I think my sub is too dry but there are crabs down

[karlys]

Hello,

I was changing out the crab's water and realized that the substrate isn't sandcastle consistency anymore. I dug down a couple inches in one place but I didn't want to run into a crab, so I don't know exactly how bad the problem is. It's at least those first few inches.

I mist 1-3x a day to keep the humidity up but I guess it's not helping the sub. How can I correct the sand with crabs down?

[GotButterflies]

Hi Karlys! Are you using just sand, just eco earth or a mixture?

I believe that I have seen Wode say that due to the dryness of winter she has poured water on her substrate. I honestly have never done that. You could always add an inch of moistened eco earth to see if that helps. Once all of your crabs come up perhaps you can remix your substrate.

Do you use glass tops? I really think that helps keep moisture in tremendously

[curlysister]

I have added moisture by putting the nozzle on 'stream' instead of 'spray'....instead of just misting the surface, I will shoot water on the glass, so that it runs down the inside of the glass and into the sand. I suppose you could pour a little water at a time down along the inside of the glass too. Adding some moistened EE to the top is a good idea too.
What are your temp/ humidity?

[LadyJinglyJones]

It would be helpful to know how far down the problem goes... if it's just at the top, that's less bother than if it's dry at the bottom. ... try excavating in a corner where you can see there aren't crabs against the glass.

[karlys]

Thank you for your replies!

It is a sand/ee mix. When I originally put it in, it was 5:1 and mixed in together but, a little more than a month ago, I added a brick of ee to the top to help with humidity. This was about the time that I had to start using the heaters and, before that, I never had issues with humidity.

I do have a glass top on the 40 gallon breeder topper but the leftover hole on the main 75 gallon tank is covered by a sheet of polypropylene I cut to size. It sits flush but it's not very heavy, so I don't know if it does a good job holding humidity.

My temps get to 77 at night and 82-85 during the day, depending on how hot my house gets. Lately, it's been a struggle to keep my humidity above 70 for more than a few hours, even with two moss pits. I spray and it gets 90+ but then it steadily drops. The lowest I've seen it has been 69 because I was gone from the house longer than usual that day.

I will try to find an area that seems safe to dig like LJJ suggested to see how bad the problem is. I have too many crabs to wait for them to all be up at once. Then maybe I'll add another ee brick and I'll probably end up pouring/spraying water into the sub.

[LadyJinglyJones]

It seems likely that dry sub is contributing to humidity issues.

[wodesorel]

If it is bone dry all the way down, I would be thinking about digging. A molting crab in dry sand is looking at major problems. If it's just the top half or less you can gey away with spraying heavy or pouring water and waiting half a day, and then seeing if more is needed. I have a $10 pump sprayer from Home Depot that can do a gallon at a time with just a few pumps of the handle, makes large spray jobs easy!

And then going forward you just have to figure out how much is needed for your tank. My bins I have yet to rewet, my 10 gallon needs a cup full about once a month, and when I had the display case it was a gallon or two every single week.

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[GotButterflies]

To find out how far down the problem goes, you can use a pencil, or a chop stick If the substrate doesn't hold form, then it isn't moist enough. Good luck!