Newbie Here - Wow, I've Learned A Lot!

[bntyhntrqueen]

I have learned SO MUCH in the last week. It's craziness! Short story long: I live with my aunt and she took her grandkids to an amusement park last Saturday. They came back with three painted hermit crabs in one of those metal travel cages. She said "I know they need a fish tank, but I don't know what else. Can you find out?" Lo and behold, I found this place and learned that crabs require WAY more than any of us ever knew.

It's not great, but it's the best I can do until after the fair at the end of August (4-H kids. We show pigs, goats, rabbits, etc, and stay there all week. My uncle will be here to take care of the zoo we leave behind). I plan on upgrading them to a bigger tank, but right now they're in a 10 gallon. The lid is mostly solid with some gaps for lights so I wrapped it in plastic wrap. I have 6 inches of substrate, which is a mix of sand and EcoEarth. They have small bowls of fresh and salt water, each deep enough for them to submerge. I got some new shells for the biggest crab (he already switched) and I'm waiting for more to come in for the others. I crocheted them a hammock with jute twine, got them a cute tree hide thing (it's tall, so I think I might add more crocheted twine so they can crawl up the inside) with an attached hamster wheel (also covered with a jute twine hammock for grip), and I'm using two Star Wars coffee mugs as the other hides because they're cute. I ripped apart the painted food shell thing they came home with and scraped off the paint so I can use the shells as food bowls. I used the care guides and info here to create a small "crab care" book for my 6-year-old cousin so he understands how to care for them and can help me. I got a UTH for the side of the tank and it's keeping the tank at almost exactly 79. As for the thermometer/hygrometer, I got a cheap digital one from Amazon. But I'm not sure it's correct because it keeps saying the humidity is 99%, so right now (as in RIGHT NOW as I'm typing), I'm testing it with the salt test. There is condensation on the glass, though, and the sand is still moist, so I think they're okay until I get it calibrated right.

After the fair, I plan on finding a used tank that's at least 20 gallons (I'd prefer 50, though, so I don't have to keep upgrading). Not gonna lie, I also want it bigger so I can decorate more, cause that's the funnest part.

Thanks to everyone who created the care guides and provided all the amazing info on here. It was overwhelming, but I'm happy I found this place because the crabs seem pretty content.

[curlysister]

Welcome to crabbing! This site is the only one I have used for info since I got my two crabs, Sonny and Cher, almost 9 years ago!
Just ask if you have questions, there are lots of very knowledgeable people on here!