Young Coconut

Normally when I offer coconut for my land hermit crabs, I give them mature coconut. This is the kind with the very hard, dark brown shell that is very difficult to break. The flesh inside is much tougher than that of young coconut as well, and there is less coconut water inside.

Tonight, I found young coconut at my grocery store, and I decided to give this a try with my land hermit crabs! The husk was soft, but very difficult to get through. I first drilled holes into the nut in order to get to the water. There was a lot of coconut water inside; it was very plentiful. I drank all of it and didn't save any for my crabs! If you do not like coconut water, you can use it in your crabitat. You can offer it in a small dish by itself, or you can mix dried foods in it and make a paste or smoothie!

You'll find that the outer husk is very fibrous and tough, and inside there is a whiter, but otherwise normal coconut shell. Once you've managed to remove the tough outer husk (I had to hit it outside multiple times to crack it, and the pull it apart), you'll find the inside, which is full with gelatinous coconut meat! Very tasty if you ask me. To the right is a picture of the high yield of sweet coconut water.

Tonight, I offered part of the husk with some of the coconut still attached to it. My crabs normally go crazy for regular coconut, so I'm eager to report the results of tonight's food trial.

Nutritionally speaking, young coconuts are higher in sugars, whereas mature coconuts are higher in protein. However, young coconuts may offer more health benefits, and are known to be very high in minerals and electrolytes, making it great for the blood.