HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm working to get my temp and humidity up. Humidity is holding steady between 74 and 78. Temp is holding steady between 79 and 81. I'm wanting humidity to be 80+ and temp to be 80-85 for my 3 PPs. I have a plan to raise the temp. But not sure what to do for the humidity. I have a wire top on my tank with a piece of glass on top. Should I get a bigger piece of glass cut? How much fresh air do the crabs need?

Here's a picture of the top of my tank...there's about 1/2 inch on the long sides and about 1 inch of space for air on the short sides.
(I have a hood light that I keep on top of the glass with an infrared bulb for heat that's not in the pic.)



I can get a new piece of glass cut at Lowes for under $5. Wondering if that alone will get my humidity up another six percent?? If you think it's worth a try, how much space should I allow around the glass for fresh air?

Well, hermit crabs have gills, not lungs, so fresh air isn't really required. It's just nice to have air flow, so if you think limiting the amount of air flow will help raise humidity, then I think you should go for it.

I personally keep a damp towel over the top of my tank lid, and it works great, my humidity is 85-90%. You could try that if you want.

Hope I helped,
Bonnie

Just to clarify, hermit crabs do have gills, but they're modified and they still need fresh air.

If your tank lid is already mostly covered, I'm not sure getting a bigger piece of glass will boost your humidity much. You could try covering the openings on the long sides with saran wrap or foil just to see, and if it does help then you could go for a bigger piece of glass. I'm not sure how big your water dishes are you, but you could try adding bubblers to one or both and that can help boost your humidity as well as bring in fresh air. Your humidity is in the safe range, which is good. You could also make a DIY humidifier.

I think if you covered two sides - like the long sides - and get some bubblers or humidifier like megmaholm suggested you get the levels you want.
Personally I believe that it too big of a gap, I would be looking for a 1/4 inch gap at the most to keep the humidity locked in... But then, it depends on where you live. Is Alabama a hot/dry area? Is so, thats where all your humidity is going, into the dry air of Alabama.

I agree with Megmaholm and JJ. Try covering some of the edges and see what it does for you first. Honestly, your temp and humidity sound just fine to me. Where are your gauges located? You may find other areas of the tank are a bit higher in temp and humidity too. But if you're still wanting a boost, try covering some sides before purchasing a bigger piece of glass just to be sure it'll help.

Sorry for the misinformation, I didn't think hermit crabs needed fresh air. I could have sworn someone on here said they covered their whole lid with saran wrap. Sorry, thanks for clearing it up guys

Bonnie

hermitcrab24 wrote:Sorry for the misinformation, I didn't think hermit crabs needed fresh air. I could have sworn someone on here said they covered their whole lid with saran wrap. Sorry, thanks for clearing it up guys

Bonnie

They may have and pump fresh air in through bubblers or just have small areas uncovered for air exchange.

Thanks for all the help guys! I will do a test and cover the long sides to see if that ups my humidity a little before getting new glass. Alabama is typically pretty humid but we keep the AC fan on all the time and it does get cold here so we are using heat a lot right now too. That probably makes our indoor humidity low. Using a towel or constantly keeping the tank covered with anything other then glass scares me. Probably fine but I'm scared it might be a fire hazard since the tank is in my son's room. How big would my pools need to be to accommodate a bubbler? I'm pretty sure my fresh water one is too small. I use a hermit crab pool with steps for the salt water. Don't know how many sizes there are but it was just the basic standard size sold at a pet store. Would that be large enough?

Oh, and, my gauge is in the center of the tank. Just sitting in the sand. Glad to hear you think my ranges are ok. Someone else on the forum told me to aim for 80+ humidity and 80-85 temp.

For PPs, safe ranges are 75-85F and 70-80%. Many crabbers do recommend 80/80 just because that's where more activity is usually seen.

aussieJJDude wrote:I think if you covered two sides - like the long sides - and get some bubblers or humidifier like megmaholm suggested you get the levels you want.
Personally I believe that it too big of a gap, I would be looking for a 1/4 inch gap at the most to keep the humidity locked in... But then, it depends on where you live. Is Alabama a hot/dry area? Is so, thats where all your humidity is going, into the dry air of Alabama.

Alabama is on the Gulf Coast in the southern part of the US. Lots of rivers and the ocean (at least by where I lived for a year). It's hot, humid, and full of mosquitos, love bugs, and mole crickets!!!
Note: I lived in Magnolia Springs/Foley so I was about 20 mins from the beach. I can't say what northern AL is like.

Bubblers are in-tank humidifiers. Just sayin
Plus crabs love bubbles. L O V E !


Crabbers unite!!!

How deep do my pools need to be to accommodate a bubbler?

It doesn't, really! Air stones can be very small, and you can anchor tubing down if it isnt stable. You can even get a valve that turns the bubbles down, if it's too strong. Your pools *should* be deep enough for the crabs to submerge, anyway, so i guess just have enough room for 2-3 crabs to sit in the pool at the same time and you're good!


Crabbers unite!!!

I concur crabs love bubblers. I never caught crabs in the pools or saw much evidence that they were being used until I added them.

My original pools with bubblers were dollar store food containers, about 2x3x2" and I had no issues. I use one air pump and a splitter. Whole set up came in under $10. (Walmart has pump for $6, tubing for $2, air stones for $1. splitters $1)


Crabby since 8/13/14
Es Buzz, Bullseye and Bo Peep
PPs Rex, Mick, Jessie and Woody
(Jessie and Bo Peep coming March)