HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I just got three hermit crabs from my brother's friend [I wouldn't buy from a store as I prefer not to support wild-caught pets]. They are in a 20 gallon long tank. I have a couple questions.

1. The tank has eco-earth on one side and calci-sand on the other. I would like to take all the calci-sand out and replace it with just eco-earth. Not only that but I'd like to wash the entire tank. One of the crabs is buried. I'm not sure if it's molting or not. Should I uncover it so that I can take out the sand and wash the tank or just wait?
2. The only source of light/heat is a UV bulb. Would you recommend an under-tank heater or a heat mat more? What brand? Can it be purchased on Amazon?

How deep is the substrate? The crab is most likely buried in the EE as Calcium sand is not only dangerous(It turns into cement when wet.) , but disliked by the crabs too... If the crab hasn't been buried for a long time, you can remove the Calcium sand and replace with EE. For the heater, you can order an Ultratherm for the back or side of the tank from Amazon. My friend and I have also had success with human heat pads, especially because of the settings. Lamps and bulbs will dry out the substrate, so many are against bulbs

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.

Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


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JoeHermits wrote:Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


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I made my mistake with ZooMed heaters when I first got my crabs. Never again.

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.

JoeHermits wrote:Wait out the buried crab. We don’t want to disturb it. Digging is for emergencies only.

Your best bet will be an under-tank heater placed on the side of the tank. Stay away from the Zoo Med Reptitherm, they’re bad juu-juu. I believe that the Ultratherms from Bean Farm can be purchased through Amazon, if that’s the route you want to go.

Good luck! Let us know if you have any more questions.


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The buried crab came out on its own! I've seen all three moving around now.
I did some research and decided on the Ultratherm before I even saw your comment. Will definitely be using that now c:

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hermiwormi wrote:How deep is the substrate? The crab is most likely buried in the EE as Calcium sand is not only dangerous(It turns into cement when wet.) , but disliked by the crabs too... If the crab hasn't been buried for a long time, you can remove the Calcium sand and replace with EE. For the heater, you can order an Ultratherm for the back or side of the tank from Amazon. My friend and I have also had success with human heat pads, especially because of the settings. Lamps and bulbs will dry out the substrate, so many are against bulbs

5 PPs: Koa, Moja, Siam, Chella, and Ozark.

The substrate is deeper than the biggest crab on one end of the tank with the Eco-Earth. I'll be going with the Ultratherm. I also planned on getting a UVB/UVA light so that I can see them better during the day and also because I read that people have seen that they are beneficial for hermit crabs. Would that be okay to use?

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The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.

ciaraalston wrote:The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.

As soon as they said there was calci-sand I knew that would be going ASAP I've read enough on reptiles alone to know the stuff is terrible. I plan on getting the bricks of EE, I check out the three brick pack!

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Oswin wrote:

ciaraalston wrote:The calci sand is the WORST! The bricks of EE are cheaper than the bags, you can get 3 for the price of 1 on amazon. It's $9.99 for 3 bricks, our local petstores are $9.99 for 1 brick. Also, play sand from home depot or lowes is a great filler to get that extra depth. My 55 gal has 2 bags with 8 bricks of EE, it gives me about 10 inches of substrate.

I've read that the UVB lights are beneficial, i haven't added mine yet to see the differences.

As soon as they said there was calci-sand I knew that would be going ASAP I've read enough on reptiles alone to know the stuff is terrible. I plan on getting the bricks of EE, I check out the three brick pack!

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Petsmart had the 3 pack on sale here the other day but I bet Amazon has it cheaper!

You haven't mentioned a thermometer and hygrometer. Do you have those?

curlysister wrote:You haven't mentioned a thermometer and hygrometer. Do you have those?

Yes.

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I have a UVA/UVB bulb, is UVA bad for them?