New Hermit Crab Help

This is where you discuss the conditions of your crabitat -- temperature, humidity, substrate, decorating, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar

Topic author
Oswin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:05 pm

New Hermit Crab Help

Post by Oswin » Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:09 pm

I just got three hermit crabs from my brother's friend [I wouldn't buy from a store as I prefer not to support wild-caught pets]. They are in a 20 gallon long tank. I have a couple questions.

1. The tank has eco-earth on one side and calci-sand on the other. I would like to take all the calci-sand out and replace it with just eco-earth. Not only that but I'd like to wash the entire tank. One of the crabs is buried. I'm not sure if it's molting or not. Should I uncover it so that I can take out the sand and wash the tank or just wait?
2. The only source of light/heat is a UV bulb. Would you recommend an under-tank heater or a heat mat more? What brand? Can it be purchased on Amazon?

User avatar

hermiwormi
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by hermiwormi » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:29 pm

How deep is the substrate? The crab is most likely buried in the EE as Calcium sand is not only dangerous(It turns into cement when wet.) , but disliked by the crabs too... If the crab hasn't been buried for a long time, you can remove the Calcium sand and replace with EE. For the heater, you can order an Ultratherm for the back or side of the tank from Amazon. My friend and I have also had success with human heat pads, especially because of the settings. Lamps and bulbs will dry out the substrate, so many are against bulbs

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.

User avatar

JoeHermits
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2019
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:26 pm
Contact:

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by JoeHermits » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:45 pm

Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar

hermiwormi
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by hermiwormi » Sat Aug 18, 2018 11:04 pm

JoeHermits wrote:Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I made my mistake with ZooMed heaters when I first got my crabs. Never again.Image

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.

User avatar

Topic author
Oswin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:05 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by Oswin » Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:39 am

JoeHermits wrote:Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The buried crab came out on its own! I've seen all three moving around now.
I did some research and decided on the Ultratherm before I even saw your comment. Will definitely be using that now c:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

User avatar

Topic author
Oswin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:05 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by Oswin » Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:41 am

hermiwormi wrote:How deep is the substrate? The crab is most likely buried in the EE as Calcium sand is not only dangerous(It turns into cement when wet.) , but disliked by the crabs too... If the crab hasn't been buried for a long time, you can remove the Calcium sand and replace with EE. For the heater, you can order an Ultratherm for the back or side of the tank from Amazon. My friend and I have also had success with human heat pads, especially because of the settings. Lamps and bulbs will dry out the substrate, so many are against bulbs

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.
The substrate is deeper than the biggest crab on one end of the tank with the Eco-Earth. I'll be going with the Ultratherm. I also planned on getting a UVB/UVA light so that I can see them better during the day and also because I read that people have seen that they are beneficial for hermit crabs. Would that be okay to use?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

User avatar

ciaraalston
Posts: 1171
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:33 am
Location: Louisiana

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by ciaraalston » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:20 am

The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.
4 purple pinchers & 2 ecuadorians living a life of luxury in south west Louisiana.
Follow my hermit crab learning journey on instagram! @hermitcrabs_in_the_boot

User avatar

Topic author
Oswin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:05 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by Oswin » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:22 am

ciaraalston wrote:The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.
As soon as they said there was calci-sand I knew that would be going ASAP Image I've read enough on reptiles alone to know the stuff is terrible. I plan on getting the bricks of EE, I check out the three brick pack!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

User avatar

fandt94
Posts: 620
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:57 pm
Location: NW Indiana

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by fandt94 » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:26 am

Oswin wrote:
ciaraalston wrote:The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.
As soon as they said there was calci-sand I knew that would be going ASAP Image I've read enough on reptiles alone to know the stuff is terrible. I plan on getting the bricks of EE, I check out the three brick pack!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
Petsmart had the 3 pack on sale here the other day but I bet Amazon has it cheaper!
Mom to 3 human boys, 2 dogs - Hemi & Athena, 2 cats - Fat a$$ (realname Spark Plug) & Batman & 5 PP’s - Monstro, Pinkie aka Little Bit, Shellie, other 2 unnamed

User avatar

curlysister
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3864
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:54 pm
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by curlysister » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:40 pm

You haven't mentioned a thermometer and hygrometer. Do you have those?
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers

User avatar

Topic author
Oswin
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:05 pm

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by Oswin » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:44 pm

curlysister wrote:You haven't mentioned a thermometer and hygrometer. Do you have those?
Yes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk


BatmanPrincessBaby
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:07 pm
Location: Pa, America

Re: New Hermit Crab Help

Post by BatmanPrincessBaby » Tue Sep 10, 2019 4:23 pm

I have a UVA/UVB bulb, is UVA bad for them?

Post Reply