HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I was wondering do hermit crabs dig and tunnel for other reasons besides molting. I've got a crab named Tamatoa that as soon as I put in the new habitat dug down into the sand and I'm pretty sure he's not molting because he dug down right next to the glass and from there started digging horizontally along the glass.

Crabs often dig to destress, and because they enjoy it. Sometimes they dig if the crabitat conditions are not quite right (they might dig to cool off or experience higher humidity, for example). I don't remember if you've told us what you keep your crabitat at (sorry!) but the general recommendation is 80F / 80%+ RH. A good upper temp for PPs is 85-86F (I think), and there's no upper limit on humidity, but higher RH does tend to grow mold. Your crabs won't care, but it's not good for people. I tend to keep my tat around 80-83F, and 81-90%RH. It's a ten gallon with 5:1 playsand/ecoearth mix moistened to sandcastle consistency with marine saltwater. I don't yet have bubblers, but they're planned for my 29 gallon tank, as soon as all my molters come up.

Your guy's probably just having some fun. That's cool that you can see him through the glass!

Hermias_mom wrote:Crabs often dig to destress, and because they enjoy it. Sometimes they dig if the crabitat conditions are not quite right (they might dig to cool off or experience higher humidity, for example). I don't remember if you've told us what you keep your crabitat at (sorry!) but the general recommendation is 80F / 80%+ RH. A good upper temp for PPs is 85-86F (I think), and there's no upper limit on humidity, but higher RH does tend to grow mold. Your crabs won't care, but it's not good for people. I tend to keep my tat around 80-83F, and 81-90%RH. It's a ten gallon with 5:1 playsand/ecoearth mix moistened to sandcastle consistency with marine saltwater. I don't yet have bubblers, but they're planned for my 29 gallon tank, as soon as all my molters come up.

Your guy's probably just having some fun. That's cool that you can see him through the glass!

According to the gauge its 72F. I'm currently using a 15w bulb but I can probably get the temperature to increase by using a higher watt bulb.

Check to see what your fixture is rated for first! Many aquarium hoods can only handle a maximum of 15 watts, if that is what you're using. If you go over that you can easily melt the plastic and potentially start a fire.

For heat, I use an under-tank heater by Ultratherm, sold by reptilebasics.com or bean farm. It's mounted on the back wall, and covers as much of the glass as possible without overlapping the substrate. I also have it plugged into a Zilla thermostat. Other thermostats may work fine too, but the Ultratherm UTHs work best for crabbing, in my opinion. Here's a post talking about that. http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 6&t=114107

Heat lamps work too, here's a post about selecting between lamps vs. UTHs. Please be careful and don't start a fire.

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92543

Yes! Seconding hood light safety. Your hood should be printed inside w its max wattage. Incandescent lighting (or regular bulbs) zap humidity. The UTH adds the heat w/o gobbling humidity.



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