HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey everyone, I'm having some trouble keeping the heat in my tank above 75. It's 15 gallons, and I have two UTHs and a 25w Moonlight bulb, but it's STILL too cold in there. Any suggestions?

Do you have the UTH's mounted on the back (or sides)? How big are they? Do you have them insulated? I've found that insulating really helps a LOT with boosting the temperature up.

fantasybookworm wrote:Do you have the UTH's mounted on the back (or sides)? How big are they? Do you have them insulated? I've found that insulating really helps a LOT with boosting the temperature up.

One is on the back, one is on the side. Should I put them both on the back? They're pretty big, at least the side one is a bit larger than my whole hand. What do you mean by insulated?

A lot of people suggest that if you have a very cold house/room or have trouble keeping your tank warm, that you get the largest heating pad that will fit on the back of your tank, above the substrate. Ultratherms come in quite a few sizes & a lot of people really like them. I'm pretty new to hermit crabs, but I really like the Ultratherm I've been using so far. I bought two more to use for my new set up.

If you don't want to buy a new heating pad just yet, insulating the ones you have might help. Double-check their instructions that they're okay to insulate first, but it should be fine. For insulating, you tape some tinfoil over the heating pad (cover the whole thing), then put styrofoam over the tin foil. You can use foamboard from a craft store for that, it's pretty cheap for one sheet & you won't end up with a ton of extra. By doing this, it helps direct more of the heat from the heating pad forward into the tank rather than both into the tank & out behind the pad, where it's useless.

fantasybookworm wrote:A lot of people suggest that if you have a very cold house/room or have trouble keeping your tank warm, that you get the largest heating pad that will fit on the back of your tank, above the substrate. Ultratherms come in quite a few sizes & a lot of people really like them. I'm pretty new to hermit crabs, but I really like the Ultratherm I've been using so far. I bought two more to use for my new set up.

If you don't want to buy a new heating pad just yet, insulating the ones you have might help. Double-check their instructions that they're okay to insulate first, but it should be fine. For insulating, you tape some tinfoil over the heating pad (cover the whole thing), then put styrofoam over the tin foil. You can use foamboard from a craft store for that, it's pretty cheap for one sheet & you won't end up with a ton of extra. By doing this, it helps direct more of the heat from the heating pad forward into the tank rather than both into the tank & out behind the pad, where it's useless.

I don't remember seeing any Ultratherm ones at the pet store today, but I'll check next time I go. The instructions don't say whether I can insulate or not: One is of the "Grreat Choice" brand, and the other was the Zoomed hermit crab heater (which might say, but I can't find the instructions!). Right now the temperature is 75.6 and it is staying there, is this good/bad?

I'm not sure if they're sold in pet stores, this is the site where it's recommended to buy Ultratherms - http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads

That's a safe temperature, just not ideal. Your crabs should be okay at that temperature, but a lot of people say that having the temp around 80-85 is better & will give you more active crabs. But they shouldn't have their health threatened, which is good.

fantasybookworm wrote:I'm not sure if they're sold in pet stores, this is the site where it's recommended to buy Ultratherms - http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads

That's a safe temperature, just not ideal. Your crabs should be okay at that temperature, but a lot of people say that having the temp around 80-85 is better & will give you more active crabs. But they shouldn't have their health threatened, which is good.

Oh wow, those are expensive! I'll have to save up my summer job money to buy one (struggles of being in school ). If they work really well that's worth it though. It has actually gone up to 76 now, so I think my new Moonlight bulb is actually helping a little. Is it safe to keep those on all the time? Or will that mess with their nocturnal cycle or something? Thanks for all the help!

From what I've read, the blue light won't bother them at night. My didn't seem to mind the one I used to try & see them better in the dark, but I haven't tried keeping it on all night. I used a CHE bulb to help boost the heat on one side of my tank instead. Glad the moonlight bulb is helping! Sounds like your crabbies will be okay until you can save up for an Ultratherm! & I don't want to encourage anything that could be potentially dangerous, but if one of the more experienced members thinks it'll be fine to try insulating the heating pads you have now, that may solve your problems without buying an Ultratherm too.