help with crabitat.

[HerperWChickens]

ok, I have a small (10g) tank. it says for a medium crab you need 10 gallons. now im guessing it's 10g a crab, but with my 10g be enough for 2 crabs for now? I have a 29g in my basement but it needs a good cleaning and theres nothing set up in it, we also don't have a big enough heat pad for it. my UTH is a 6x8, would that be big enough? what if i insulated it? would a seedling mat work? I have two second levels in my 10g, one with a moss pit the other with a shell shop. would this added level add enough X-tra space to sustain them? sorry for the Q overload .
-Gigi

[megmaholm]

Hi! How big are your crabs? 2 small crabs will be okay in a 10 gallon for a while, but they can grow quickly. The 29 would be even better if you can swing it! What brand is your UTH? If it's any kind from a pet store, it probably isn't safe to insulate and honestly one that small probably won't produce enough heat. What are your temps like currently with it? If/when you decide to upgrade to the 29 gallon, I'd suggest checking out an Ultratherm (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads ) They can be safely insulated and do a great job of heating. You would want one big enough to cover as much of the back of the tank as possible above the substrate line.

Second levels and more climbing areas are always good; as long as your crabs are small enough to molt safely in a 10 gallon with 6" of substrate you should be okay for a bit.

[HerperWChickens]

Hi! How big are your crabs? 2 small crabs will be okay in a 10 gallon for a while, but they can grow quickly. The 29 would be even better if you can swing it! What brand is your UTH? If it's any kind from a pet store, it probably isn't safe to insulate and honestly one that small probably won't produce enough heat. What are your temps like currently with it? If/when you decide to upgrade to the 29 gallon, I'd suggest checking out an Ultratherm (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads ) They can be safely insulated and do a great job of heating. You would want one big enough to cover as much of the back of the tank as possible above the substrate line.

Second levels and more climbing areas are always good; as long as your crabs are small enough to molt safely in a 10 gallon with 6" of substrate you should be okay for a bit.

1. dont have them yet, PS sells mediums here. 2. we ordered it online, its a zoomed. 3. like i said we don't have them yet so i don't know wht its like. 4. thanks for the link, sadly, im tight on money and don't want to buy more stuff. 5. yes i have 6" of substrate .

[purpleperson]

I may be wrong, but I think that the UTH you ordered may be too small to properly heat a 10 gallon for crabs. Ideally you would want a UTH that is almost the same length as the back of the tank, and that covers most of the back and about an inch of the substrate.


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[megmaholm]

Okay, a Zoomed can't be safely insulated. I'm also thinking it won't be big enough to heat even a 10 gallon - it's just going to be way too small. Any chance you can cancel the order and get a bigger one? Zoomeds aren't very reliable and don't put out a lot of heat, at least in my experience. The absolute minimum safe temp for PPs is 75, and ideally 80-85 is the best. I don't think you can reach that with a tiny UTH.

If that's not an option, you may need/want to supplement with a heat bulb. They're fairly inexpensive, but they can and will kill your humidity.

If the crabs are truly medium (golf ball size) they should still be okay in a 10 gallon. I definitely wouldn't add more than 2, though.

[HerperWChickens]

Okay, a Zoomed can't be safely insulated. I'm also thinking it won't be big enough to heat even a 10 gallon - it's just going to be way too small. Any chance you can cancel the order and get a bigger one? Zoomeds aren't very reliable and don't put out a lot of heat, at least in my experience. The absolute minimum safe temp for PPs is 75, and ideally 80-85 is the best. I don't think you can reach that with a tiny UTH.

If that's not an option, you may need/want to supplement with a heat bulb. They're fairly inexpensive, but they can and will kill your humidity.

If the crabs are truly medium (golf ball size) they should still be okay in a 10 gallon. I definitely wouldn't add more than 2, though.

Yeah, it said online "heats a 10g - 20g" . In my first post I asked if a seedling mat would work, will it? Because we might have some extras laying around.

[purpleperson]

Unfortunately you can't really go by gallon sizes for a hermit crab tank. For example I have the 50-60 gal zoomed on my 40 gallon tank and it is JUST enough.


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[HerperWChickens]

Unfortunately you can't really go by gallon sizes for a hermit crab tank. For example I have the 50-60 gal zoomed on my 40 gallon tank and it is JUST enough.


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alright . can i use infrared light.

[Crabber85]

Using overhead heat on anything smaller than thirty gallons is a gamble at best because the heat bulb is going to zap the humidity out of the tank pretty quickly and with such a small tank size that drying effect is going to happen faster, your also coupling the risk of uniformly overheating the entire enclosure with overhead heat.

You could technically use a forty or fifty watt ceramic heat emitter in an overhead fixture this would provide the warmth that your crabs need without running the risks of using a standard heat bulb like infrared.

I have a forty gallon breeder and I use a small Ultra-Therm heat pad thats rated for twenty gallons and have it insulated with tinfoil and a thermal foam board in combination with a 60watt infrared heat bulb which sits on the lid and between the two I have been able to keep the temps in my tank around 75 on the cool end and 85 on the heated end without loosing too much humidity in the process.

[megmaholm]

A heat bulb can and will work on a small tank; I made it work with my 15 gallon for quite a while. I made sure I used a dimmer, and had to mist a couple times a day to keep the humidity up, but it was workable and I maintained 78-80 degrees and good humidity. Now in my big tanks I just run humidifiers and use Ultratherms with supplemental heat bulbs; little to no maintenance is needed then.

Yeah, it said online "heats a 10g - 20g" . In my first post I asked if a seedling mat would work, will it? Because we might have some extras laying around.

I'm not sure about using a seedling mat..I have no experience with them! How hot do they run? If they don't get super hot and you think they would do fine being attached flat to glass, I don't see any reason not to try. And FYI, to me super hot would be heating the glass above 115 - the back glass of my 55 is consistently 110-115 but the rest of the tank maintains 80-83.

[wodesorel]

Seedling mats should work - a good one will keep an even temp and they're made to be sandwiched under substrate (insulated) and are also waterproof. Might not get warm enough though, usually they sit around 70-80 so as not to cook the plants. A good UTH runs 90-120.

[cRABB3R&w[]FE]

I use 2x 10x20 super sprouter brand heating pads on the back of my 40b and at the lowest my temp will go down to 78 and high is 88 with no temp controllers, I have thought about getting a controller but I feel like the 10 degree swing is a good thing.

[HerperWChickens]

THANKS FOR THE HELP EVERYONE! I think in combination with my zoomed and the heat mat i'll try to heat my 29g. then I'll buy an UT.

[Laurie LeAnn]

I was just going to say if you had to add this or that just to get 10 gal running and your crabs are going to grow...I would try to find a way to get the other tank going.you will be so much happier with it..it's so much trouble to get a tank started..they are by no means cheap little burgers

[HerperWChickens]

I was just going to say if you had to add this or that just to get 10 gal running and your crabs are going to grow...I would try to find a way to get the other tank going.you will be so much happier with it..it's so much trouble to get a tank started..they are by no means cheap little burgers

i ken that, but i'm upgrading to a 29g and hopefully a bigger one.