HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I use sand substrate and have been wanting to try one of these other products for some time. Never got around to it before some of the members reported that PetsMart stopped carrying one or the other or both. Since it's the only place I can get it here, I never bothered to see if this store also discontinued it.Well, the wonderful new Petco sells several reptile substrates including these two.What I didn't know is that the FB, while it says it's organic, which is why it was my first choice, it doesn't say what it actually is. It looks like the bricks of EE minus the fibers. Does anyone know what it actually is? I looked on the web, but it doesn't say there either.I ended up with a brick of the EE. It's gonna be a while before I can change the tank, but I'm eager to see how my hermies like it.

Eco earth is just plain ol' coconut fiber. That's it. I believe FB is as well. It's all perfectly safe. I really love it because it breaks down crab waste, keeps the humidity up and the crabs love digging in it.Edit: I just did a quick google search of T-Rex Forest Bed substrate, and a website says it's pure coconut fibers. Zoo Med Forest Floor Bedding is cypress mulch.

Ah, okay, thank you. I don't know why I didn't find that.The fact that it breaks down odor and waste is the main reason I want to try it. I go through those periods when I just get lazy about picking up poop.

quote:The crabs seem to appreciate the EE though. You said it! I switched to Forest Bed and one by one, five of six crabs went under and stayed. Mass molt.... yikes!

I also had the same question when I was looking to buy the coconut fiber everyone was talking about here. I noticed too that the Forest Bedding didnt say exactly what the material was, so I decided against it. I ordered the EE from Petdiscounters.com.

I'm using T-Rex Forest Bed. It's coconut fiber with the consistency of finely shredded mulch. In that tank all my hermies like it except Lumpy whose been exposed to 3 different substrates so far and hasn't dug into any one of them. He must be a Felix Unger type. huh Go figure. I am so Oscar!I did maybe a 70/30 mix with playsand and they made several tunnel entrances on the surface so I imagine they have some good underground schematics going. There's just playsand alone on the other side of that tank.In another tank I used FB alone. The hermies like it that way too and have all gone under, some for as many as 12 days now, but I don't see entrances so it doesn't seem to hold up to tunneling as well without the sand.It does great things for the humidity in both tanks.

I'm thinking about mixing FB or EE in with the play/beach sand in my tank.... anyone have experience with that? thanks!

I started with sand, and then did half sand half EE (which got all mixed up) and then did all EE. The mixture works fine.

Yeah, I have just beach sand in my 20L right now, but was thinking of mixing in FB or EE in with it (not like one side sand one side the other, cuz I know they'll mix it anyway, haha) just for something different... still debating though - thanks!

Hello, I have been using EE for a little while and all my little monsters seem to like it. ...anyway I just wanted to mention that EE is half the price at petdiscounters the online site. (I have a 55 gallon, a 20 gallon, and three small motler tanks...so I can through a lot of EE even if I change the substrate every 3 to 5 months) Petco can be kind of expensive.

Interesting to read that many of you are saying your crabs like the EE better than the sand. I started with sand and then put the EE in about a month later (making it sand in one side of my tank, EE in the other). Last month 1 crabbie molted in the EE and 8 molted in the sand. I notice now that they are starting to dig in the EE, but it seemed to take them a while to warm up to it, like they preferred the sand still. But I am starting to see more tunnels in the EE finally. As for crabbies just sitting on the surface, almost always I find them on the sand, rarely on the EE.

i started using the coconut fiber bricks, and it seems like the crabs love it wayyy more than sand. i think the sand was possibly too hard to dig in for them. the moisture is great too.