HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I recently bought a fogger for my tank after constantly dealing with humidity issues but it seems that it's now cooling down the tank. I have a 40 gallon tank and have a heating lamp that constantly stays on, Its a night light, and I have two heating pads on the back. My family likes to keep the house cold so I think that is contributing to the problem. I used to be able to get it around 80-85F but now it won't go past 75F. I have two thermometers on each sides of the tank and they both have the same reading. Right now its currently at 72F.
Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, your fogger is blowing the cool air from the house into the tank, which is why it’s not heating up as quickly.

How often and for how long is the fogger running every day? A timer or humidistat might help since it prevents the fogger from going continuously.


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I just got the fogger and I’m not sure how long to keep it on. I’ve mainly just been turning it off when the humidity gets high and keep it off until the humidity is too low. I turned it off before i went to work and when I came back the temperature didn’t rise at all. I also recently bought a higher wattage for the heat lamp which seems to have only brought it up a few degrees.

bubblegumsweat wrote:I just got the fogger and I’m not sure how long to keep it on. I’ve mainly just been turning it off when the humidity gets high and keep it off until the humidity is too low. I turned it off before i went to work and when I came back the temperature didn’t rise at all. I also recently bought a higher wattage for the heat lamp which seems to have only brought it up a few degrees.

Hi!
Your heat lamps are probably zapping the humidity. Do the heat mats you have cover the entire back of the tank? Also, what brand are they? I don't need to use an uth, but many people on here recommend Ultratherm mats. Apparently mats made by Zoo Med don't work very well. Did you ever think about adding mats to the sides of the tank, or insulating the ones you have?

https://beanfarm.com/collections/all/undertank-heaters

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CrabbyLover77 wrote: ↑

Mon May 04, 2020 4:50 am

Hi!
Your heat lamps are probably zapping the humidity. Do the heat mats you have cover the entire back of the tank? Also, what brand are they? I don't need to use an uth, but many people on here recommend Ultratherm mats. Apparently mats made by Zoo Med don't work very well. Did you ever think about adding mats to the sides of the tank, or insulating the ones you have?

https://beanfarm.com/collections/all/undertank-heaters

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I actually do have the Zoo Med mats which would make sense because when I got them it seemed weird how they only got a little bit warm but I thought it was normal because I have no clue about these things. My mats do cover the back but I'll definitely look into the other ones. Are there any other options for heat instead of mats or lamps that I could use?

bubblegumsweat wrote: I actually do have the Zoo Med mats which would make sense because when I got them it seemed weird how they only got a little bit warm but I thought it was normal because I have no clue about these things. My mats do cover the back but I'll definitely look into the other ones. Are there any other options for heat instead of mats or lamps that I could use?

Those are the only 2 options for heat I can think of at the moment.
I do use a portable heater in my pet room to boost the temp if it gets a little low, and then I turn it off and shut the door to keep the heat in.

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You may also use a ceramic heat emitter, which is similar to a lamp but doesn’t create light.

However, in most cases a quality heat mat will work better.


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You could always put blankets and tinfoil covered cardboard around your tank to keep the heat in, there is a video by Hermits, Hounds and Horses about keeping your crabs warm in the winter (it works all year around)