Climbing Backgrounds

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 1:03 am

Does anyone have a climbing background in their tank? They are made of coconut fiber, so I know they're safe in that way and they don't rise any more than ten inches from the ground but are there any hidden dangers I should know about?

nora · Post by **nora** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 2:09 am

If it is the rolled cocofiber mat, I would check for mold in areas that are near the substrate.

DustAndEchoes · Post by **DustAndEchoes** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 2:34 pm

i had one once, it molded really bad and the velcro that came iwth it wouldn't stick to the mat very well. Also, my smaller crabs kept getting behind it. I don't think they got stuck but I got uneasy because Grunt was in one spot for almost 2 days (behind the climbing background). I got rid of it and switched to a fish net.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:30 am

I had one inmy first tank and my crabs always got behind it and then it started to mold. I use a fish net that I got in the craft department at Wal-Mart and suction hooks found in the hardware deptartment and my crabs love it and it is cheap and easy to replace and no mold. I also have a hanging vine across the top.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:44 am

My crabs tear it to bits.... they tear it up and then hide in the middle between fiber layers. I haven't had any mold problems with it, but I'm always checking to make sure there is no mold.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:49 am

I havn't had any mold problems either but mine tear it up too. The bottom of it is shredded.

EGcrabber · Post by **EGcrabber** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:56 am

It doesn't hold very well, my crabs tear it down every night. Also, they tear up the fiber and it gets all over the place.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:21 pm

Make sure it's far enough from the top of the tank that your hermies can't get out. Keep in mind that one hermie can use another hermie as a step-stool. That's how my Augustus got out once. He was strong enough to lift the glass lid up while standing on another crab at the top of the mat.

The other problem I had with the mat was that a few of my crabs enjoyed climbing up and over the top and back down the other side, wedging themselves between the mat and the glass side of the tank. I'd recommend buying a long strip of velcro so that you can secure the entire length of the mat at the very top.

Other than that, the mat seemed just fine. My hermies loved it and having climbing area on the wall of the tank freed up space on the floor. Just make sure there's nothing hard directly under the mat, so that if anyone falls they'll land on softish substrate.

Mine has never molded, but everyone else who uses one seems to have a problem with that, so watch it closely.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:25 am

Thanks, I'll put up the one I bought, but I don't think I'll buy another one after this. I wish I had asked before hand I could have saved a couple of bucks.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:41 am

I use pressed cork as a climbing background. I get it from the pet shop, but it's also sold in hardware stores, for example as pinboards or for insulation. You just need to make sure it's pressed and not glued.
It doesn't mold and can be glued to the glass with aquarium silicone or wedged into the tank so that it doesn't fall over. The crabs can climb it very well, they just tear out small chunks sometimes, but this doesn't really matter.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:00 pm

I have the coco-fiber mat, netting and a big piece of cork bark for them to climb on and they enjoy all three.

Coco-fiber mat - (I cut mine in three sections so it would be at different heights in the tank) Only had one of the pieces get a spot of mold on it. I was going to cut that section off if I couldn't kill the mold with nuking it in the microwave or by spraying it with saltwater. (But my husband threw out the piece before I had a chance to finish cleaning it.) My crabs love climbing it and sitting on the top piece where they've frayed it out. They haven't shredded it too much yet. And they do enjoy burrowing between it and the glass. I figure that since it is at the back of my tank, it is a quieter area with much less movement that is seen from that side. So a couple like to hide back there to destress if the house has been too busy or noisy.

Netting - Love the netting!! Really inexpensive, and lasts for a long time. I do need to invest in stronger suction cups though because they pull it down every night.

Cork Bark - Probably my best investment!! Not only have they used it as a cave, but now that I've rearranged the tat, they use it as a climbing wall and a place to nest as well. Everyone has their own favorite spot to sit on it. And it doubles as a snack since they will nibble on it too. Warning that it will get moldy on some areas that are near the substrate just like the coco-fiber mat, but with a good scrub, a spell in the microwave and a spritz of salt water, problem solved.

All three are easy to sanitize by getting them really wet and microwaving them for 2 - 3 minutes to kill any ickies, and if needed giving them a spritz of salt water. It does help if you make sure they are completely dry before adding to the tat. When I assemble the new tat, I'll be buying another large piece of cork bark and another roll of coco-fiber mat for them. I still have a nice big chunk of netting left from before.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:36 pm

I once used a bamboo placemat (fits a 10 gallon tank just right) for a climbing wall. I used velcro across the top of the tank. I had trouble w/ mold where it touched the substrate, so I trimmed it to 1 inch above the substrate (still within crab reach). Once I got the bugs worked out, I was pretty happy with the results. Pretty, natural, useful.

Here's a photo taken before I trimmed up the bottom edge:
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/5719 ... at1vq7.jpg

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:57 pm

Wow nice tat! Thanks for all the ideas I think I'll try to get some cork this weekend. But what is cork bark and where can I find it?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 1:05 pm

I think petstores sell corkbark sheets or rolls for lizards. I happened upon a roll sold at K-mart in the Martha Stewart kitchen supply area. It is meant for shelf-lining and has no adhesive backing. It retails for $5.29, but I'm not sure that it is hermit crab safe and was unable to find out when calling the number on the package. They said it was imported so they didn't know how it was manufactured. It smells earthy, not artificial or chemical. I bought it anyway because it was reduced to 50 cents and I'll use it for something around the house if the crabs don't go for it. Interesting too was the thick trivet style corkboard pieces they sell in a 2 pack for $4.??.