Humidity

[C: ClareCrabOwner :)]

Substrate must be kept damp enough for crabs to be able to dig tunnels without it caving in on them (sandcastle consistency) so they can breathe underground and surface safely when ready, but not so wet that water pools at bottom of tank. Crabs often molt at very bottom of tank and if too much water accumulates in substrate, it sinks to the bottom causing underground crabs to drown. Also the smaller the tank, the easier it is to oversaturate. (ie too many tipped water bowls or too frequent misting)

Thanks! I need to make sure I don't flood my tank... I mist it pretty often to try to raise the humidity. What should I do if I do accidently flood it at some point in the future?

Sub should also be deep enough that your largest crab can dig at least 3 times his size (including shell). For example, I have a 29 gal. Tank which is 18" tall and filled with about 10" of sand & ee mix. My largest crab is about the size of a baseball.

I added more subsrate to my tank recently, I think it around 5-7 times as deep as my largest crab now

Substrate, temp and humidity are 3 of the most important aspects of crab keeping.

I knew temp and sub, but I didn't know humidity was that important... Thanks!

As mentioned by another crabber, 72F is the bare minimum temp, tho I prefer keeping mine around 80-84F daytime and 76-80 nighttime.

My tank is generally in the 70s at night and the 80s or low 90s during the day.

And I find my crabs are most active with humidity levels at 80% or above. I wouldn't recommend anything lower than 70% for more than a few hours.

My tank is way too low on humidity! Is there anything I can put over the screen/mesh lid that won't be melted or start a fire with the heat lamp?

Until you are confident you have reached your ideal tank conditions in your first tank, I would highly recommend holding off on trying to set up a second tank. In my opinion 1 overcrowded tank with otherwise ideal conditions is far better for the crabs than 2 roomier tanks that do not meet all their basic needs.

I let my brother keep one of the tanks in his room, the tank I now have set up properly. He has two of my crabs (the ones listed in black in my signature). He added some heat mats to the back and has a good temp/humidity/substrate depth. My tank is mainly struggleing with humidity...
But I do have one tank set up properly, at least as far as I can tell. Just working on the humidity in my tank!

There are many other important needs to be met other than the 3 I have mentioned here, (such as the correct size, fit, type of shells, quality food, dechlorinated salt and fresh water, etc) but all of that info can be found in diff topics on this site.

Thanks! I've looked at a lot of these.

This is the only site I refer to/ trust to be true. I have been coming here for years and the admins have never let me down.

Um, your profile said that you joined in February this year...
I really like this site too! I don't go to other sites too often.

My crabs are 8+ yrs strong and just added a few more last week!

How fun! I hope the new ones do well for you



Thank you for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it when people take the time to write a long post and explain everything to me.

[curlysister]

A flood is an emergency if any crabs are buried - you would need to dig them up and isolate anyone who was molting, and then dry out the substrate.
Have you been able to get a heat mat yet for the back of the tank, instead of the heat lamp? Then you can cover the entire lid with plastic wrap to keep the humidity in. Also if you keep your tank in the low 80s, the humidity will stay higher than if it is up in the low 90s. Humidity is important because crabs have modified gills, so they need the humidity in order to breathe.

[C: ClareCrabOwner :)]

A flood is an emergency if any crabs are buried - you would need to dig them up and isolate anyone who was molting, and then dry out the substrate.

Thank you!

Have you been able to get a heat mat yet for the back of the tank, instead of the heat lamp? Then you can cover the entire lid with plastic wrap to keep the humidity in.

Well, I haven't got one yet. The crabs are still alive, so my Mom thinks that they are fine and they do not need a heat mat. She just helped me buy the lamp, and doesn't particularly want to get a heat mat. I plan on asking her again in a couple months, because if I ask too often she'll probaly be annoyed. But I do really want to!

Also if you keep your tank in the low 80s, the humidity will stay higher than if it is up in the low 90s.

Thank you! I hadn't thought of that. I've been doing that now and the humidity is a bit higher.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreiciate your help! Whoever made you an administrator sure knew what they were doing

I really hope that I can get a heat mat soon!