Hermits making pools

[Lasuna]

I'm sure some of you have encountered this, but anyone have an idea on how to prevent my little guys from draining all their water and releasing it into the tank? I know its normal for them to either tip the water dishes over, or soak all of it up in their shells to drool else where. Mine have made it an almost nightly thing though. I wake up every morning to find both salt water and fresh water dishes empty. I haven't had to spray their tank in almost a week now, and though the light and UTH dries most of the sand out, I still wake up every morning to a completely soaked tank. There anything I can do to discourage them from this? My guys are practically swimming ya know?

[CrabbyMom33]

You need to be careful that the bottom of your tank doesn't start to have standing water. It would be dangerous to a molter if you get flooding at the bottom. I'd poke a finger down to the bottom to check. As far as the water issue, are they possibly piling up sand into the dish that is wicking the water out? If they are dumping them, then I'd get heavier dishes.

[Lasuna]

I've done that every morning the last week just in case. Part of why I'm thankful my one molter decided to block off the coconut hut to molt instead of completely bury himself. I've only seen them use the sand to drain it once or twice now, since I've had them. I'm honestly starting to think that they're purposefully draining it in their shells to soak the sand. There's no pile up of sand next to the bowls, and not enough at the bottom of the dishes to make it seem like that's how they did it. Plus, the dishes are way too big for my guys to tip, since the largest of the crabs is only like... two inches big?

[HaydenHermie]

I'd just dig little holes for the bowls and burry them as deep as possible (almost to the rim so that substrait doesn't completely pile up in there).

[DragonsFly]

I had an issue with flooding that I finally discovered had to do with one of the pieces of coral I was using for a climb-out; it was wicking water up over the side of the bowl and gradually draining the water into the substrate. If the crabs cannot tip the bowls over, I would look for ways that the water could be wicking out--substrate too high against the side of the bowl, whatever you are using for a climb-out leaning over the outside of the bowl; something like that. I can't imagine the crabs purposefully scooping up water and releasing it into the substrate for several nights in a row until the substrate is flooding. The substrate is kept "sandcastle" moist, right?

[Jackolope]

what is humidity in tank? is it around 80%?
what are you using as bowls, try finding a less tippable bowl or burying it slightly so it won't spill. They may be desperately trying to drink but the bowl slips and spills over.

[Lasuna]

Yeah the sand's normally sandcastle consistency. After airing out the tank today a few times and using a few paper towels to drain out most of the water its close to sandcastle again. Hopefully tomorrow it should be back to normal. It could be the sponges, They love playing with them, which is the whole reason I still use em. Maybe they're getting pushed over the edge while I'm asleep and fall back in place later. I've lifted the bowls up from the sand a bit, just to be safe.

I keep the tank at roughly 80, though its been slightly higher with the water like this. And I use those reptile water dishes and they're pressed firmly into the sand, so they're not dumping them over.

[Jackolope]

sponges can hold bacteria, and bacteria loves warm wet places. remove the sponges. if you want something for them to place with, they can play with other shells, or if you have something interesting for them to climb on. anything plastic is safe and easy to clean.

[Lasuna]

I sterilize the sponges every day in the microwave, two minutes each. I do want to replace it with moss when I get some though.

[DragonsFly]

To see if they just "like playing with the sponges," you could try leaving the sponges out on the substrate rather than in the water sources. Natural sponges can be a good food source for them, so it is okay to leave them in the tank if you want, especially if you are sterilizing them. But as long as the crabs can get in and out of the water sources just fine without the sponges, there's no need to have them directly in the water (especially if the humidity is high enough without the sponges acting as humidifiers). If they need help to get out of the water sources, consider using pebbles or coral or making a ramp out of plastic needlepoint canvas secured with aquarium silicone.

[Lasuna]

I'll give it a try without leaving them in the water, oh and they didn't spill any water last night and the tank is now back to sandcastle consistency, I guess pulling the dishes up higher worked. Thanks everyone!