A Few questions...new here

[eebco]

My wants a hermit crab for his bday and has been watching every you tube video. We are learning as much we can.

We are getting 2 small hermit crabs. We have a 10 gallon tank. We have the 3 bowls, hideout, stuff to climb on, fake plant, ecoearth substrate, etc.

I need help with what heating pad to buy..... I have a digital humidity/thermosat picked out. So can you turn up and down the heating pads? How do i know what temp range the pad comes at? Do you keep them on 24 hours a day?

Also curious best place to buy extra shells? Anywhere online that are good quality and a good price?

I have The Jurassidiet food and the 'fruit salad'. What other foods do I needs to buy (other than fresh food)? Calcium? Shrimp? What do they need daily vs what is an occasional treat?

Do I need a dechorlinator for the water? I heard i can just leave tap water sit out for 48 hrs and that dechlorinates it. Is that true?

Are these bowls too shallow for 2 small crabs?
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... rmit-crabs
How do I know if it's too deep or too shallow for my crabs? My son is very concerned about them being too deep.

What is better- the mix or bottled salt water? Recommendations?

Anything else? I had hermit crabs as a little girl and my son id thrilled to get his! I want to do everything to keep them (and my son) happy!

Thanks!!

[DUDE]

I live in Asia so I unfortunately cannot help you with the heat pad.

Naples seashell company, theshellstore on etsy and seashellshop are pretty good according to other crabbers. I personally get my shells from my local fish store.

Jurassidiet does contain copper sulfate which some ppl say is ok in small amounts and is beneficial but I just wouldnt feed it to be safe since there really isn't any solid evidence. Many crabbers choose not to offer our crabs any commercial food at all, some even saying that its toxic but it is your call. I recommend checking the hermit crab nutrition guide by kilimanjaro here in this forum. I follow it and my crabs seem to be doing very well if I could say so myself.

Yes you would probably need dechlorinator, a cult favourite is Seachem Prime. It is possible to gas off your water like you mentioned but it really depends on the volume of your water you're trying to dechlorinate. Many crabbers just prefer to use a dechlorinator as it saves so much time and is just safer.

Hermit crabs can actually swim and many people recommend having deep bowls (hermit crabs have modified gills), just make sure that they can climb out easily(craft mesh or fake plants) some people also say that purple pinchers don't require such deep pools but I found that mine actually really enjoy swimming. Personally, I feel bowls like that are a waste of money. Many crabbers just buy rubbermaid or tupperware plastic containers and use that since they are usually deeper, bigger and cheaper.

IMO mixing your own bottled water is better, another cult fav is instant ocean. It's just so much more cost effective and some even say that the bottled saltwater will harm the crabs, I've never tried so I don't really know. Make sure to use marine salt, not aquarium salt if you cannot source instant ocean and also dechlorinate your saltwater.

Not sure about your substrate but we recommend a 5 parts playsand to 1 part eco earth as a general rule of thumb. Put your substrate(at least 6 inches) dry as misting might cause flooding. Your tank's humidity will naturally bring the substrate to sandcastle consistency. That's all I have to say, Happy Crabbing!

[CombatMist]

Welcome. Hope we can help

Heating
I'm not sure. Dont have it myself yet.

Shells
I got a pack of 10 variety shells of 1/4 - 1 1/4 size turbos for about $13. Can be less if you want less variety of size or type of shell. As it was my first pack I wanted a variety of type and size. Look at the shell information guides. Some types are preferred by different species. Many like turbo shells. Bigger shells cost more. Will see many shells in the price range of $1.5-$2.5 per shell. I couldn't justify $3 a shell in shops. It's like shoe shopping but you can measure the kids feet and get them to try them on before you buy. My crabs have enjoyed the variety pack. Check the width of opening not of the whole shell. Can be tricky.

I let my water gass off. I've read and my quantity of water is small and large surface area and in direct sun for 12 hours seems to work. I'm doing 500ml Tupperware of water. Uv Ray's also help it dechlorinate faster. Its also very easy and cheap to buy filtered water.

Just try to keep learning. Too much to learn all at once.

[Hermiesguardian]

The correct consistancy of the substrate is what helps the tank stay humid. Usually the sand in the bag is moist to begin with. It needs to be sandcastle consistancy. If it's dry, it needs to be moistened with dechlor fresh or dechlor salt water.