A couple of questions

vretallin · Post by **vretallin** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:42 am

I was wondering if anyone has built an area of their second/third levels that had substrate in it. I have a smaller shower cady I will add to my crabitat soon and I am thinking about putting in a coconut mat floor with sand/coco mix substrate for them dig in.

Has anyone else tried this? Good idea? Bad idea?

Also I was wondering if there is an under tank heater that has a thermostat control of some sort?

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:52 am

I use corner caddys a lot..I put worm castings in it, crumbled up dried maple and oak leaves, I have put sand in it.. I have never seen uth with controls on it..just the slap on your tank and plug it in..

LadyMorrgian · Post by **LadyMorrgian** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 6:36 am

You will need to purchase a thermostat separately of you find yourself in need of one. They normally run $30-$40.

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vretallin · Post by **vretallin** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:53 am

Ah ok. Thank you. I am thinking about getting a second heater to bring the temp up a bit more. I noticed they tend to prefer the area with the heater. Thought a control would be nice. I can splice one in if I need to. Temp is good overall. 75.

Thanks Laurie I'll go ahead and add sand in it & see how they like it. I'm planning a mini moss pit with one of them.

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IBlab crab · Post by **IBlab crab** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:27 pm

You can buy a $10. table top dimmer switch from Home Depot.I use them,it is supposed to prolong the life of the UTH.

Post by **wodesorel** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:56 pm

They will attempt to molt in shallow second levels if you use a substrate like material. If it's deep enough there isn't much problem, but if it's shallow and/or used a lot by other crabs it can become a risk. I use my upper levels for water and food bowls which keeps them cleaner and makes lifting them out to clean easier. I also have moss pits, leaf pits, cocochunk pits, etc. Anything to create alternate hang out areas so they can spread out a little more.

amart24 · Post by **amart24** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:05 pm

wodesorel wrote:They will attempt to molt in shallow second levels if you use a substrate like material. If it's deep enough there isn't much problem, but if it's shallow and/or used a lot by other crabs it can become a risk. I use my upper levels for water and food bowls which keeps them cleaner and makes lifting them out to clean easier. I also have moss pits, leaf pits, cocochunk pits, etc. Anything to create alternate hang out areas so they can spread out a little more.

Are any of these on your ten gallon? Would you happen to have pictures?

Post by **wodesorel** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:16 pm

I upgraded my 10 to a 15 tall last year. Must have forgotten to update! It's the same size but four inches taller than a 10 which let me make the substrate a bit deeper.

I've got three pits in there - one sphagnum moss, one forest moss mixed with the Auke Bay moss from Alaska Hermit, and then a cocochunk pit. A regular 10 gallon will fit two of the corner cadies easily along with enough substrate for small-medium hermits. I got mine for $6 from Walmart, they have them back with the paint and toilet seats, not with the bathroom stuff.

amart24 · Post by **amart24** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:25 pm

Looks great! How do they get up there? is it used often?

Post by **wodesorel** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:37 pm

They shimmy up the hanging plants without any trouble, and they are spread out among the pits at any given time. They tend to like hanging out there all day and then come down at night to eat and drink.

vretallin · Post by **vretallin** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:51 pm

That's an awesome setup. Where did you get the tank? I can see keeping the food and water bowls up there. I'm glad I asked about sand. I'll stick to moss and coco fiber etc...

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Post by **wodesorel** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:10 am

I actually got the tank as a bonus from a crab adoption I did last year. He'd been looking for someone who already had hermits to adopt his four for several years, so when I got in contact with him and showed him my setup he let me adopt his crabs and threw in an entire 55 gallon setup (OLD tank from the 70's, the thing weighs 150 pounds empty) along with this spare 15 tall he had in storage from when he used it as a saltwater sump. They're not an easy tank to find! They used to be popular about 25 years ago, but then stopped being a standard size. I have a 15 gallon long as well, that one is shaped like a squat 20 gallon. I'm always on the lookout for more at garage sales and at the local pet shop since they sometimes get weird tanks in.

vretallin · Post by **vretallin** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 2:27 am

That's awesome you were able to get that as part of an adoption. I grew up with large 55 gallon tanks. My parents don't keep fish anymore so I'm going to see if I can get them. But I know what you mean about how heavy they are. I googled the 15 gallon and I saw a few sparse pages on both long & tall? But it was very sparse. Time to hit craigslist.

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Post by **wodesorel** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:54 pm

Bigger is always better! Where I had room for that tank only a 10 gallon would fit, so getting that 15 was amazing since it had the same footprint. For the trouble, a good 20 gallon is cheaper and easier to find. Honestly, that 55 is not overkill and will make your life easier from the start. Starting small and upgrading over time is killer, being able to do it once and be done saves money and time. I'm lucky that I can move my teeny guys up once they're big enough to do okay in my big tank without it being a hassle. I didn't want to have to retrofit the waterbowls and climbers I have for my jumbos to be safe for my little ones, and the little ones keep coming with adoptions so for me a two-tank setup is pretty much a must.

vretallin · Post by **vretallin** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:22 am

Sounds like a plan then, I'll ask my parents for the tanks. You make an excellent point about not spending a ton of time & money upgrading. Plus I'll bet it's easier on the crabs. Thank you for all the help.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association