HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey everyone!

So I've been in the crabbing community for a while now. I started out with a 10g, got more crabs and moved them into a built-in we have but that was a complete pain. So, I recently invested in an exo-terra terrarium. Most things I see on the forum are about the humidity problems with these terrariums, so I did get a glass topper. But, I haven't seen any pictures of them really, aside from the AMAZING 101 gallon build.

My main question is what to do with all the height! My other tat's have been pretty much one level, with a small 4x4 moss pit. The moss pit is made out of a clear acrylic tray with little acrylic sticks glued to the bottom. I'm thinking about making another bigger level this way and then putting the moss pit up there to have 3 or 4 levels. I'm also thinking about having a hanging hide for them to chill out in.

What are your guys' ideas for awesome extra levels? I see so many great things, and I want to know how to achieve them! Also anyone with an exo-terra, please chime in!

Shower caddies with fake wood or real wood going up to them. If they won't stay stuck to the tank you can use cake tiers , other wood branches, stack of Lego, I have taken 2 of them and you put one on one side and the other on the other side but stagger it..so they kind of sit on each other. Some have slots in them that you can weave fake plants in and out..this helps crabs climb. I would put cuttlefish bone, dried leaves, worm castings in them.
I got wood from pet stores and just wedged them in the tank and then of some big rocks that I boiled the crud out of to put around it to secure it more. ( big rocks, I mean bigger than your hand ) yo can do a rock pile in corner..I would put them in shower caddy that s sitting on the ground. This will help keep your rocks in place.

Fish net is one of the crabber's best friends! Just by hanging the netting around the back and side walls, you immediately create opportunities for climbing (and PPs are "tree crabs", after all). Plastic/cloth vines, flowers and mini trees can be utilized to fill in the height while providing more climbing and hiding spots. Check out the Kitchenware section in a store like Walmart or Kmart for those plastic coated multi-tier racks used to stack plates or glassware: these are terrific as a single rack can hold a moss pit, a shell shop and more!

I can't get my net to stay on with suction cups. Can't get them to stick for long. Any ideas?

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I've had good luck with locking suction cup hooks. I got them on teh amazon. You clean the glass, moisten the sucker, tilt up the hook and stick it on, then voila! Fierce suction.

Also, if you haven't added stuff to the tank yet you could add cornerguard that's been drilled with little holes and stuck on with silicon at the hight where you want your levels, then you can fasten stuff with zip ties or whatever where the holes are. I've seen pictures of this with impressive results, layer wise. If you search corner guard in the archives you can find descriptions of how to do eet.