Moving UTH

[MurkyCrabs]

Hi, i felt this question may best fit here!

I've had a UTH that I have kept under my tank (I have it on a fireproof surface) but I just came to a horrible conclusion after doing some reading that I could accidentally kill my poor molting crab if he's too close to the heater (I'm terrified I already did but that's another situation...). Unfortunately the websites I used to help me learn about crab care were not very clear about UTH's and proper placement. With one of my crabs molting and my UTH being under my 10gal (3-4 inches of coconut fiber in the UTH area) I obviously need to move it, but I'm not sure if ill is able to move my mouth without disturbing my molting crab. if anyone saw my post in molting, he ended up not being a surface molter and is definitely under the substrate, but I'm not sure whether or not he was on top of the UTH or not and I'm worried if I lift that corner of the tank up, I could collapse his tunnel. if I don't move the UTH though, the temperature in my crabitat is going to drop. I've already unplugged it but I'm concerned the tank is going to get too cold, on top of the paranoia I now have that I already killed my smallest crab.

any advice appreciated!

[CrabbyLover77]

Hi there!

Do you have the uth stuck to the bottom (is there adhesive on it)? If so, you wouldn't be able to remove and restick it anyway. The little wires in the uth could break when removing it, which could be a fire hazard. In that case, I'd just leave it there unplugged, and get another uth asap. A good brand is Ultratherm. You can find them online at Reptile Basics or The Bean Farm. I believe The Bean Farm also sells on Amazon, but it's a bit more expensive than Reptile Basics. If you can't wait for delivery, you could probably find the Fluker's brand uth in the store.
If your uth is just sitting underneath, you could try gently wiggling it out from the bottom, but I'm not sure how successful that would be without lifting the tank up. If it were me, I'd see if I can find a Fluker's uth in the store, and install it on the back and/or sides of the tank, and just keep the other one unplugged.

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[CrabbyLover77]

Edit: Please ignore this. I see it was discussed in another one of your posts. Sorry!

Also, substrate should be at least 6", or 3x the height of your biggest crabby. It allows for plenty of molting room. Substrate should be moistened to sand castle consistency using dechlor fresh or salt water.

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[MurkyCrabs]

i already planned on getting to Petco today thankfully so ill definitely do that! and yeah, unfortunately, when I was building the crabitat I didn't end up getting my info from great resources, I definitely plan on fixing that ASAP though. thank you so much for the advice, now I just have to wait and make sure my little crab comes up from his molt! (I'm still so paranoid now, lol)

[CrabbyLover77]

You're welcome!
I'll keep my fingers crossed the little guy makes out ok!

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[crabbycasey]

Positive vibes the little one is just fine


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