HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I had just completed another deep clean in my ten gallon aquarium and almost all of my decor that I had in there is destroyed! I've owned my hermit crabs since September (Three purple pincher's, two 20ish mm claw and one 10ish mm claw) so I do know how destructive they can be. But this time, I've had to throw out almost all of my plants, suction cups, and my tank walls and rims are butchered (Silicone picked to pieces, hard plastic with pieces picked out). It was ridiculous. I'm flabbergasted. Although, now that nearly all my crab decorations are done for, I'm excited to try some new things.

One of the things that have been floating around my mind is creating a similar wall display of something I had previously seen on this website (I cannot find the link! If I find it, I'll post.) It was created with coconut fiber and cork bark silicon-ed together to create a wall of climbing structure. The individual added pots to plant plants and everything. I thought this was incredible. I would like to try and create a similar wall display, only limited to one side of my crab tank. However, there's a few things I am worried about. For example, silicone. I understand many crabbers simply use '100% silicone' for their crab tanks, but would this also be safe when mixed with coconut fiber? What about rot? I think I'd follow the same ideas as the person who did this before, and mix cork bark into the mixture to create additional climbing arenas. Overall, I am most worried about creating something that will not rot but is also safe for my crabs.

I've got an exoterra terrarium in the shed that I might upgrade too, this project included in the upgrade.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Also, this is my first post, so if I messed anything up, let me know and i'll know for next time!

Is this the thread you're looking for?

my crabitat build photo journal!! (click)

Exactly! I had planned to create a wall display such as thing (However with much less detail, like no real plants).

Now that I am reading through this thread, another thing is coming to my mind. Would it be wise of me to invest in a humidifier? I'm currently having problems with mold on my mopani wood, even though I have soaked it for a week or more in a salt solution. Perhaps a fresh supply of moist air, through a humidifier, would prove beneficial?

The terrarium I have is the one listed on this website, 18" X 18" x 24":

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/na ... _small.php

Perhaps something like this:

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/monsoon_rs400.php

Has anyone ever tried these before? If not, what humidifiers/misters are best?

That rainfall system looks cool! I have cholla wood and mopani in my tank. The Repti Fogger by ZooMed is what I use to keep the humidity between 77 and 83% and it does the job for sure. The thing about the mold is that I had no mold on the wood until I decreased the ventilation (trying get the Repti Fogger to run less frequently). So, I have the plexiglass covering 3/4 of the tank and 1/4 allowing fresh air into the tank.

I don't understand how mold works, as I have the hygrotherm regulating the humidity, having the top covered a lot or a little, don't know how that should matter given the humidity levels should in the same ranges. I'm pretty new at this myself, having started crabbing in October of 2010. I have 10 crabs and 7 have successfully molted.

Interested in hearing if anyone uses the rainfall system in the link you gave.

I’ve been checking out reviews on the Zoomed Repti Fogger, and they all seem to be pretty good! I’ve also checked the prices online and the Zoomed Repti Fogger and the Exo Terra Fogger are very close in price; the ZooMed Fogger being about 10-20 dollars more expensive.

(A nice link if anyone wants to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp5CCRUijp0 )

I think I am more inclined to spend the extra 20 dollars on the Zoomed Repti Fogger then take the chance with the Exo Terra Fogger. At least I will be guaranteed a product that works effectively!

In addition, with the set up of my Exo Terra terrarium, I think the problem of air flow will be solved. In the front and on the top, there are vents, which can be closed or opened according to humidity.

I’m now trying to find a secure place to order a Zoomed Repti Fogger. Any ideas? I’m currently in Newfoundland, with only one large pet store in the whole province (5 hours away, sadly) and I don’t think they carry Zoomed Repti Foggers.

I agree with the review as well! It would be interesting to hear from someone who has experience with the Exo Terra Fogger

Moving air will keep the mold from growing. I have a 4 inch desk fan inside the Display Case, and the only time I had mold was when I unplugged it when we were scrubbing down the chimney with killer Lysol (three feet behind the tank) and I didn't want the vapors to get pulled into the tank. I forgot to turn the fan back on for almost a week, and there was this snowflake pattern of mold growing on the inside of ALL of the glass! Took me two hours to scrub it off with vinegar. As long as the fan is running it hasn't come back. I leave the upper doors vented about 1/4 of an inch on either side (sliding glass doors) so there's fresh air flow into the tank at all times. The tank still stays warm and humid, but it never gets stale. I still unplug the fan for half a day when I clean, otherwise it stays on all the time.

However, in the E tank I always had it sealed well with no air flow and never had mold.... I think once the mold gets a foothold inside of a tank it's impossible to get rid of short of tossing everything and bleaching the actual tank. (Boiling and bleaching will not get rid of mold on porous surfaces like wood and coconut - I tried before!)

