Coenobita food list

Please note: Zeaxanthin is a very important carotinoid for all Coenobita. Carotinoids belong to the class of terpenes and cause a yellow to reddish coloration. Zeaxanthin has a yellow-orange color and plays an important role in the protection of light radiation of plants and animals, it has a filter effect when the radiation is too intense. Foodstuffs high in zeaxanthin are marked as follows: bold and underlined= high zeaxanthin content, underlined= medium zeaxanthin content, cursive= low zeaxanthin content.

Fruit and berries

Pineapple (with leaves),  apple, apricot,  avocado,  banana, pear,  blackberry,  canteloupe, persimmon,  strawberry (with leaves), fig, Galia melon, pomegranate, blueberry, raspberry, elder berry (Sambucus canadensis & nigra),  honey melon,  cherry, kiwi, lychee,  tangerine, mango, orange,  papaya,  passion fruit,  peach, plum, gooseberry, star fruit (Averrhoa carambola),  tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea),  water melon, grapes, citrus fruit

Vegetables

Artichoke,  bamboo sprouts,  cauiliflower (with leaves),  beans,  borage (Borago officinalis),  broccoli,  peas, cucumber, potato, chickpea, cabbage (all kinds),  cabbage sprouts,  pumpkin, romaine lettuce, lentils,  corn,  chard, carrot, peppers (green and red),  peppers (orange), parsnip, arangula (Eruca vesicaria), salad (green & red, no iceberg lettuce), celery leaves, asparagus, spinach, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini (with leaves)

Herbs and other plants

Maple leaves, dried stinging nettle, boiled-over blackberry leaves, dried watercress (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum), oak (leaves, bark, acorns – squashed and soaked in salt water), red  raspberry leaves (high in calcium, vitamin C and trace elements), hazel leaves, nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus),  clover,  dandelion (Taraxacum officialis) leaves/flowers and roots, dried nettle, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), portulaca, rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), sorrel (Rumex acetosa), seaweed, bald cypress (Taxodium sp.), leaves and roots of grapevine, timothy grass (Phleum pratense)

Flowers:

of busy lizzie (Impatiens wallerana), lilac (Syringa vulgaris), daisy (Bellis perennis), gladiolus (Gladiolus sp.), honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.), rose hips, hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), jasmine (Jasminum officinale), camellia (Camellia japonica), camomille (Matricaria chamomilla), honeyhock (Malva sylvestris), lady’s thistle (Silybum marianum), clover, passion flower (Passiflora sp.), petunia (Petunia sp.), marigold (Calendula officinalis), rose, salvia (Salvia officinalis), pansy (Viola x Wittrockiana), daylily (Hemerocallis sp.), tulip (Tulipa sp.), violet (Viola odorata & tricolor)

Food of animal origin

freshwater scuds, egg (boiled and yolk), fish, meat, insects/food insects (dead), dried or dead crustaceans, snails, squid, tuna fish (in juice from a can), mosquito larvae, clams

Miscellaneous

Maple syrup, softbill pellets for hill myna, spelt, egg shell, peanut, fish food flakes/granules/tabs, fish oil, barley, cereal, tapioca, oat flakes, hemp meal, honey (natural), powdered lime/calcium carbonate, chestnut, sprouts (e.g. from linseed, wheat, beans), coconut, currants and raisins (not fumigated), crayfish food, cod-liver oil, linseed, macadamia nuts, corn meal, sea sponges, olive oil, squashed pecan nuts, edible mushrooms, unsalted and squashed pistacho, pollen, rice, turtle food, cuttlebone, crushed sesame seed, soy, crushed sunflower seeds, spirulina algae (Arthrospira /Spirulina platensis), squashed walnuts, wheat, sugarcane

Please keep in mind that food from biological production may help to avoid damage to the animals caused by fertilizer and pesticide residues.

Text: Heike Dixon, translated by Ulrike Bauer

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