HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi,

I am wondering what is the better option for heating a crabitat, a heat lamp or a heating pad?

Thanks,
Steph

An under the tank heater is what is recommended. With hermit crabs, do not place the heater under the tank. Place it on the back of the tank above the substrate. You want to heat the air, not the sand.

Heat lamps aren’t recommended because they zap the humidity. Crabs have modified gills and need high humidity to be able to breathe.


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Heat lights aren't actually not recommended, although it is true that many people report having issues with humidity with them.
Here is the care sheet with all the info you need to know about lights:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92543

Here is the care sheet about humidity:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92544

Here is the basics care sheet, which discussed UTH's:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 0&t=119273

I've used both, and have switched all my tanks to pads. Much easier to use, and less expensive in the long run as there are no bulbs to break or blow!

I just dislike heating lamps due to the fact that you can't set them down on glass lids or they will crack, and they have a higher chance of drying out the substrate and zapping humidity. It's much easier if you install a heating pad like an ultratherm with insulation if needed.

You can buy thermostats that you plug the heaters into to control the temperature, but often those are not needed.

odelayheehoo wrote:I just dislike heating lamps due to the fact that you can't set them down on glass lids or they will crack, and they have a higher chance of drying out the substrate and zapping humidity. It's much easier if you install a heating pad like an ultratherm with insulation if needed.

You can buy thermostats that you plug the heaters into to control the temperature, but often those are not needed.

My house gets into the eighties and nineties in the summer, so I have a thermostat so I don’t accidentally cook my crabs.


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HeinzMar wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 3:55 am

Ive never looked, but do they make heating pads with thermostats? If not, youd be cooking the tank because the heat would never turn off. Not to mention, a heat pad gets a lot warmer than the traditional aquarium heater meant for that size tank.

They do! There are several brands, and they are sold for reptiles to tightly control the basking temperature to prevent thermal burns from when a reptiles lays on top of where the pad is placed. UTHs do naturally have a max temp (around 120-140 degrees F and will cycle on and off, so the way we use them for hermits - on the back of the tank to warm the air - thermostats are not normally needed. The crabs won't be touching them and they don't usually get hot enough to cause trouble.

An aquarium heater used to heat water is a whole different kind of heater. And actually, it takes a LOT more power to keep the same volume of water heated than it does air. In my extremely cold bedroom in winter, I can warm a 20 gallon hermit tank to 80 with around 20W of power, but it takes around 200W to do the same with my same size fish tank. True that the pad gets hotter to the touch than the heater inside the tank, but that's only because the constant flow of water is keeping it cooler by moving the heat away as soon as it's produced. Add in a little moving air and the pad would also stay much cooler.

JoeHermits wrote: ↑

Sun May 19, 2019 10:32 am

My house gets into the eighties and nineties in the summer, so I have a thermostat so I don’t accidentally cook my crabs.


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My heaters remain unplugged for the entire summer, and I watch the weather forecast for the night in case it gets chilly unexpectedly.

I had to break down and buy a thermostat for my heat mat because the tank was getting up to 90°F in winter! Whether or not you need one really depends on the temperature of your house and how well the mat works. I bought a thermostat meant for seed germinating on Amazon for my Ultratherm and it works wonderfully.