HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm in Syracuse, sending you an email!

Priority is to get that extra sub into your tank so your guys have molting and digging room. High humidity doesnt hurt them. High humidity can cause mold to grow on your wood and food. Extreme humidty can cause water to drip down the sides of your tank and flood your sub, but thats extreme. To fix y...

As posted above, if the crab is not molting it is best to get them into proper conditions without the calcium sand. Overhead lamps zap humidity. UTH are the way to go. I use a combination of both only because my tank was too humid and the lamp helps cut that. Look into getting an ultratherm UTH, one...

A lot going on so I'll try and address each part. Overall, you are on the right track! Don't get discouraged! First, your substrate. Play sand and eco earth with sandcastle consistancy is what you are aiming for. You mentioned you had sand that got hard, which in assuming is calcium sand. You then s...

One week later? Two weeks? How about 3 years later! My tank build was put on hold after the initial post as the school year was ending and didn't want to finish up and then leave it for months before the start of the new year. Then, I decided to postpone my build until I was able to adopt from someo...

Does your tank have a lid? If not, how do you maintain your heat and humidity? If you don't have a lid, get one! Glass / plexiglass work great for maintaining heat and humidity. Mesh is heavier, but allows too much air flow. Covering mesh lids with plastic wrap is the go to to maintain conditions. I...

Be sure you are providing them with plenty of options and they will take care of the rest in time. Read up on which shells are best for your species. If you have purple pinchers, turbos are the best.

There should be enough "fresh" air when you open the lid to add food or water. Also, our tanks are not usually air tight and will allow a slow exchange of air. If in doubt, add a couple small holes that you can plug or cover to help with temp and humidity as needed.

Not if they are buried. The smell won't travel through the sub.

You said you have insulation, "foil and whatnot" but what does that look like? My suggestion, if not done so already, is to get some foam board insulation. A sheet of it is relatively inexpensive since you don't need much. A 1 in thick, 4ft by 8ft sheet is $22 at my home depot. Just cut it to length...

Chances are they are still molting. Crabs like to take their time, so just be patient. Either way, don't dig them up. If they are molting, they could get hurt. If they are dead, digging them up won't help anything. Patience.

A good rinse with dechlorinated water should be fine but boiling them for a few minutes will ensure any mold or bacteria on them will be killed off.

Glass or plexi glass to keep in both temperature and humidity. You want temperatures to be between 70-80 with humidity at that level too. Some people make due with plastic wrap over their screen lids. Works about the same but can be a pain to adjust it when accessing the tank.

I think we need some more information before we can help. I'm not entirely sure I understand the situation. Is this a surface molt? Is there a smell? Bugs? I recommend going into the emergency section of the forum and filling out the template to give us some more information.

I only have enough room to add in one small pool to cycle, the other will just be a smaller dish with a bubbler. Should I cycle my salt water or my fresh water? I will only be keeping PPs and maybe Es and would like to get some opinions. Thank you!