HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I just switched from the standard hermit/reptile type solid bowls/water dishes we were using for a couple reasons.

They weren't deep enough for our largest hermit to submerge in and one had dug a cave right below one. I remember reading here sometime they're less likely to molt under plastic bowls since light gets in.

So I switched to little Tupperware plastic bowls and have a few questions for these.

First, we now have a new, much smaller crab who probably couldn't climb to the top of the plastic bowls so I dug out a little area for the bowls so he can get to them. I put some shells in the bottom of each so he can climb out. Is sinking them in the sub fine? I've got 7-8" of substrate. So about 5" of sub below the bowls.

Another question, do they need to be able to submerge in both fresh and salt water or just the salt water?

Thanks

They need to be able to submerge in both salt and fresh water. I am currently using Tupperware water bowls. You can use plastic canvas (embroidery mesh) to make ramps for crabs to get in and out of. I just cut them to size, ziptied them to the bowls (after punching holes in the Tupperware for the zipties to fit through), and added stones and a fake plant to the bottom so they have something to hold on to if they wanna hang at the bottom.

You can sink them into the sub as long as you can do so without disturbing any molters/diggers. I set this up with no crabs in the tank so I knew there wasn't a chance of digging someone up. I've also read that because of the light coming through crabs are less likely to molt under them. But, just in case, I dug out holes for the Tupperware and then stacked them so that when I'm doing water changes I never have to actually take them out of the mold in the sand (if there is a cave nearby I don't wanna disturb it). They look kinda like this.
You can also use two of the same size and separate them using marbles for easy removal. This is what they look like in the tank.


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Nice. Great idea with the double bowls. A good way to keep the bottom bowls in place when removing/cleaning the top bowls.

Do your crabs, especially the smaller ones, have any trouble just getting up there just for a quick drink?

Nope. With the plastic canvas in place, any of my crabs can get in or out anytime they want. It's perfect for climbing. I do wanna eventually add bubblers to make the pools more enticing but for now it's totally functional and serves its purpose. I actually caught one of my smaller crabs climbing in two nights ago


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Where can I find the plastic canvas mesh? I've been looking but could not find one. I did notice that there is a flimsy plastic mesh inside a bag of onions but I haven't used it.

It's needlepoint canvas - any place that has a craft sections sells it, including Walmart.