HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Good morning,

My husband let me get a new tank (yay!) although I just upgraded to a 20-gallon long. I've been searching for the UTH that seems to be the most recommended here “Ultratherm” but can't find one that will ship to me here in Canada at my address. I ordered this two-pack from Amazon. It has a bunch of positive reviews but its main purpose is for seedlings. It does advertises terrarium and aquarium heating. I would think I need a thermostat for these. What are your thoughts?




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I’m not super familiar with those but I’ve seen other people use seedling mats without reporting issues


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JoeHermits wrote:I’m not super familiar with those but I’ve seen other people use seedling mats without reporting issues


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Okay, thank you! I will set it up for a while before adding the crabs. Two are underground now so I'll let it get to a good temp and watch to see how the heat progresses while I wait for the others to come up. I do ha e another question, do I have to boil coconut huts and similar products?


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If it’s plastic or treated with a resin the hot water can damage it, in which case a rinse or a simple hand wash with dish soap will suffice to clean it

Fully organic (real coconut, wood, etc.) can be boiled. A boil or soak in saltwater can help reduce mold growth (kosher cooking salt is fine, no need for the expensive marine stuff)


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JoeHermits wrote:If it’s plastic or treated with a resin the hot water can damage it, in which case a rinse or a simple hand wash with dish soap will suffice to clean it

Fully organic (real coconut, wood, etc.) can be boiled. A boil or soak in saltwater can help reduce mold growth (kosher cooking salt is fine, no need for the expensive marine stuff)


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Awesome, thank you so much. I soaked everything in a hot saltwater bath and let everything dry well. I have installed the mats and insulated them with metal duct work take ans this insulation. Does this look okay to you?



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This is the basic setup before I put the water pools, moss, leaf litter and all the shells. I think I'll put the moss and leaf litter in and see how the temperature and humidity do before putting any crabs in. My son loves Sponge Bob! The sand is also the deepest at the back. But averages 5.5 inches.





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Don’t bend the mats, it can damage the internal wiring. At best it’ll stop working, at worst it can be a fire hazard

Tank setup looks nice though! If you need to make the substrate deeper later (for bigger crabs) you can slip a piece of plexiglass in front of the door


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I'm still learning here but I thought insulating those type of heat mats is a fire hazard since they are already insulated? Just want to make sure this is safe for you!

Jenny55 wrote:I'm still learning here but I thought insulating those type of heat mats is a fire hazard since they are already insulated? Just want to make sure this is safe for you!

These ones I thought are fine? The stick-on-ones like Zoo-med are the ones that can't be insulated?

Question about temperature. I have temp gauges all over the tank. I've also fixed the bend in the one mat. The sand is 79.3F and the higher elevations are between 83-85F. They do dip lower during the night a few degrees. Is this ok?


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Look at the manual and see of it gives any hints. Usually mats that already have insulation don’t need extra but again I’m not familiar with these heaters

And yeah those temps are fine. Dipping down at night will also give the crabs some relief if they prefer cooler


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Almost positive those are insulated, I read that as long as it is not completely covered it should be ok. I did the same thing and found out on another site not to use more insulation. Sorry it looks like you did a beautiful job but maybe if there are some openings it will be ok. To be sure maybe you can call the company. Good luck!

And I love sponge bob!

Okay, I ordered the ultratherm from Bean Farm. They are able to ship here to my address. It costs just as much to ship here as the mat .




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Good for you, yeah theyre not cheap but will be worth it in the end and safe if you plan to insulate. I just ordered another one for the side of my tank. Good luck to you, your crabbys will be happy!

Yeah, I wish there was a Canadian source for the good heat mats!!