Newbie to the forum and newbie crabbie momma!

[Misombra]

Hello everyone,

I am 'V" and I just became a mommy of 3 PP hermies ( 2 small/medium and one tiny/small). I have a 10 gallon tank at the moment with 2 water dishes (salt and freshwater I added sponges to help with humidity) , food dish, a hut and dish with moss, and other things. I been having issues keeping my heat ( I bought a heating pad on Amazon and still didnt work) , it has been borderline with perfect humidity using saran wrap on the screen lid.

Today I got a moon-lite 60W, 8.5 in feature and now my humidity is low :/ I feel I cant win.

What I think my next step should be... please advise if Im in the right track or not, I want to create a great habitat for my little ones.

1) Get a glass lid ( I actually searched for one online when setting up and I had no luck, so I went to Wal-Mart and got the screen one)
2) Get something to set the lamp up? What, not sure. I do not have a lot space or things to hang it with.
3) If I keep the current lid, just set the lamp somewhere and keep the saran wrap????

Here I was hoping my heat and humidity were going to finally be on point and they are not. Again any input and insight, totally appreciated. I had read posts in here to help me out (thanks to Google search) for a while and today I decided if I am here reading, mind as well join

[curlysister]

Hello and welcome!

What are your current heat and humidity readings?
What are you using for substrate, and how deep is it?
Do you still have the heating pad? What brand is it? Where is it mounted?

Get rid of the sponge out of the water bowl, it won't help with humidity and will only harbor bacteria.
Cover the top of the tank with Saran Wrap, it will hold in both heat and humidity.
Some brands of under tank heaters (what the heating pads are called ,even though they are mounted on the side or back) can be insulated over top, while other need to be insulated around.

[Misombra]

Hello and welcome!

What are your current heat and humidity readings?
What are you using for substrate, and how deep is it?
Do you still have the heating pad? What brand is it? Where is it mounted?

Get rid of the sponge out of the water bowl, it won't help with humidity and will only harbor bacteria.
Cover the top of the tank with Saran Wrap, it will hold in both heat and humidity.
Some brands of under tank heaters (what the heating pads are called ,even though they are mounted on the side or back) can be insulated over top, while other need to be insulated around.

Thanks!

At the moment, my temperature is 75 and humidity is above 60 :/ ( I did kept the wrapping on the side the dome is not on)
My substrate is 6" and I have a mix of Zoo Med Hermit Soil Coconut Fiber Brick and
Fluker's All Natural Premium Sand Substrate Mixture for Hermit Crabs.
the heating pad is by Sungrow, it doesnt say on Amazon if it can be insulated or not.

[Hermiesguardian]

Thanks!

At the moment, my temperature is 75 and humidity is above 60 :/ ( I did kept the wrapping on the side the dome is not on)
My substrate is 6" and I have a mix of Zoo Med Hermit Soil Coconut Fiber Brick and
Fluker's All Natural Premium Sand Substrate Mixture for Hermit Crabs.
the heating pad is by Sungrow, it doesnt say on Amazon if it can be insulated or not.

Hi! Welcome! Does your substrate hold its shape? It's actually a bit difficult to maintain heat and humidity in a smaller tank. I was told a bigger tank is more stable. But it can certainly be done.

[curlysister]

The 'dome' is the lid? If you remove it completely and just put Saran wrap over the whole top, and then mount the heating pad on the back (above the level of the substrate), what do the temp and humidity get to?
If the heating pad is sticky on one side, I would say it can not be insulated over top of. But you can put insulation on the sides of the tank, and on the part of the back without the heater. Some people insulate with cardboard/ bubblewrap/ tinfoil (you can search the site and should find some threads about it). You can also put a towel or blanket over the top (over the saran wrap) and down the sides (so you don't cover the heater, as it can be a fire hazard).
Using a lamp for heating will definitely decrease humidity. Personally, I have multiple heating pads - two on the back and one of each side of my tank. You many want to just get more. I don't use any lights, just natural daylight from the window in the room.
Is your substrate moistened enough that it holds it's shape?

[Motörcrab]

Hello,

What type of temperature and humidity gauge are you using? If you are using an analog be sure it calibrate it to be sure it is acurate. If you check out the care guides there is a tutorial on how to calibrate it.

Your substrate should be mixed with dechlorinated water to sandcastle consistency. If you can build a sand castle and the sand isn't sopping wet it should be good.

Be sure the heating pad is located on the back side of the tank NOT under the tank. A lot of people make that mistake at first. The heater should cover as much as the rear of the tank as possible. An 11 X 17 works perfect for a 10 gallon.

You should be able to find a glass to at Petsmart or Petco for around $20. Sometimes they are tough to find and you need to ask someone where they are. Another quick fix could be taking a piece of cardboard and cutting that out to fit in the area the glass lid will fit. Once that fits in snug, wrap the cardboard with plastic wrap and place the screen lid on top. You won't be able to use the light but that should help raise the humidity and hold in heat better than plastic alone.

Depending on how deep your pools are be sure that you smallest crab can easily climb out of the pool without the sponges. They can be clumsy and fall in. The last thing you want to find is a drowned crab. Most of us use crafting mesh to add to the sides of our water pools, on exercise wheels, and whatever else we can put it on. Tiny zip ties work great for attaching it.

[Misombra]

Hi! Welcome! Does your substrate hold its shape? It's actually a bit difficult to maintain heat and humidity in a smaller tank. I was told a bigger tank is more stable. But it can certainly be done.

Hi, it does.
My crabs loves to dig in it.

[Misombra]

The 'dome' is the lid? If you remove it completely and just put Saran wrap over the whole top, and then mount the heating pad on the back (above the level of the substrate), what do the temp and humidity get to?
If the heating pad is sticky on one side, I would say it can not be insulated over top of. But you can put insulation on the sides of the tank, and on the part of the back without the heater. Some people insulate with cardboard/ bubblewrap/ tinfoil (you can search the site and should find some threads about it). You can also put a towel or blanket over the top (over the saran wrap) and down the sides (so you don't cover the heater, as it can be a fire hazard).
Using a lamp for heating will definitely decrease humidity. Personally, I have multiple heating pads - two on the back and one of each side of my tank. You many want to just get more. I don't use any lights, just natural daylight from the window in the room.
Is your substrate moistened enough that it holds it's shape?

So the heating light is on top of the lid, I actually replaced the saran wrap with aluminum foil cause I was scared it could catch on fire.

Before I got the light I had the whole lid cover and had a corner open, my humidity was on point, around 80 give or take, if i closed it completely it would be too humid. My temperature kept at borderline, hardly hitting 70.

The heating pad is at the side and it is the sticky kind.

[Misombra]

Hello,

What type of temperature and humidity gauge are you using? If you are using an analog be sure it calibrate it to be sure it is acurate. If you check out the care guides there is a tutorial on how to calibrate it.

Your substrate should be mixed with dechlorinated water to sandcastle consistency. If you can build a sand castle and the sand isn't sopping wet it should be good.

Be sure the heating pad is located on the back side of the tank NOT under the tank. A lot of people make that mistake at first. The heater should cover as much as the rear of the tank as possible. An 11 X 17 works perfect for a 10 gallon.

You should be able to find a glass to at Petsmart or Petco for around $20. Sometimes they are tough to find and you need to ask someone where they are. Another quick fix could be taking a piece of cardboard and cutting that out to fit in the area the glass lid will fit. Once that fits in snug, wrap the cardboard with plastic wrap and place the screen lid on top. You won't be able to use the light but that should help raise the humidity and hold in heat better than plastic alone.

Depending on how deep your pools are be sure that you smallest crab can easily climb out of the pool without the sponges. They can be clumsy and fall in. The last thing you want to find is a drowned crab. Most of us use crafting mesh to add to the sides of our water pools, on exercise wheels, and whatever else we can put it on. Tiny zip ties work great for attaching it.

Hi,
I tried to calibrate the temp/hydro but I noticed mine didn't have anywhere for me to "fix it" if needed to be, however the temperature in the tank always matches the temperature in my central air/heater, no matter if the central is on or off.

When I got the substrate it was mixed with declonated water, and all their waters is the same as well.

My heater is on the side, and of course it is small. My water dishes has little steps, to make it easy to go in and out.

[Misombra]

A little update:

So last night before bed I decided to turn off the light ( I was more scared leaving on unsupervised) and I cover the lid again. This morning when I woke up the humidity was too humid (I usually leave a corner open, I didnt last night cause it was in the cold side). The temperature was about 68.

I put the light on again, and within minutes the humidity was dry.

My little one liked the light last night but it is killing humidity. I'll look for a heating pad that would cover the whole back and, if with a little one I can almost get to 70, maybe with a whole back one it will reach perfection.

[Misombra]

Question.

For heating pads you put them above the substrate correct.
I'm looking at Ultratherm and their difference sizes. I measured my tank it is around 20" W and above 6" from top to the substrate.

Ultratherm has a 6"x23" and a 6"x11" I am guessing the last one should be it. I'm not sure if doing 23 would go around the corner if that's even possible, especially since those parts tend to have the glue in them???

[Hermiesguardian]

Question.

For heating pads you put them above the substrate correct.
I'm looking at Ultratherm and their difference sizes. I measured my tank it is around 20" W and above 6" from top to the substrate.

Ultratherm has a 6"x23" and a 6"x11" I am guessing the last one should be it. I'm not sure if doing 23 would go around the corner if that's even possible, especially since those parts tend to have the glue in them???

Yes, they are placed at the substrate line. Some people cover the substrate but it dries out the substrate quicker. I don't think any heating pads can bend around the corner. You can get 2 6x11 ultratherms. If it hangs over the edge it's ok. Ultratherms aren't self stick. They have to be taped on. And regarding humidity, there is no such thing as too humid. Unless the sides are constantly dripping. So you can keep the lid sealed all the way. I cover my screen lid with plexiglass I got at a hobby store, and tape it down. I don't use lamps.

[curlysister]

I have a 55 gallon tank, and use 4 UTH's - one on each side and two on the back. My house varies a LOT in temperature (old farm house, no central air conditioning, baseboard electric heater in the room the crabs are in). So having multiple heaters allows me to plug/ unplug as many as I need to keep the temp in the proper range. Two of them go about 2 inches below the level of the substrate which definately dries it out in those areas, so I add water there often. HG is correct that they can not be bent around a corner. And that there is no such thing as too high humidity.