Hello!
I'm Rae and I'm new to hermit crab owning. I did a lot of research and set up my 10 gallon tank for the hermit crabs I got. I got all my supplies and sand from the hermit crab patch online. I got 3 hermit crabs from the pet store. They were super active when I put them in the tank. They came in painted shells (which I know is not good for them). One of them swapped shells right away. The other two explored a bit and then went behind a log and started digging and burying themselves. The humidity was high in my tank because I have a fogger, so I turned it off for a bit. The temperature says its around 70 degrees, which I know is low for them, but I have an under the tank heat pad.
Is it normal that the other two are burying themselves? Are they molting or is it the temperature?
Should I get a heat lamp for their tank? Do I need a UVB light? What type of light would I need?
Any advice is helpful, thanks!
New to Hermit Crab Owning and Questions
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hermiethehermherm
Topic author - Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:53 pm
Re: New to Hermit Crab Owning and Questions
First of all welcome to HCA!
Foggers - can potentially lead to a flooded tank. So I would avoid those. If humidity is too low, you can add bubblers to pools or add a moss pitt.... Humidity needs to be a min of 80%
Burrowing - totally normal. They bury to molt, de-stress, and for fun.
Lights/heat - lights tend to zap humidity so I would avoid them if possible. UTH from http://www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.thebeanfarm.com are only ones that can be safely insulated. You'll want the largest that will fit along the back and ABOVE the sub. Oh and you'll want a minimum temp of 80. I personally don't let mine go lower than 77 at night and 86 during the day.
Edit: you mentioned a heat pad... If you have it under the tank, please remove it. This is a potential fire hazard.
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Foggers - can potentially lead to a flooded tank. So I would avoid those. If humidity is too low, you can add bubblers to pools or add a moss pitt.... Humidity needs to be a min of 80%
Burrowing - totally normal. They bury to molt, de-stress, and for fun.
Lights/heat - lights tend to zap humidity so I would avoid them if possible. UTH from http://www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.thebeanfarm.com are only ones that can be safely insulated. You'll want the largest that will fit along the back and ABOVE the sub. Oh and you'll want a minimum temp of 80. I personally don't let mine go lower than 77 at night and 86 during the day.
Edit: you mentioned a heat pad... If you have it under the tank, please remove it. This is a potential fire hazard.
Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk
Crabbing since Dec. 2010!
35 Crabbies - 28 PP's, 2 E's, 2 Straw's, 1 Viola, & 2 Indo's
35 Crabbies - 28 PP's, 2 E's, 2 Straw's, 1 Viola, & 2 Indo's