About to put down my entire tank...

[mnadraus]

Ok so before you all hate me. I put my tank which is all set up perfectly upstairs in my daughters room. Its huge and has 2 Zoo Med Deluxe Porcelain Clamp Lamp with 5.5-Inch Dome lights. Worked fine for 2 years. Well today i plugged it back in and noticed one lamp was not getting hot. So i flipped the switch on the wire thinking it was turned off. But I really had turned it off by doing that. 5 hours later I go back and the lamp is still cold. I flip the switch again and this time i hear a buzz. Then flip it off/on again and hear it again a slight sizzle. I wiggle the wires and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sparks, flash, zap and pop. Black smore and electric flying. I yank the plug. Its like the plastic wire that comes out of the top of the light was melted somewhere in the ceramic base. Needless to say I love my crabs but I love my house, wife and 2 infants more. I cant trust to keep them plugged in. Im too afraid. Anyone on Long Island, NY want free crabs? If no one adopts, what are the options I have? The freezer? Ive loved them for ages but this has taught me to never have a heat lamp in my house ever again.

[Kleinerhejhog]

I'd take your crabs in a heartbeat, but I'm in Texas, so unless you wanted to ship them...

I don't really trust heat lamp fixtures either, have you considered trying an under the tank heater?

[hermitcrabdc]

Please DO NOT put the crabs in the freezer, there are better options for you and the crabs.
If you're tank is still okay and you are still up for caring for the crabbies, you can buy a heat mat to heat the tank. The best brand is only sold online, but works extremely well. I think the crabs would be okay for a few days without heat while waiting for a mat, as long as you don't have exotics.
Obviously the other option would be to rehome. If you're desperate to find a new home for them and can't find someone locally, you could ship them. I'm sure there's someone who has room and would love to take them in

[mnadraus]

what is the best brand of undertank heater? Will it penetrate 5-7" of substrate?

[CallaLily]

You don't actually put them under the tank for hermit crabs. They're placed on the outside back of the tank. You'll want the largest mat that will fit there, all or mostly above the substrate line. Ultratherm is a very good brand and can be purchased online from reptilebasics.com.

If you do decide that you no longer want the crabs, please try to find them a new home. You can post in the Adoptees thread over in the Adoptions section.

[hermitcrabdc]

what is the best brand of undertank heater? Will it penetrate 5-7" of substrate?

The best brand is an Ultratherm. No, they will not penetrate through the sand. You'll want to put it on the back of the tank. You may need to insulate it to keep it warm enough. If you get one, you'll want one that will cover most of the back of your tank from the substrate on up

[wodesorel]

Barb is in Grammercy Park, and adopts all over NYC and has friends that often can shuttle crabs from farther out. She's been crabbing for over 25 years and every owner I've sent her way has raved about her and her tanks. She's always willing to take more hermits if you feel that is the best choice. She has a post in adoptions or you're welcome to PM me for her email!

[soilentgringa]

I've had my ultratherm plugged in for a year with no issues and have two smaller zoo med pads that are attached to kate's 10 gallon plugged in with no problems at all. I have never seen a spark or melted anything from UTH's.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

[mnadraus]

I hadnt seen a spark or a malfunction either in 18 months. Google it. Its a known issue. Im not gonna put my household at risk again.

[soilentgringa]

I hadnt seen a spark or a malfunction either in 18 months. Google it. Its a known issue. Im not gonna put my household at risk again.

I am talking about an Ultratherm mounted to the side of the tank, not lamps or ceramic heat emitters. If you choose to rehome your crabs, of course that is up to you, we are just offering alternatives based on experience and what has worked for us. Most people who have had issues were due to improper use of the devices, whether lamps, ceramic heat emitters, or pads. There have been a few defective items as well. No one is asking you to risk your family's life for the crabs. We are just asking you to consider rehoming your crabs instead of killing them.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

[kornchaser]

I hadnt seen a spark or a malfunction either in 18 months. Google it. Its a known issue. Im not gonna put my household at risk again.

A few things first... Your scared obviously there was electricity having a hissy fit in your family home. Proper wire/plug safety; if it doesn't work right unplug immediately, more than one plug add a surge protector. Also UTH are a much safer alternative. They don't get hot enough to melt styrofoam like most heat bulbs and in fact can be used to insulate your tank to direct the heat in your tank. You get a mat (or three) the width of the entire back (or whatever gets the tank warm enough) and a bit above sub level so as not to dry out the sub. The ONLY fire hazard with matts/pads/UTH (under tank heaters) is
•if used improperly
(under over 1-3" of light, airy sub like for most reptiles - always put it along the BACK or SIDES for safe usage with crabitats)
•its defective

[Stadiastarlet]

A little late, and I don't know too much, but I saw you said you were considering freezing them? That brings up a red flag for me. Because morally, you shouldn't do that, and legally, unless they are critically injured or in irreversible pain, you can't do that. Freezing ANY TYPE of unharmed animal is animal cruelty and 100% illegal.

[Cumba]

You said that you have to re home your crabs. I am going to be on Long Island in a month or so.
I will gladly take them. PM me or email me at robin@danielwarner.net if you are interested.

Thanks!