My DIY Crabitat
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 9:25 am
I said I'd post the steps, but unfortunately I ended up with crabs earlier than expected and had to quickly build.
I went with a plastic tote (food grade of course, very important). It's a 50~55g tote leaning a bit on the taller side of things. I got my sand - I got WAY too much sand, but hey, more is better right? I also had coconut fiber to mix in with it.
I know it's hard to tell from the image, but the substrate varies 6-7 inches. A little less than I wanted, but I wanted room at the top to add in some netting stuff for the crabs to climb on.
This was the initial set up, before a lot of the stuff was added and moved around - I placed the Crabs in (three of them). They had painted shells but quickly replaced with the newer variety I had strewn around. In less than a half hour all three had ditched the painted shells. Woo! The two bowls hold roughly a gallon of water each, one fresh and one salt. I used kitchen netting for the crabs to have something to get in and out with - I was worried they'd have difficulty but they actually picked it up real fast. I find sand and moss in the water all the time now.
So I wanted to have some light in the crabitat during the day and so I cut out a piece of the top of the lid and put wire mesh over it. The original intent was to possibly hang a few tubes through it, but I ended up not needing it as much as I thought. I got plexiglass to cover the opening that the light can safely sit on top of. It makes a nice view spot too, right over the food dish. It's fun watching them eat.
Here is the three amigos - they love the spot under one of the moss pits near one of the heating pads. But since they've been added they've actually branched out to more of the tote.
A newer picture with more things added.
The last thing I have to add are the climbing nets. Not really "nets" persay, they're those rope hammock things. Something I know they won't get tangled up in.
After it's finished I'm adding in a spy cam which will live stream the crabitat to the public 24/7. I know it's not super exciting for all, but I'm hoping to add it to an educational blog on Hermit Crabs that I'm setting up.
I went with a plastic tote (food grade of course, very important). It's a 50~55g tote leaning a bit on the taller side of things. I got my sand - I got WAY too much sand, but hey, more is better right? I also had coconut fiber to mix in with it.
I know it's hard to tell from the image, but the substrate varies 6-7 inches. A little less than I wanted, but I wanted room at the top to add in some netting stuff for the crabs to climb on.
This was the initial set up, before a lot of the stuff was added and moved around - I placed the Crabs in (three of them). They had painted shells but quickly replaced with the newer variety I had strewn around. In less than a half hour all three had ditched the painted shells. Woo! The two bowls hold roughly a gallon of water each, one fresh and one salt. I used kitchen netting for the crabs to have something to get in and out with - I was worried they'd have difficulty but they actually picked it up real fast. I find sand and moss in the water all the time now.
So I wanted to have some light in the crabitat during the day and so I cut out a piece of the top of the lid and put wire mesh over it. The original intent was to possibly hang a few tubes through it, but I ended up not needing it as much as I thought. I got plexiglass to cover the opening that the light can safely sit on top of. It makes a nice view spot too, right over the food dish. It's fun watching them eat.
Here is the three amigos - they love the spot under one of the moss pits near one of the heating pads. But since they've been added they've actually branched out to more of the tote.
A newer picture with more things added.
The last thing I have to add are the climbing nets. Not really "nets" persay, they're those rope hammock things. Something I know they won't get tangled up in.
After it's finished I'm adding in a spy cam which will live stream the crabitat to the public 24/7. I know it's not super exciting for all, but I'm hoping to add it to an educational blog on Hermit Crabs that I'm setting up.
I can’t lift or afford those heavy glass aquariums. It looks gray and awesome job!