Beginner questions

[Rapui]

Building my first crabitat. Collecting supplies for now. And sorry for any language mistakes, english is not my first language.

Future crabitat will hopefully contain many plants and very little plastic. Bioactive setup would be great.

Thinking about getting some branches. How thin can they be? Is some branch type better than other?

About pools. Can I glue/silicone stones to the pool sides for crabs to climb in and out? Or is a ramp better? Does anybody use wood for a ramp?

[asiankanye]

I don't know about the last question, I'm just using some water dishes that are deep enough for the hermit crabs to get in and out of while submerging themselves. Some woods are safe, others aren't. It doesn't matter how thin the wood is, you just need to make sure that the hermit crabs can climb on it and that it is safe. Some woods that are safe include cholla and corkwood. I believe that Malaysian driftwood, spider wood, and ghostwood is also safe.

[JoeHermits]

The best branch type depends on what you want it for, but generally anything that can hold the weight of a hermit crab is good.

Most kinds of wood are fine, but I would avoid plywood, citrus, or Pinaceae.

As for the ramps, either steps, a ladder, or a ramp would work, but wood that is submerged is prone to rot.


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[Motörcrab]

Welcome to the HCA. How familiar are you with hermit crabs care in general? I am all for Bioactive crabitats. It may be a lot to try and achieve on a first crabitat. It takes some time to learn how to keep heat and humidity in check with a lot of beginners. Adding more details too quickly can easily become overwhelming.

I always love to direct people to this video about Bioactive crabitats. This really covers a lot of information.
https://youtu.be/4ZvBcrxy8Ic

Here is a recently made care guide for plants in a crabitat that one of our other moderators made. It should help answer a lot of questions as well.
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=120839

It is safe to silicone stones inside an aquarium. Be use to 100% silicone only. It should not have any additives such as mold reducers or mold inhibitors. Also be sure that the rocks you choose will not change the parameters of the water. Another moderator suggested to do a basic test of rocks you harvest by pouring a little vinegar on them. If the rocks bubble or foam they would not be good good for water.

Good luck, and welcome to the HCA.

[Crabby7Crabber]

Joe, Motör, and asiankanye basically covered everything, but welcome to HCA!

[aussieJJDude]

Joe, Motör, and asiankanye basically covered everything, but welcome to HCA!

Same here!

Will also mention, once you start said built we'd love t9 see the progress!

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[Rapui]

Welcome to the HCA. How familiar are you with hermit crabs care in general? I am all for Bioactive crabitats. It may be a lot to try and achieve on a first crabitat. It takes some time to learn how to keep heat and humidity in check with a lot of beginners. Adding more details too quickly can easily become overwhelming.

Total beginner in everything related to hermit crabs. I've been reading and planning for now. I'm going to build the crabitat and learn to take care of it before getting any crabs.

I'm a big planner

It took me seven months to get my first rabbit, planned it for five months and waited for the baby to grow for two. I've already spend two moths planning this crabitat. Starting building now, so maybe I'm ready to start looking for crabs in the autum/early winter.

[Motörcrab]

That's really good! The more researching you do the better off you and your crabs will be! You already know that!

When I first joined here I did a lot of reading of everything. The caresheets and all of the forums. There's a lot of good information and techniques hidden in there too!

As always if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Wlfwo]

I would have loved to have been able to plan. Grandkids came home from the fair and said "look what we won" eep,

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[Crabby7Crabber]

Hah! One day I was like-- ooh, I want a pet!
I definitely didn't see this coming
Edit: I have no regrets though!