https://www.flickr.com/photos/13873511@ ... 606630908/
I have a heating pad on both sides and the back has a scenic background with bubblewrap insulation taped over it.The scenic background is held up with glue dots and I also used the glue dots to hold the insulation in place before taping over all of it neatly.
Because there is heat on either side I moved the water dishes into the middle of the tank, but the food bowl is on the left.
I switched to a 75 Watt bulb for day and a 75 Watt (moonlight) bulb for night. So it's been steady 80 degrees F and 85% humidity. I gotta say that sphagnum moss is the BEST. ***I read a bunch of posts last night and THANK YOU for the post mentioning potential salt burns from continual salt-watering moss*** Good to know!
The top of the tank has the mesh screen so I bought plexiglass at the local hardware store cut to the tank dimensions and added light green masking tape around the edges to minimize scratches and noise.
The cave on the right was a birthday gift and I had to stick moss in the right corner because the way the cave was cut, it looked like a crab could get stuck trying to crawl down. I put sand on top of the moss to minimize little legs getting stuck. They are so primitive! I realized they couldn't negotiate the plastic plants I had in there before so the tank has much cleaner look now. I placed cave on the right in a way so a viewer can look right into the cave and see hermies. Two cholla wood sticks for climbing (wow do they love those!).
The cave in the middle front is where Hashtag is hiding. Of the 3 hermies we have, "she" (can't tell the sex yet) displays the most PPS signs. Just digs down and does not move. I'm worried and once even put her into the food bowl to see if she would eat but I think she's super stressed out. The top of the cave holds the salt water pool. It's got decorative pebbles in there to prevent accidentally drowning.
The plastic plant behind the right cave has more sphagnum moss around it, tucking the foliage a bit out of the way for the little lumberers...
***I also read that moving them from the store environment to a very different environment can really be stressing. So I think they went from a crabitat with less than ideal humidity to mine and hopefully they are breathing better at least***
The fresh water pool is behind. It currently has a sponge I boil daily to remove and grossness that might want to build up in it. I put moss tucked in around the edge to prevent too much substrate getting dragged in, but... ***strangely enough, all three crabs are annoyed by something back there when they try to crawl past the pool. they must be getting stuck on something but it's the same spot they all get annoyed with*** (when I change the water later I will see if I can refine the area somehow)
There red/green vertical plant was chosen by one of my sons who plays My Singing Monsters and was reminded of his game. It's actually a good choice since it's decorative but doesn't hinder the crabs in any way.
The back left corner is a favorite with the other two crabs and I stuck a big fake leaf (cut from a previous decorative item) back there for shade. WOW do they prefer shade, it's so true. So you can provide a lot of shade without covering up their environment, it doesn't take much!!!
The formerly underground hidden "hide hole" is now in the front left corner. Parkour is hanging there with Derpy. These guys (haven't checked successfully for sex) are pretty active and seem to be doing pretty darn well considering the stress they've probably been through. Parkour is the daredevil, who has been the most active (that I've seen) about trying to climb from one thing to another.
Yesterday I just sat in front of the cage drinking tea and watching them. It's so interesting. I put a Q-Tip with honey in there and Parkour was checking it out. I am scaring him, I am still too quick with my movements.
But anyway, I'm still learning and wondering if a molt will happen soon. My money would be on Hashtag... poor thing just needs to be alone!!!
BTW... it's a 15 gallon tank and they look to be small/medium sized. Do you think it's ok to get one more hermie? lol I'm addicted already!!!
Use spare/un-usuable shells or smooth pebbles to outfit your dishes instead, crabs will enjoy the natural decor!