HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a tank filled with 6 inches of a sand and cocoa fiber mix that drys out every couple of weeks or less. I try to mix in enough water to keep it at sand castle consistency but It never lasts long. Im afraid to keep mixing up the sand because sooner or later a hermit crab will be molting and I don't want to either disturb them or have the substrate dry out and fill in the tunnels. is there a way to moisten the substrate thoroughly without having to rummage my hand throughout the whole tank every 2 weeks?

Easiest way would probably be to mist the surface daily. Any idea why it's drying out so quickly?

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What kind of heating and lid are you using, and what is your humidity level?

humidity 80, heat temp 80, its an aquarium tank with a glass lid. 60 watt heat bulb is used. Not a clue why it drys out so fast.

Have you calibrated your hygrometer lately? When substrate dries out, the humidity drop lower than 80%, and with a glass lid to hold the moisture in, it shouldn't be happening that fast. Something is definitely strange!

Iv'e never calibrated it no, not sure how to do that. I do spray the walls at least twice a day, and if you can imagine a glass top with just a pencil stuck in it to keep the lip open for air thats all thats not sealed.

Please consider taking a couple of hours and calibrating it, so you know for sure. I'm wondering if it's giving you a false-high reading and it's actually a lot lower. Heat lamps can burn off a lot of moisture from the air, so even a small gap may be too much. That could be why the substrate is drying so fast, and you may need to adjust the opening or spray a lot more to compensate!

There are instructions here on how to check the guage. All it takes is a small amount of table salt and a closed container or bag: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92540