# What Do Hellbenders Eat?

> What hellbenders eat: Carnivore (crayfish, small fish), foraging style, and seasonal shifts in Clean, fast-flowing rocky streams and rivers.

- **Species:** Hellbender (*Cryptobranchus alleganiensis*)
- **Conservation status:** Vulnerable
- **Diet:** Carnivore (crayfish, small fish)
- **Habitat:** Clean, fast-flowing rocky streams and rivers
- **Lifespan:** 25–30 years
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/hellbender/what-do-hellbender-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/hellbender/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, reaching up to 74 cm (29 in) long. It is fully aquatic, living its whole life in clean, fast-flowing streams where it breathes mainly through the wrinkled folds of its skin. Hellbenders are long-lived, often surviving 25 to 30 years.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Behavior and breathing

Hellbenders are secretive, mostly nocturnal salamanders that hide by day under large flat rocks in the streambed. They are fully aquatic and absorb most of their oxygen directly through the heavily wrinkled folds of skin along their bodies, which increase surface area in cool, oxygen-rich water. They rarely leave the stream and rely on clean, flowing water to survive.

## Help protect the Hellbender

The hellbender is listed as Vulnerable, with habitat loss the leading threat to its future.

[Donate to protect habitat](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/appeals/habitats/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/hellbender/what-do-hellbender-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.