HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi I'm new here and we have had our Hermie's for about a week now. The man at the pet store said to use this coconut dirt (which stays very moist) but i want to eventually buy sand, I'm not sure if there is a specific type of sand to buy though. i tried to "search" sand types, but nothing really came up except some sands get very hard.so could anyone tell me what kind to look for? please and thank you=)
Betty=o)

Go to walmart and get some Play Sand. Its about 2$ for 40lbs. This is what ive been told sense ive been here. Hope this helps!

thanks i think i will do that but i read in here about a few ppl saying that play sand got rock hard and they had a hard time getting it out of the tank

NO, I have 5 tanks up in my house and they all have playsand in them. The only time i have ever had my playsand get hard is when one of my jumbo's spilt the whole salt water dish on it and the said crystalized on the top sand before morning then i just broke then little chips back down into sand.

As long as you bake it before you put it into the tank ( to kill bacteria and dry it a little since it comes rather wet) it is actually a wonderfull substrate and once you buy enough for your tank you wont have to buy anymore since u can keep rebakeing it during deepcleanings and just use the same sand over and over again!

I usually bake it dry then just add water to it when i get it all how i like it in the tank that way it's not so sticky when i am setting up my tanks. You should usually keep it about sand castle moister level that way the crabs can build adaquate tunels in it without worrying of colapsing!!!

As long as my humidity stays at where it should be, my playsand never gets dryed out.

I am of the non-baking school, myself. My playsand is never wet when I buy it, and it's already pre-washed. I do a sniff test to make sure it's not contaminated, and in it goes. Never had a problem with this. Reusing it is smart, but I had such a terrible time drying it after washing it, and it's cheap enough, I just use new when I do a deep clean.

I am with you Crabber I have not baked sand yet and "nock on wood" so far so good. I buy my sand from Toys R Us and I just make sure the bag has no holes then in it goes.

Good luck and welcome to the HCA.

I don't like that coconut fiber stuff. I'll crumble it up dry and put a little bit of it in the tank with the sand, but I don't soak it, wring it out, and use it exclusively. Two reasons: A) It's too expensive--two bucks for a little disk? Rediculous. B) If you've ever gone to a pet store that uses coconut fiber exclusively, they've got all kinds of bugs laying eggs and living in it. So I think the stuff is gross. I use sand, and everyone in the tank seems very happy with it. I just put it in, mist it a little, and in goes the crew. They make it as wet as they want it all by themselves. They can even make tunnels in it if they want to. That's why I like it.

OK thank you all very much:)
I'm so glad to hear about play sand, i thought my other option was the lizard sand at the pet store which is very expensive,
I'm not so satisfied with the coconut dirt it just doesn't seem like its Hermie enough lol like sand, sand is much prettier
thanks people for the info and the welcome:)

I've only been at it a month, but I like the coconut husk stuff.

$2 for a little disc is steep. You can buy a "brick" that expands to fill up a 10 gallon tank for $5 (or 3 for $9 from PetSmart).

The Forest Bed (coconut stuff) is a great digging substrate and holds moisture very well.

So I have about 2-3 inches of the stuff, with a 1/2 inch layer of sand on top. The sand helps "lock in" the moisture, so the Forest Bed doesn't dry out. When they want to dig, they get through the sand really quick and hit the forest bed, which they seem to love digging in.

I haven't had any problems with bugs, but as I've said, I've only been at it a month.

Another complaint I've heard about is mold can grow on it. The way to prevent that is to hydrate it using salt water, so I'm doing that next time.



And FYI, the sand that gets hard is probably the calci-sand, not playsand or beach sand.

I use sand for 3/4 of the tank and Eco Earth (coco fiber) for the remainding 1/4 of it. I think some crabs prefer one over the other so they can dig where they like. I find their favourate digging spot is where it is mixed together, where the two meet. It is easy for me though because I have a big tank. I think sand that is moist is great if you do not want to have the EE (eco earth) at all. Happy crabbing.

I'm a fan of going to a local hardware store and oicking up a 50 pound bag of playsand. Usually I get mine from Menards or Home Depot, and it costs under $3 for that amount of sand.

ok thanks about washing it with salt water where do i get salt water? i live near the ocean but i think you guys mean like pet store stuff but im not sure ??? i am going to buy play sand thanks people:)

If you live near the ocean, and the beach isn't polluted, I would get the natural stuff. I've heard they prefer it to what most people get at the petstores.

I live in LA, and just went up to Malibu (cleaner beaches) and picked up about 3 galons of sand and 1.5 galons of ocean water (used 1 gallon to hydrate a new brick of Forest Bed).

Ok, I tried the sand option, but lost two crabs due to it drying out while they were molting. So I switched to EcoEarth coconut bedding. You can get 3 bricks for a grand total of like $11 US at www.petdiscounters.com. One brick + 1 gallon of water = 5-6" of bedding in a 10g tank. I've never had any lack of moisture with it, no mold ever, and only gnats in it. The gnats moved out after I let the humidity drop for 2 days. (No worries, the crabs were fine since I kept the water bowls topped off.) My crabs absolutely LOVE to dig in the stuff, and contrary to popular thought, hermit crabs spend more time in the edges of the forest rather than on the beach anyways so I think it's more natural. Anyways, just my two cents worth.

Many people use both. I did at one time, but I jsut don't like the smell of the EE. I do have a moss pit (walmart shower caddy w/suction cups). I have 5 crabs out of 8 in there now. They are not molting, but seem to like to hang out there. I am not actually sure where my missing 3 are.

Kathy