Humidity problem, Need help asap

[jfs]

YIKKKEEESSS! My humidity is below 20%, ive tried everything! I got a reptifogger and wasnt sure if i could use it! The tank fills up with humidity, like really bad fog. Is this ok? or do I need to find another way?

[emberfusion]

The fogger is supposed to create fog!

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1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

[Hermiearth]

Also- have you calibrated your hydrometer? Where do you live? 20% is low even for location humidity.


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[wodesorel]

Calibrate! There is an article in rhe Care Guide section as to how. Your hydrometer has something wrong with it. The fog should make it jump to over 90% if it was working right.

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[jfs]

Well the substarte is a 50-50 sand/coconut fiber and it is 3" deep.

I have a dual humidity and thermometer guage. (around 65/75)

I have a small heat bulb (75 watt) and a night heat bulb also 75 watt.

I have salt and fresh water, conditioners are by zoomed.

Thd zoomed hermit crab food, changed daily.

I have owned my crabs for over 3 weeks now, I think they are atlantic hermits.

They have never molted.

They are in a 10 gallon tank in my closet with my tortoise and 6 other reptiles ((1)Snake and (5)chameleons).

3 crabs under 1"

3 shells

No fumes or anything.

I clean it with a spray bottel with water in it every week.

2 sponges

Nothing new lately.

I give them baths weekly

I have a tortoise tank on the floor, a snake tank over the tortoise tank, then the hermits over the snake, then 3 chameleon cages next to those. I have a monsoon and a reptifogger, but the monsoon is for chameleons. I work for my dad over the summer so I could buy a mist king if i need too. Changeing the hermits to a 40 gallon so it isnt so small for them. Also changeing the substrate to 6".

[Hermiearth]

Well the substarte is a 50-50 sand/coconut fiber and it is 3" deep.

H: Sub needs to be a minimum of 6 inches or 3x the height of your largest crab, whichever is deeper. This will help with humidity as well but it is absolutely crucial for successful molts. You can add 1" per 24 hours or if nobody is under yu can add all at once.

I have a dual humidity and thermometer guage. (around 65/75)

H: So analog? I don't recommend analog as they tend to go wonky- I use digital. You also can't calibrate analog I don't think? Heat should be a minimum of 80.

I have a small heat bulb (75 watt) and a night heat bulb also 75 watt.

H: Heat bulbs will also zap humidity. Most use the ultratherms from reptilebasics.com- stuck on using reflectix tape and insulated if needed.

I have salt and fresh water, conditioners are by zoomed.

H: Zoomed conditioners don't work, use prime for a declorinator and instant ocean as a salt mix, remember to dechlorinate salt mix as well.

Thd zoomed hermit crab food, changed daily.

H: Toss the pellets, these are awful for your crabs. Check out the HCA feeding guides- super helpful.

I have owned my crabs for over 3 weeks now, I think they are atlantic hermits.

They have never molted.

H: If you want to make sure they can successfully molt and live to there full potential- you will need to add the sub, the deeper the better

They are in a 10 gallon tank in my closet with my tortoise and 6 other reptiles ((1)Snake and (5)chameleons).

H: The HCA recommends 1 crab per 5 gallons, they are probably ok for now if they are small but just keep in mind you will need to upgrade as they grow (they will grow quickly)

3 crabs under 1"

3 shells

H: The HCA recommend 3 shells per hermit crab, there are good shells and bad shells- check out the shell guide.
No fumes or anything.

I clean it with a spray bottel with water in it every week.

H: is this water dechlorinated? You spray down the glass?

2 sponges

H: Sponges are actually not necessary, make sure that your that your bowls are deep enough for them to fully submerge and fill there shells with a safe way out. You can also add bubblers to your pools- they do wonders for humidity.

Nothing new lately.

I give them baths weekly

H: Bathing is not recommended, it can really stress crabs out and do more harm than good.

I have a tortoise tank on the floor, a snake tank over the tortoise tank, then the hermits over the snake, then 3 chameleon cages next to those. I have a monsoon and a reptifogger, but the monsoon is for chameleons. I work for my dad over the summer so I could buy a mist king if i need too. Changeing the hermits to a 40 gallon so it isnt so small for them. Also changeing the substrate to 6".

H: Oh perfect so you are already making improvements! Make sure to do the sub ASAP so if one needs to mold they aren't forced to do it on the surface. I would recommend buying a glass top for that 40g to keep in heat and humidity, as well as doing everything I listed above so that your crabs can live long happy lives And welcome to the HCA!

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[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA! I replied with GB for GotButterflies

Well the substarte is a 50-50 sand/coconut fiber and it is 3" deep.

H: Sub needs to be a minimum of 6 inches or 3x the height of your largest crab, whichever is deeper. This will help with humidity as well but it is absolutely crucial for successful molts. You can add 1" per 24 hours or if nobody is under yu can add all at once.

GB: Agree with above. Also make sure it is mixed with dechlorinated marine salt water or dechlorinated freshwater to be make the substrate sandcastle consistency. I personally did all three of mine with the marine saltwater.

I have a dual humidity and thermometer guage. (around 65/75)

H: So analog? I don't recommend analog as they tend to go wonky- I use digital. You also can't calibrate analog I don't think? Heat should be a minimum of 80.

