HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Heard some strange noises as I was trying to fall asleep so I decoded to check on my crabs. Seacil has found his way to the top of the crabitat and is hanging onto the netting for dear life. Ive tried nudging him to see if he'd let go but it looks like this guy is staying put. The only way I can assume he got up there is by climbing the cords on the humidity/thermometer. The only solution i can think of for this is to get a glass top for the tank so if anyone has any place I can get one that'd be great.

Update: I had to cut the netting cause he would not let go/move so yeah definitely need a new top of some sort

Hermit crabs are natural climbers - they love climbing. They’re tree climbers in the wild. Do you have any structures in your tank (fish netting, wood, cholla, cork, vines, etc.) that they can climb? If not, I would highly recommend getting some - you can buy these items, or you can find branches from trees around your home, check that they’re on the “safe” list, and sterilize by boiling in salt water and/or baking at a low temperature before putting them in your tank. If you have climbing structures that allow them to explore the top of the tank with a safe way to get up and down, and your lid is weighted or clamped so they can’t escape, then there’s no worry about them crawling around the underside of your lid.

That said, getting a solid lid is a great idea, it will really help keep consistent temperature and humidity in your tank. I don’t know where you live or what you have access to in your area, but you can buy glass lids at aquarium shops or online (I believe Amazon even carries them, if you can’t find one in an aquarium shop/online aquarium shop). Something that many of us do is use plexiglass to cover our tanks. Depending on the structure of your existing lid, you can either remove the screen on your existing lid, cut the plexi to fit, and duct tape it into the lid, or you can simply cut the plexi to the appropriate size and sit it on your lid (if it will sit flush). Plexi sheets are sold at the majority of big box home improvement stores, and in many cases if you go in with your measurements they’ll even cut it to size for you, for a small cost. Or, you can do it yourself at home: measure and mark your cuts, use a ruler and a sharp blade to score the plexi well. Then it’s a question of just bending along the scored line and it should snap cleanly if you’ve scored it properly (the safety nut in me has to add: wear some kind of eye protection for this..)

Some people leave their mesh lids so they can climb on them and cover them with plexiglass to keep the humidity in, he would have came down on his own. Mine still climb along the glass canopy lid, in the middle where the glass connects to the hinge part. They can get into some crazy places and we wonder how they do it. Lol!

RiNiKy506 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 01, 2019 11:42 am

Some people leave their mesh lids so they can climb on them and cover them with plexiglass to keep the humidity in, he would have came down on his own. Mine still climb along the glass canopy lid, in the middle where the glass connects to the hinge part. They can get into some crazy places and we wonder how they do it. Lol!

That's what I do. I love seeing them walk upside down.

Ok, so what do you do of you need to pen the lid and they are up there? Like when its time to spray or chamge food/water?

Cottman26 wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 10:17 pm

Ok, so what do you do of you need to pen the lid and they are up there? Like when its time to spray or chamge food/water?

I would just wait until they climb down because they will hold on for dear life. I think because they think they are going to be eaten.

Well... I guess misting the tank can wait since he's on the front of a sliding screen lid

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