Confused in Tucson, Arizona

[EPAS]

I'm confused. I called an exotic pet shop to locally purchase isopod culture.
I was asked why I wanted them. I said for a LHC tat. The employee said that I needed to mix the substrate in a 50/50 ratio cause of Tucson, Arizona's humidity levels and to keep humidity high. Is this good information?

[LadyJinglyJones]

Hiya!

What were the type of substrates the employee recommended?

It's true that you want the humidity to be at least 80%. If you are having trouble maintaining this humidity, we can offer sugestions for fixing that.

Do you have a hygrometer? An is it digital or analog?

[aussieJJDude]

It great, but theres more than one way to skin the cat.... if your humidity is fine, then 50/50 isnt needed.... but even then thr addition of bubblers or moss can boost humidity.

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[EPAS]

I'm just starting the tat. I have the Eco Earth 3brick set, play sand and the salt water. I was going to mix the substrate and add isopod. I'm confused about the substrate ratio.
Items I have:
20 gal tank with full hood w/t5 bulb.
Eco Earth 3 brick set.
Play sand from Ace Hardware.
Accurate Humidity Monitor (00325w) from Walmart.
Instant Ocean 10 pounds.
Prime.

[daws409]

The 5:1 ratio = 1 brick for 100 lbs (2 bags) sand

You can mix it this way or any way you'd like. My first tat was 4 bricks to 1 (50 lb) bag of sand. Some use straight ee and others use straight sand. It all depends on what you prefer.... Just make sure it's sand castle consistency!

Edit- adding ee to sand helps maintain humidity

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[Hermiearth]

Wait, do they really need 80% humidity? Mine are straight from my backyard, I keep it damp in there, but I doubt 80%...


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[soilentgringa]

Wait, do they really need 80% humidity? Mine are straight from my backyard, I keep it damp in there, but I doubt 80%...


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Crabs do, isopods do not need 80%.

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[Hermiearth]

Wait, do they really need 80% humidity? Mine are straight from my backyard, I keep it damp in there, but I doubt 80%...


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Crabs do, isopods do not need 80%.

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That's what I thought.


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[ErikRasmussen]

I am in Utah which is dry, not as dry as Tuscon but still not a hermit crabs native habitat. I found that my Eco earth would soak up the water and dry out the sand on the first couple inches. Switching to just sand helped.