HCA: Hermit Crab Association

hey everyone! i have an under tank heater on the back of my tank and then two lights (blue and a white one) on top. i’m having trouble with my humidity dropping at night. i don’t want to leave the light on 24/7 because i want them to still be able to be active at night. and i don’t want them to become sluggish. is there a way that i can keep the humidity up? is there a light better for night that i should use?

Heya! Here’s the HCA guide to lights https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 26&t=92543 And an excerpt I think might be relevant

Nighttime Viewing + No heat
Blue or Red LED (cannot be left on all night – only for use while viewing)
Nighttime Viewing + Heat (also for 24 hour heating)
Infrared or Red reptile night bulb (incandescent)
Moon-glow/Blue/Black reptile night bulb (incandescent)
No light + Heat
Ceramic Heat bulb (please read warnings below)
Undertank Heater (UTH - not covered here)

As for humidity itself specifically, do you have a sealed lid to keep the humidity that is created during the daytime? You can also use a moss pit or bubblers to create more humidity around the clock. Here’s a DIY humidifier too!: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 39&t=26260

How low is it dropping? Like, what's the humidity reading?

the humidity drops from about 79 to 68

i do not have a hard lid, the lady at pet supplies plus suggested that i get a mesh lid and cover it with foil except for the lights, saying a hard lid wouldn’t let in enough oxygen?

Crabs don't need a lot of air exchange. Some people do seal up their tanks completely. Many of us have a bit of airflow. I have plexiglass over the top of my tank, with a corner cut open to allow a bit of air flow.
What do you use for substrate? Do you have moss in your tank?

i use a 5:1 ration of sand to coconut fiber and i have a moss pit that i spray with water, and some over under the light.

I would try to cover as much of the top of your tank as you can, leaving the area with the light open of course.

hi curly, can you explain to me how you cover your tank? if you have a hard cover with just the corner cut over it, how do you put the light on?

Glass or Plexi glass can be placed over a mesh lid or used instead.

You can also cover the mesh lid with syran wrap or packaging tape (sticky side up to prevent crabs getting stuck to it).

I use a light over the packaging tape I have. Not sure if a light, like aquarium light flush against it would be safe, but mine is a heat lamp with regular light bulb in it and hangs about 4+ inches about my lid.

If you get glass or Plexi glass, these should be okay with aquarium light on top. Hope that helps!

___TigerLily___ wrote:Glass or Plexi glass can be placed over a mesh lid or used instead.

You can also cover the mesh lid with syran wrap or packaging tape (sticky side up to prevent crabs getting stuck to it).

I use a light over the packaging tape I have. Not sure if a light, like aquarium light flush against it would be safe, but mine is a heat lamp with regular light bulb in it and hangs about 4+ inches about my lid.

If you get glass or Plexi glass, these should be okay with aquarium light on top. Hope that helps!

this is so
helpful, thank you very much!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk