HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Like most people, i have a yard full of maple leaves and wanted to stuff in some leaf litter in the tank with some fallen branches. What temp should i bake these things to make them safe for my guys?

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I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200F. Watch closely so nothing starts burning. Haven't had any bugs or mold after baking like this. Nor has anything started to burn.

AgentK25 wrote:I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200F. Watch closely so nothing starts burning. Haven't had any bugs or mold after baking like this. Nor has anything started to burn.

Right on! Thanks!

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I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!

GotButterflies wrote:I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!

Thanks GB!



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Hmmm...I didn't bake mine at all. I picked the leaves off the branches after they had died this fall - so they were pretty dry already. Then I just left them in a big shallow container to fully dry, and crunched them up into a big Ziploc bag. Is there an advantage to baking them, other than just to dry them?

curlysister wrote:Hmmm...I didn't bake mine at all. I picked the leaves off the branches after they had died this fall - so they were pretty dry already. Then I just left them in a big shallow container to fully dry, and crunched them up into a big Ziploc bag. Is there an advantage to baking them, other than just to dry them?

I believe baking kills off any insects or things you DONT see.. that way you have a minimal chance of bringing things into your tank environment. Plus it would kill bacteria. Idk. Just follow suit since im still learning. Tbh, i dont REALLY get it, since in the wild theres noone to bake things for them. But id hate to have something i cant see like mites or other things invade my tank and harm my guys.

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I just freeze leaf litter for a couple of days.

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elly_bananas wrote:

GotButterflies wrote:I bake leaf litter at 250 for 10 minutes with the door cracked. Just a reminder bc everyone reads these posts - leaf litter should be organic - no pesticides or fertilizers. If your lawn gets sprayed your trees do too!

Thanks GB!

Yw!

Oh okay, I put mine in the freezer to store it, so that would probably kill off anything nasty.

About 40 seconds in the microwave works, too. I place them on a plate, sandwiched between two paper towels and that helps to absorb the moisture. Then let them air dry for a few minutes. If they are still not completely dried out, you can give them 20-30 additional seconds.