Underground crabs (4 days now)

[HermieGuy]

Hi! I got a new hermit crab last weekend. I haven't confirmed his gender yet but I last remember him being very hairy and assumed he was male.

Anyway, he is a tiny little guy, and my other hermit crab, Scuttle, is much bigger than him.

BOTH my crabs went under, the new crab first, which I expected since he's very small and showed signs of molting. Scuttle went under shortly after the small one. Now what's worrying me is that Scuttle dug down VERY close to where the smaller crab dug down. The two were getting used to each other when I originally brought the small crab home, but Scuttle soon started avoiding the smaller one, so it seemed to me that he didn't like his new tiny roommate.

I heard some occasional movement over the past few days, but both crabs are still underground and have not come back up yet. I have left them alone and continued to mist the tank and replace their food and water regularly.

[HermieGuy]

I forgot to add that my tank temp and humidity have been the same as they usually are. (85% humidity and 83-84 degrees temperature)

I mentioned in a different post that I did buy a heat mat. (not a UTH, a Zoo Med one.) I still haven't installed it yet, because I noticed that the heat mat was pretty small compared to my 10 gallon tank. I do not think the heat mat will heat my tank well enough.

[JoeHermits]

How big is your tank again? Crabs are diggers and they’re going to disappear. The way they tunnel also means that they may not collide when digging


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[HermieGuy]

My tank is a 10 gallon tank.

[HermieGuy]

Also, thanks! I was just slightly concerned and thinking that Scuttle had dug down to mess with the smaller crab or something.

[JoeHermits]

Yeah, if your substrate is three times deeper than they are tall it’s most likely a non-issue


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[HermieGuy]

Okay, thanks!

[HermieGuy]

I unintentionally found one of my underground crabs. (the bigger one, Scuttle)

I was removing the salt bath from the tank to clean it, and under it was a cave beneath the substrate, partially uncovered! I had accidentally spilled some of the salt water in the salt bath into the cave, and Scuttle flinched.

I do not know if it is completely safe to keep the salt bath there, as Scuttle did not dig down very deep and there is a VERY thin layer of moistened substrate serving as the "roof" of the cave. I don't want the salt bath to accidentally crush my crab.

Is it okay for me to keep the salt bath in its current position, or should I move it? (Again, the cave is partially uncovered when the salt bath is not placed on top of it.)

(Edit: for now, the salt bath is still on top of the cave area.)

[JoeHermits]

It should be fine but it’ll make removing the saltwater bath a pain. If you have another object you can place there instead your maintenance regimes won’t be affected


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[HermieGuy]

Okay, thank you!