I just checked and reptilesupply.com ships internationally. They have the Repti-fogger on special right now for a couple of dollars off, $44.95, on sale until 5/6. Beware, they have lots of cool things and in general are less costly than any stores, so it can be an expensive little place to shop - - not because they cost more, because you want more. My advice, if you are ordering there and you use EE check their prices and consider adding it to your order. I found it to be almost half of the store price.

wodesorel wrote:I think once the mold gets a foothold inside of a tank it's impossible to get rid of short of tossing everything and bleaching the actual tank. (Boiling and bleaching will not get rid of mold on porous surfaces like wood and coconut - I tried before!)

Ah mold! Destroying all attractive wood in the crab tank. I’m going to try again to salt and bake the Mopani wood, and add it to my terrarium and keep an eye on it. Maybe with fresh air flow, the mold won’t be present? Also, I read somewhere on the forum that bleaching wood with a 10-20% concentration of bleach, then rinsing and soaking in a salt solution followed by a bake would possibly remove mold. Have you tried this? Is it safe, and is it worth it? I get the feeling the mold will always come back though.  I wish I could have all natural elements in my crab tank!

CrabbyMom33 wrote:Beware, they have lots of cool things and in general are less costly than any stores, so it can be an expensive little place to shop - - not because they cost more, because you want more. My advice, if you are ordering there and you use EE check their prices and consider adding it to your order. I found it to be almost half of the store price.

Ah! I found the Repti-Fogger, and I plan on purchasing tomorrow. !!!!!! Excellent price, thank you very much! I noticed about the excellent prices. :O Amazing. I’ve added Eco Earth 3 pack and now I am checking out some filters… It would be great to have a pool of fresh (Or salt?) water for my crabs, cleaned and filtered.

I plan on leaving my crab tank with my parents next year as I move to university (Still my crabs! I’m just prohibited from having any kind of pets in residence, so I’ll keep my crabs with my parents till my second year, where I plan to have a small apartment.) and a filter for water would be great! Less mess to fool with. However, I have NO experience with filters. Any suggestions? I’ve checked out these two so far:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.ph ... ts_id=2255

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.ph ... ts_id=2589

I know Purple Pinchers don’t require to fully submerge, but I think it’ll be a nice addition. Plus, I might end up with other crab species in the future and it’d be better to be prepared now.

Last time I had to clean mold off of mopani it was winter and I didn't want to try bleaching it since I couldn't let it air off outside for however long it took for the bleach to wear off. Instead I put it into a huge pot with a lot of rock salt and boiled it at a roiling boil for over three hours. (Did NOT smell nice!) The mold came back within a few weeks, though now that I think about it there was no air flow in the tank so maybe that's why it didn't work.

Mm. I'm going to try soaking the mopani wood in salt water again, then rebake. I'll add the fresh log to the new terrarium and keep an eye on it. Bleach makes me nervous! I don't want to try anything that I know might possibly harm my hermits.

I recently bought 128lb of sand. I'm actually excited to wash it. :>

Also, in the previous link CallaLily posted, curious_kitty had used 'Titebond III' for a bond base to create the coconut fibre spread that she then added over the styrofoam. I'm having a hard time finding this wood glue, and I'm wondering if anyone knows any other safe alternatives?

The Titebond method is still only about a year old. The gold standard in vivariums is using silicone or concrete binder to hold the cocofiber onto the foam. (Concrete binder is an epoxy-like glue that is used to strengthen concrete, if you're interested in learning more try googling "concrete binder method" or "flevopol method".) The silicone that's safe is Window and Door 100% silicone with NO mold inhibitor or micro-ban in it. GE Silicone I is in this category.

If you go with Silicone I then use it in a well-ventilated place as it's hard for the body to know when it's had too much exposure to acetic acid. (Which is why they came out with a Silicone II that is ammonia based - people get sick from the fumes before it does harm, but it won't cure safe so don't use that kind.) Smear it on with plastic tools that you don't mind throwing away, or by using disposable gloves. Prior to this, expand the cocofiber and let it dry completely. Then while the silicone is wet press the dry and fluffy cocofiber into the silicone. It'll be messy, but it'll cover well! Make sure to wear gloves, though.

Thank you for all your help!

I'm still debating on if I should use Titebond or Silicone to do the backdrop. What does the silicone dry like? I want whatever I use to dry hard and such. I'm not planning on installing any waterfalls or bathing areas with the backdrop, so I won't have to worry about that. I also have to check out the prices of either or, and find some things to add to the backdrop, like cork bark or some interesting pieces of wood (Mopani wood? Something that won't mold easily..)

I've still got a lot of brainstorming to do, but I think I can see how this is going to come together. I'm going to start buying my supplies very shortly.

Also, any ideas on how to attach this 'backdrop' into the terrarium? The terrarium opens from the top, and the front. I would like to be able to remove it, in case mold or mites or I decide to change it/create another in (years) to come. I was thinking of attaching it to some plexiglass, in a shallow box that'll fit the back wall of the terrarium. Easy to remove and clean and change as needed.

I'm sorry for the late reply! Graduation week and grad was this weekend, so I was extremely busy.