GB: Analog is fine, just make sure you calibrate it. Then you can determine if it is of or not. I know there was a post earlier about calibration. I personally love the Acurite gauge at Walmart $8 - tells humidity and temperature currently and the low and high for the past 24 hours. They are in the home improvement section by the air filters.

I have a small heat bulb (75 watt) and a night heat bulb also 75 watt.

H: Heat bulbs will also zap humidity. Most use the ultratherms from reptilebasics.com- stuck on using reflectix tape and insulated if needed.

GB: www.reptilebasics.com or www.beanfarm.com have great ultratherms. Hermit crabs need the humidity to breathe, so it is important that humidity does stay minimum of 80 or above.

I have salt and fresh water, conditioners are by zoomed.

H: Zoomed conditioners don't work, use prime for a declorinator and instant ocean as a salt mix, remember to dechlorinate salt mix as well.

GB: I believe the zoomed water conditioner is okay. You need a dechlornator that removes chlorine, chloramine and neutralizes ammonia and heavy metals. Most of us do use Prime. As far as the salt water, you need one that mimics the ocean. The zoomed brand for that is not sufficient. Most of us use Instant Ocean. That is what hobbyists use for saltwater fishtanks. It has the essential trace elements that hermit crabs need. A lot of products marketed for hermit crabs are not any good.

Thd zoomed hermit crab food, changed daily.

H: Toss the pellets, these are awful for your crabs. Check out the HCA feeding guides- super helpful.

GB: Safe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92557
Unsafe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92556
Food pyramid: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554
Commercial food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92555

I have owned my crabs for over 3 weeks now, I think they are atlantic hermits.

They have never molted.

H: If you want to make sure they can successfully molt and live to there full potential- you will need to add the sub, the deeper the better

They are in a 10 gallon tank in my closet with my tortoise and 6 other reptiles ((1)Snake and (5)chameleons).

H: The HCA recommends 1 crab per 5 gallons, they are probably ok for now if they are small but just keep in mind you will need to upgrade as they grow (they will grow quickly)

3 crabs under 1"

3 shells

H: The HCA recommend 3 shells per hermit crab, there are good shells and bad shells- check out the shell guide.

GB: HCA actually recommends 3-5 shells per crab. I personally recommend more. It never hurts to have more Here is the shell guide: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 24&t=92552

No fumes or anything.

I clean it with a spray bottel with water in it every week.

H: is this water dechlorinated? You spray down the glass?

GB: Definitely make sure you only use dechlorinated water. Please don't do this though, because you can accidentally cause flooding at the very bottom of your tank. All you need to do to clean your tank is clean up poop and spilled food.

2 sponges

H: Sponges are actually not necessary, make sure that your that your bowls are deep enough for them to fully submerge and fill there shells with a safe way out. You can also add bubblers to your pools- they do wonders for humidity.

Nothing new lately.

I give them baths weekly

H: Bathing is not recommended, it can really stress crabs out and do more harm than good.

GB: Agreed! Bathing is an OLD practice. Their water pools in their crabitat should be deep enough for them to fully submerge on their own, and they should be able to safely get out of them too. Please stop bathing asap.

I have a tortoise tank on the floor, a snake tank over the tortoise tank, then the hermits over the snake, then 3 chameleon cages next to those. I have a monsoon and a reptifogger, but the monsoon is for chameleons. I work for my dad over the summer so I could buy a mist king if i need too. Changeing the hermits to a 40 gallon so it isnt so small for them. Also changeing the substrate to 6".

H: Oh perfect so you are already making improvements! Make sure to do the sub ASAP so if one needs to mold they aren't forced to do it on the surface. I would recommend buying a glass top for that 40g to keep in heat and humidity, as well as doing everything I listed above so that your crabs can live long happy lives And welcome to the HCA!

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[wodesorel]

With a heavy duty fogger you could end up flooding the substrate in the hermit tank. It's better to control humidity using other methods like proper substrate, moss pits, or sealing up the tank first. With the Chams right there and it being a small space it has to be your gauge that is broken. If you're misting the chams on schedule and are monitoring their humidity there is no way the hermit tank would be sinking so low.

And just because I've seen too many chams and torts die or end up disfigured by really bad pet store advice - are you also getting advice about them through a good forum? They both need UVB lighting that is set up correctly and specific supplements and diets or they end up with horrific illnesses that can leave them in severe pain or kill them. Not trying to judge, just want to make sure you are aware!!

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[GotButterflies]

Wode has a ton of reptiles!


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[jfs]

Lol, I have uva uvb for my torts and chams, both get reptihash super calcium, I know about MBD and what can happen if you don't have uvb/uva. Don't worry I LOVE reptiles and always get them what they need. I did 3 months of studying before I got Jen and Bil! (1 pair of chams). Now I have stan and Jeremy and ANGRY Jojo! Can't for get old Ellie (I used to LOVE tortoises more then anything! I decided I was going to work and get one)! Got the 40 gallon today, and 6 packs of the reptisand/cocofiber. Almost got a new veild cham XD Jojo needs a mating friend, lol!

[wodesorel]

Great!! So happy to hear it!!

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[Hermiearth]

Wait- is reptisand the same as cocofiber?


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[Hermiearth]

Sorry I meant is it the same and calcisand


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[wodesorel]

Yes, it is.

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[Hermiearth]

Yes, it is.

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So is that be a problem?


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