lively? The thing that I question is what type of diet do you have your guys on? It really sounds as if they are the victims of an unbalanced diet! These little guys really need a basic diet of a commercially developed food along with the calcium supplements. These guys do NOT have a fully developed or complex digestive system and it sounds as if the 'extra' calcium you are feeding them is just going straight through their system.
I would highly recommend a better balanced diet including some variation of the food groups to help supplement the basic food. Offer them some fruits, green veggies, etc. and cut back a little on the calcium... it is doing little good if it is just 'passing' through their system... Always remember that more does not always mean better... TOO much of a good thing can be bad for your guys... Hope this helps...
Happy Crabbing!
CLD
--- Rus Wilson ruswilson@h... wrote:
Message: 8 Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 18:24:35 EST From: "Jim Steimel" nyjets80@h... Subject: (unknown)
All:
I have an "E" whose poop is white. Is there anything wrong with him?
Jim I don't know, but my "E" crabs seem to do the same thing. But is it white, or sort of light gray? I've been giving them some crushed eggshell (from hard-boiled eggs) for calcium...I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Any ideas, anyone?
Rus