HCA: Hermit Crab Association

wodesorel wrote:Ultratherms are good. They keep an even heat and they run really warm so heating an entire tank is child's play.

I also like Flukers, but they cost just as much if not more than ultratherms, so they're really only worth it if you can find them on sale or if you can't order online for some reason. (They used to be manufactured in the EU (possibly by ultratherm?) until a few years ago, and then they started being made in China.) I don't see much of a difference between them and the ultratherms, honestly.

For a hot spot for reptiles, I much prefer the smaller pads like zoomed and zilla. They run at a much cooler temp and aren't as likely to overheat - which means they would do zilch for warming an entire area like a crab tank. lol I also really like the old Fukers that were made in the EU, those things are a dream for herps as they run steady and cooler. I picked up a bunch on sale at Petco a couple years ago and the boxes had to be have been a decade old. Wish I had bought more! I think I actually have one of those on my bedroom 10 gallon crab tank, but I may have scavenged it for one of the snakes and swapped it for a new one since it didn't matter if it ran hotter.

Giner13 wrote:Just remember the UTH for crabs goes on the back of the tank, just above the subdon't want them potentially molting on top of one if it was underneath!!


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MooneyFamily wrote:I have a 75 gallon tank, I just used a store bought humidifier for humans, popped the top off, rigged some tubing into the tank, and covered the top with cling wrap. After about a week, I realized the cling wrap was unnecessary, keeping the humidifier on medium seems to keep me right around 70-80%.

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Teddscau wrote:Well, I'm glad you guys can keep your tanks warm enough, since my UTHs are doing zilch. Hah, I'm going to have to buy a different brand -_-. For humidity, why not see about getting one of those terrarium foggers? I had one for my pitcher plant, but the stupid fogger broke. It was great for humidity, though.

Also, if your enclosure is large enough, why not buy some reptile dishes? I'm talking about those deep(ish) water dishes for pythons and the like to soak in. It's like having little intertidal pools for them to splash around in. Ooh! Great idea! Mossballs! If you have a big enough freshwater dish, you could buy some moss balls! Moss balls are these amazing aquatic plants from Japan that freshwater invertebrates love! Shrimp love climbing all over them, running their claws over it to pick bits of debris off of it. If you do infusoria cultures for your crabs, you can drop a moss ball into the culture and leave it their for a couple of days, then you can drop the moss ball in a water dish for your hermies to forage!

Maybe you could do up a moss wall? Like, with sphagnum or whatever.

Jellybean! wrote:

MooneyFamily wrote:I have a 75 gallon tank, I just used a store bought humidifier for humans, popped the top off, rigged some tubing into the tank, and covered the top with cling wrap. After about a week, I realized the cling wrap was unnecessary, keeping the humidifier on medium seems to keep me right around 70-80%.

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Interesting! Good to keep in mind!

Jellybean! wrote:Thank you for all the ideas! The moss balls sound so cute - I wonder if they are safe for hermies.