HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi friends!

Since I was making a modified hamster wheel and I had my phone handy, I took pictures of the steps I took. There may be more ways to do it, but this is just how I did it. I searched for a tutorial and couldn't find one, so here we go!

You will need:
A plastic hamster wheel, I used "Kaytee Silent Spinner"
Plastic craft embroidery mesh
A dozen or so small plastic Zip/ cable ties
An electric drill with drilling bit
A marker
Eye protection

1) If possible, remove the stand from the wheel.
2) Mark the hole placements, 2 in a set, be sure not to drill over any cracks or joints (pic 1).
3) Drill holes in alternating pattern (i.e. one on left side, next on opposite side, repeat) (pic 2).
4) Cut plastic mesh to fit inside wheel plus stick out of wheel a couple of inches, length should over lap a few inches.
5) Attach zip ties to mesh through holes, leave ties with wiggle room. Attach ties in consecutive order (pic 3).
6) Push mesh to be flat as possible inside of wheel.
7) When completing the circle, cut off any excess length.
Pull zip ties completely shut in alternating pattern like you did for drilling.
9) Cut excess length off of zip ties.
10) Put wheel back on stand, place in tank and watch hermies enjoy!

Tips:

*Wheel should be placed where they cannot get on top of it. Some crabbers prefer to hang theirs upside down on the side of their tank.

*If your mesh bubbles without laying flat, you need more holes.

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Great tutorial! Just wanted to say that the original creator has a tutorial as well but with out pics. They also listed some benefits of having a hamster wheel in the crabitat.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 9#p1017089

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daws409 wrote:Great tutorial! Just wanted to say that the original creator has a tutorial as well but with out pics. They also listed some benefits of having a hamster wheel in the crabitat.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 9#p1017089

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Nice! I haven't seen that post before! I didn't mean to step on any toes. I did look thoroughly for a tutorial and didn't find any. It's nice to have the video linked here. Thanks!

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I couldn't find one either. GB mentioned it in another post which is how I knew there was one lol. Wasn't trying to offend you; just letting you know!

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No offense taken! I couldn't find it because it never used the words instructions or tutorial. Now, if someone searches for it they can find this post AND the original post with the video!

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Neat! I've seen more and more crabbers offering wheels, but haven't ever tried it myself. How well do they hold up with the sand and humidity?

Mine have held up great, but they are off of the substrate


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Mine have held up great as well!

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This should completely be on the sticky of DIY projects.

Also, has anyone figured out how to attach these things to suction cups so you can stick them on your tat's wall?

You can use something heavy duty like command hooks and flip the stand upside down and hang it on one hook in each back corner of the stand. I thought about doing this and securing a piece of cocofiber over it (the bottom of the stand which would now be at the top) to make a lil platform as well but decided I to wait to hang it when I do my next tank remodel. at the moment, I have mine sitting right on the sub and it's doing fine. the stands on these kaytee wheels are pretty well coated and rust resistant.

Hey do you guys think large hermits can use the small purple kaytee wheel? I bought the large one for my big kids but it really takes up alot of space in the tat.

ROSIEonFIRE wrote:Hey do you guys think large hermits can use the small purple kaytee wheel? I bought the large one for my big kids but it really takes up alot of space in the tat.

I have the same small kaytee but mine is green and there is plenty of room for my biggest guy which I would consider to be a large. Not much room to double up with him in there like my lil crabbies sometimes do though...but I don't think he cares lol.

Roughly how big is ur bigguy? My guys are in 2.5 inch shells. Did you do this mod or just put it in there like it is?

I'd say his shell is about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches in total length. He's hiding behind a large chunk of coral ATM saying haha u can't reach me lol.
Yeah I did do the mod on mine cuz it didn't have much grip on the inside for lil crabbie toes. Super easy.