New and Improved Crabitat!(Tell me what you think?)

[CryotheCrab]

Hello again crab people

So based on the recommendations I got from my last thread, I have updated my crabitat! I'm still new to this though, and I would like second opinions.

Here's what it looks like now; http://pre11.deviantart.net/4e5f/th/pre ... 8mvqhx.png

I expanded it using a second terrarium which is secured to its top. Beneath that deep part is 6 inches of coconut fiber substrate along with some cut up wicker they can use to climb.

I bought a ceramic heat lamp and used the glass from an old picture frame to cover the rest of the habitat, and it works wonders for conserving humidity! The humidity hovers around 70%-80% most of the day, with the temperature at a stable 80.

I got a TON more shells for both of them, along with a cuttlebone so they can have calcium when they need to molt. I also got instant ocean for their salt water since I learned table salt was a big no no.

So how did I do? Is the new crabitat better? I'd love more tips and advice, or tell me if I did the right things to have healthy, happy crabs.

[CryotheCrab]

Also, a few more things!

Two PPs live in there and they seem to like to burrow a lot. I got a lot of activity out of them a few days ago, they were walking around, eating, climbing, etc. But now they're both under the dirt and seem to move very rarely, is this normal?

The only thing that still needs to be changed, I'd say, is the substrate. It's all coconut fiber now with the lower portion having some coarse aquarium gravel, to give it a little variety. I recently learned I'd be moving back to Michigan, and I thought I would hold off from getting such a heavy substrate as sand before I'm situated in a more permanent place. That's also the reason I held off from buying a glass aquarium, not ideal for transport!

In about a month or two, I will be flying with my crabs when I move. I know it is probably stressful for them and I want to minimize that. My plan is to put them in a small temporary habitat and carry them on the plane as a carry-on, which is what I did with my mantis. Do you guys have any tips for travelling/flying with your crabs?

[megmaholm]

Looking good While most of us use mostly playsand for our substrate, some people use straight cocofiber and don't have a problem. As long as it's a good tunneling consistency don't worry much about not having sand.

I wouldn't worry about them being underground. Do you know if they've molted recently? They may have decided to do that, or they're just hanging out. Did you add some more substrate to get it to 6"? They may just be enjoying that.

I just read back through your other thread, and just wanted to mention something I forgot to answer - the filtered water from your sink is okay, but I would dechlorinate it just to be safe.

All your changes sound great! The cuttlebone was definitely a good thing to add, and just make sure you also give them a good protein source like shrimp, etc.

[CryotheCrab]

I'm glad to hear you think the new habitat is adequate Also glad that coconut fiber is okay. It just seems that everyone here uses some mixture of sand, I feel like the odd one out!

I added a bunch more substrate to get it to 6 inches. The small one went right for it but the big one still seems to prefer hiding in the coconut hut and digging there, even though it's mostly gravel and pretty shallow. I added coconut fiber to the area just in case

I have no idea if they've molted recently. I actually got my crabs from a pet store and the conditions were pretty subpar. Though they were all in natural shells, the humidity was somewhere around 30-40, the temperature at 65 and there was just under an inch of gravel and sand. The pet store people didn't seem to know all that much about them either, since based on their recommendations, I walked home with only the stuff you saw in the last thread(sans the terrarium, they recommended one much, much smaller!)

How does one go about dechlorinating water? It's a pretty nice filter and I'm fairly sure it removes it already, but being sure can't hurt

Also, I've been giving them almonds as a protein source for now. Is that good?

[megmaholm]

They're probably both in need of a good molt! Adding the extra substrate probably triggered them to go digging Pet stores are notorious for having crummy conditions and employees who don't know a lot about crabs, unfortunately.

You can grab dechlorinator at the pet store for a few bucks, and a bottle will last a LONG time. It'll be in the fish aisle. We have an article with info on a bunch of brands: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92553 Personally, I use Prime, but any of those listed will work. I actually didn't realize until recently that the dechlorinator I had been using didn't remove ammonia, and that's really important, so double check anything you get to make sure it removes heavy metals, chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia. I keep 2 gallon jugs (1 for saltwater, 1 for fresh) and just dechlorinate a gallon at a time.

Nuts are a good protein source but I'd suggest a little more variety - most crabbies love shrimp, bloodworms, etc. You can give them scraps of whatever meat you might be eating, minus seasonings. Or for convenience, you can get freeze dried stuff at Petsmart/Petco. I have this: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/freeze-dri ... 3Dcategory that mine seem to like. In the wild they're scavengers, so they need a good variety or they get bored quickly. I try not to feed mine the same thing more than a few days in a row.