HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone. I'm looking for some advice on how to manage the heat and humidity levels in my tank.

Right now I have a 15 gallon tank (I think anyway, I've owned this tank for a long time) with 3 small hermies (1 PP and 2 Es). For the first few days, the temp and humidity levels were a steady 80-85. A few mornings ago, I woke up to a drastically low humidity level - I believe it was around 45%. I took some emergency actions and got the humidity back to where it should be. Since then, however, the temperature has been a constant 75, and the humidity still fluctuates between 50-90% and I can't figure out why, especially because I had no issues maintaining the same in the beginning. My hermies have been very active considering, I haven't noticed any changes in their behavior.

I have an UTH on the side of my tank for heating purposes. The substrate is sand castle consistency, there's damp coconut fiber, damp moss, three saturated sponges, and a full water dish. I also mist when needed. I have noticed that since getting the UTH, the water in the pool dish evaporates quite quickly and the sponges dry out.

Can anyone guide me on what I may be doing wrong?

Thank you!

Some moss would be good and spray mist it with either fresh water and salt or make 2 moss pits with sprayed salt and fresh water so they can have good humidity

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Or if it keeps doing that u might need new essentials

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Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Have you calibrated your hygrometer? http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92540

Here is the emergency template so that we can help you: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 27&t=46102

I personally love glass tops - they help hold in humidity well - but you cannot use heat lamps with them. If you have a mesh lid, you can use saran wrap or press n seal to keep humidity in.

I don't recommend misting regularly. That can lead to flooding your tank. Moss pits work, adding air stones ("bubblers") to the pools helps too.

This is probably a dumb questions haha, but do glass tops have to have holes or open areas for air to get in? I currently have a glass top, but there are about 1 inch openings on each side. Could this be the cause?

My glass tops do not have any openings. Perhaps you ordered the wrong top. If you purchase the correct size it should fit the tank snug.


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Mine fit snug as well. I would add some sedan wrap, press n seal, or tin foil to your gaps. Doing so should solve the problem.

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Thanks everyone. I covered the openings with plastic wrap and walaa! The humidity has been 85% since last night. I always thought glass tops had to have some openings to allow oxygen in.

Daily food changes allows enough oxygen to enter the tank

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@Undercrablife, does spraying the moss with saltwater kill it?