HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi Everyone! I am new here and just getting my setup together. I want everything to be ready before I bring anyone home!

We have a 29 gallon and are trying to decide what to use on top. We have heard a lot of people who say they use screen toppers with the heat lamps on top. This was our plan, but I have also read a lot about how bad metal is. I know a glass or plexiglass top would be another option, but then we would have to resort to heat pads and I don't think that would provide enough heat. Our house is about 65 in the winter months and 72 or so in the summer. Another issue we have is that we have two cats. They never mess with anything inside or on top of our other tanks in the house, but they do mess with/chew on the wires, so all other tanks have the wires hidden behind and blocked off.

If anyone has any insight or advice they can provide, it would be greatly appreciated!

Glass tops are better and a UTH from http://www.reptilebasics.com for heat... You'll want the largest that fits along the back and ABOVE the sub.

Edit: you can use screen tops but they don't hold heat/humidity well. You can cover it with press n seal, seran wrap, til foil, or packing tape (stick side out). Also heat lamps ZAP humidity

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Hello! Welcome to the HCA!!

I use glass tops for both of my crabitats. Another website for uth's is http://www.beanfarm.com During the colder months, you would insulate the sides of your crabitat with reflectix, or cardboard, aluminum foil, or styrofoam to help keep the heat in. Zoomed uth's do not work very well, (in my opinion), and cannot be insulated, but the websites that Daws and I gave you have ultratherms that can be. please check out the care guides under the forum section the only thing a little outdated is the recommended MINIMUM heat AND humidity level is now 80 for both. we are here for you for any further questions


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Thank you so much for your advice! Like I said, we want to do what is best for them and have it all set up before we get them.

Yw


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GotButterflies wrote:Hello! Welcome to the HCA!!

I use glass tops for both of my crabitats. Another website for uth's is http://www.beanfarm.com During the colder months, you would insulate the sides of your crabitat with reflectix, or cardboard, aluminum foil, or styrofoam to help keep the heat in. Zoomed uth's do not work very well, (in my opinion), and cannot be insulated, but the websites that Daws and I gave you have ultratherms that can be. please check out the care guides under the forum section the only thing a little outdated is the recommended MINIMUM heat AND humidity level is now 80 for both. we are here for you for any further questions

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Just and FYI, I also have a 29 gallon and the 29 x 11 ultratherm from the beanfarm fits perfect. I don't trust heat lamps in my kid's room and they use too much electricity.

Also, get the glass top where you got the tank. My tank was from Petco and I bought a glass top at PetSmart. There was a quarter inch gap, which I didn't think would do that much, but I had a heck of a time keeping the humidity up. I finally got a rubber seal that fit on the edge of the glass and sealed it the rest of the way and my humidity shot up to 99%. I was apparently well on my way to flooding my tank by over misting. Now I just mist the moss a bit every few days and the humidity stays around 80-85%.