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Gun Cabinet to Crabitat DIY
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 10:02 am
by afisch_7
While on vacation, after too many mimosas, I bought two hermit crabs from a beach store. I knew nothing about crabs, but now I’m completely committed to giving these guys the best life ever. I have them currently in a 30 gallon tank, but now they need a full blown crabitat. I was going to upgrade them to a 250 gallon tank that my brother in law has in his basement, but I was at my moms the other day, and she was talking about how she needed to do something with the gun cabinet my brother made in his high school wood shop class. I plan to epoxy the wood inside, and probably line it with something before I do an egg crate and styrofoam backdrop, but I need advice on where to place heating elements. Any suggestions for anything welcome!
I will post photos as soon as I figure out how to do that.
Re: Gun Cabinet to Crabitat DIY
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 11:04 am
by curlysister
I don't know if anyone has done a gun cabinet, but I'm sure there are examples of tall slim cabinets of some sort that have been made over into crabitats. Keep in mind that the base size determines the amount of molting space, and therefore the number of crabs you can house in it safely.
Welcome to crabbing!
Re: Gun Cabinet to Crabitat DIY
Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 11:52 am
by KyMart
afisch_7 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2023 10:02 am
While on vacation, after too many mimosas, I bought two hermit crabs from a beach store. I knew nothing about crabs, but now I’m completely committed to giving these guys the best life ever. I have them currently in a 30 gallon tank, but now they need a full blown crabitat. I was going to upgrade them to a 250 gallon tank that my brother in law has in his basement, but I was at my moms the other day, and she was talking about how she needed to do something with the gun cabinet my brother made in his high school wood shop class. I plan to epoxy the wood inside, and probably line it with something before I do an egg crate and styrofoam backdrop, but I need advice on where to place heating elements. Any suggestions for anything welcome!
I will post photos as soon as I figure out how to do that.
250 gallons is a lot! There is a link on here somewhere to estimate tank size, you could use the measurements of the cabinet to see how many gallons it would be/be equal to! I wonder how close to 250 it would be.
Re: Gun Cabinet to Crabitat DIY
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:06 am
by wodesorel
(Did you post this in the FB group, too? Im basing this suggestion of that photo of the case.) Throwing this out there, because this is how I used to heat my 135 display case crabitat - a ceramic heat emitter inside the case at the very top, with a small 4 inch fan to circulate heat around, will likely do the trick of warming the entire thing evenly. No worry about having to mount large UTHs or having cold spots towards the front. Setting it up in an area that stays warmer in winter and away from windows and drafts can also help a LOT in maintaining even temps year round.
If the idea of a bulb doesn't sit well, a radiant heat panel would be my next suggestion as they're build for wooden enclosures and are also waterproof, but I have no personal experience with using one.
