HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I recently got my hermit crabs and they are adorable! Humidity is good, have fresh food and water as well as a UVB light. I have an UTH but my tank is barely 70 degrees. It’s worrying me. Both my crabs have burrowed, my substrate is eco earth coconut substrate and sand and is about 4-5 inches thick. Any suggestions please?

Hi!

Do you have the uth on the back and/or sides of the glass? With hermits, you don't want it under the tank, because the goal is to heat the air and not the substrate(also a fire hazard to put under the tank with so much substrate in top of it. It can cause the uth to overheat). Some uths can be insulated (those that are padded or stick on cannot be insulated.) If you have a uth like an ultratherm, you can wrap some cardboard in aluminum foil, shiny side out, and duct tape that over the uth. If your uth is one you can't insulate over, you can insulate around it instead. Zoo med uths are known to not be that great. Flukers and Ultratherms are better. You can also use blankets and/or towels around the tank (keep away from the uth tho).

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Hello! I did place it under the tank, I thought that was where it was supposed to be, but now reading up on it I know I shouldn’t! I don’t know if I can remove it without damaging it though? Can’t it not be bent? If I can remove it I’ll gladly stick it to the side! Thanks for the reply!

If it has a sticky side, it is not recommended to remove and re-use it, as the small wires inside can break and it can be a fire hazard.
The UTH also can't be bent, like to go around a corner of the tank.

curlysister wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 03, 2023 12:07 am

If it has a sticky side, it is not recommended to remove and re-use it, as the small wires inside can break and it can be a fire hazard.
The UTH also can't be bent, like to go around a corner of the tank.

Gotcha! So I got a large UTH to cover the back of my crabitat. It seems great size and covers all the bare space on the back up to the substrate level. I’ve seen a slight increase in heat, but nothing as significant as I would prefer. Could it be the fact I have a mesh top to my terrarium? Do I need a solid hood/cover? Could I find one to to fit over my current 10 gal top?

HermitCrabsRCute wrote: Gotcha! So I got a large UTH to cover the back of my crabitat. It seems great size and covers all the bare space on the back up to the substrate level. I’ve seen a slight increase in heat, but nothing as significant as I would prefer. Could it be the fact I have a mesh top to my terrarium? Do I need a solid hood/cover? Could I find one to to fit over my current 10 gal top?

If you have a mesh top and nothing covering it, all the humidity and heat will be able to escape. I use glass tops on my tanks, and they hold everything in well. For now, completely wrap your top up in saran wrap. This will keep the moisture and heat in. The crabs will get air exchange when you open the lid to do tank maintenance, so don't worry about covering it completely.

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CrabbyLover77 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 03, 2023 6:43 pm

If you have a mesh top and nothing covering it, all the humidity and heat will be able to escape. I use glass tops on my tanks, and they hold everything in well. For now, completely wrap your top up in saran wrap. This will keep the moisture and heat in. The crabs will get air exchange when you open the lid to do tank maintenance, so don't worry about covering it completely.

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Thank you so much! So what can I buy for it? Will a hood cover my current mesh 10 gallon lid? Any suggestions/links you could send for certain brands?

HermitCrabsRCute wrote: Thank you so much! So what can I buy for it? Will a hood cover my current mesh 10 gallon lid? Any suggestions/links you could send for certain brands?

You're welcome! Here's the link to the glass top Petco has for a 10 gal:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... m-top-20-l

I have strip lights from previous fish and tortoise tanks that I use on both glass tops on my 55 and 29 gal hermie tanks.

You don't have to use a glass top. I just prefer them because they have hinged doors that make tank maintenance easier, and they hold moisture and warmth in well.

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A few weeks ago, I needed to put some emergency heat blankets (the type for survival, around/on top of my tank. The temps were plummeting as it was freezing cold outside (fair amount of snow, freezing rain) and they needed something ASAP.

Now, I know this isn't for long-term. But keep it in mind (and on-hand) just in case. Might work well in this situation while you look for a long-term solution. (Also relatively cheap, like $8+ dollars on Amazon.)