Inspired by the other crabitats to try harder with mine

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

So, after seeing some pix from Dan H and others on what they have going on, I spent about 50 bucks and most of the day yesterday upgrading our crabitat.

I had my youngest helping me most of the day mixing dechlorinated and coming up with ideas, and by 10 last night we had finished.

I wanted to make it more interesting for our crabs, give them things to climb on, add some moss and additional cover, and other things to make it a fun place for them and hopefully help them feel comfortable enough to come out a little more when the lights are on.

I have read the forum care guides, but I am open to suggestions for improvement or ways things could be done better.

A couple of before shots:
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And some after shots:








Sorry about the image quality, the condensation makes it hard to see what's going on on the lower level.

Again, any suggestions or comments greatly appreciated!

[Dan H]

Wow that looks pretty cool! Glad that this forum has inspired you like it has me. The creativity it can bring out when designing and setting up a tank is really kinda neat. I love seeing the different designs and really like the transition shots like you have. Makes you able to see how the tank has come together over time. I really think your crabbies are going to have a good time.

If you end up like me and have to redo the suction cups holding up the net sometimes might I suggest reinforcing it from below with a stick or small climbing background to help support the net. The ramps on my upper level are supported in multiple spots due to Sheldon's effort to remove all ramps from my last tank. That one is quite the engineer

Regardless, fantastic upgrade and would like to see more shots when the crabs start exploring when you have a chance!

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

Thanks Dan!

Yeah, the suction cups, I already had to replace one, as well as reclean the glass surface they were mounted on. We'll have to see what kind of havoc Piper and the gang will unleash on the new installation! Part of me would love to see it trashed out by them, just because I would know they were engaged and playing. Which would be fine as long as no one got hurt in the process.

The bridges are made out of burlap garland from Jo Ann's that I boiled in salt water and rinsed in dechlorinated water, twice, to get the funky smell out of it. I zip tied each end onto the structure it goes to in a couple of places, so hopefully it holds up for a while.

I need a better solution for attaching the bridges though, because the zip ties are going to make cleaning and removing pieces difficult. I need something secure, but removable/temporary.

Piper was hanging out in a cocohut last night surveying the layout with the lights on, if he comes out again tonight before I shut the lights out I'll try to catch a shot of him and post it here. He just molted so his color is pretty nice right now.

[Dan H]

You might want to try using jute thread to make loops at the edge of whatever you want to connect, then tying them off between the two loops, that way all you have to do is cut the connector if you need to do something. I've been using that method to hold things up and using their weight to keep them on hooks and other things.

Your tank inspired me to add some branches to mine. I have a huge pin oak tree in the backyard that I have collected some branches from and never bothered to put in the tank after cleaning them up and everything. After adding them tonight I spurred an instant climbing attack of the 3 crabs that are up right now as they explored the new additions! Thanks for the inspiration!

I've noticed that once I had some good hides that anything added to the crabitat becomes an exciting new toy, so now that you have cover down for them to feel more comfortable I'm sure you'll start seeing them peek out more. Great job again!

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

Hey Dan, here's Piper just coming out for the night, checking to see if the coast is clear. He just finished a 2 month molt. New crabitat and new crabs, so I don't think he's going to get much more adventurous until the lights are out for the night. At least for the time being.




Hopefully when the rest of them come out from molting they will get more comfortable with us and hopefully will start ignoring us when we are banging around in the house.

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

Yes! We have oak and maple out back. Our 1st crab, Rainbow, would hang out on the tip of the tallest branch in the tank all day long, happy as a clam. He's molting now though, so I don't know where his new perch will be when he comes out.

But yeah, I heard they are called tree crabs, so it seemed like a natural choice for climbing toys.

Glad your crabs are digging the branches!

[Dan H]

Love the shots. Glad to see someone decided to check out the changes!

It is funny you mention the crabs getting more comfortable with you, at this point I can basically run up to the tank and only the little ones will even be remotely bothered, Jules and Sheldon will even come closer to whatever side of the tank I'm working on to check out whatever I'm up to. I think they fully understand that I am the giant hermit crab monster that brings them food and that I'm not going to eat them at this point. (my beard probably looks like a thousand feelers to them )

Yea after seeing this I'm kinda tempted to set up some sort of pirate ship perch with little crow's nest up top honestly

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

Arrrrrh Matey!

[IBlab crab]

I like the round basket on its side,the holes allow them to climb over it.I will have to look for something like that.

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

That was from the Dollar Store IBlab, the rectangular one was too. I cut a section from the bottom so it would lie nicely without having to be buried, I have a couple of molters I don't want to disturb.

[megmaholm]

That looks great! I get a lot of inspiration on here for decorating my tanks and I love all the greenery you added. My only suggestion is move your thermometer/hygrometer down closer to the substrate; you'll get more accurate readings for the areas the crabs are in the most that way. Also, how deep is your substrate? It looks a little shallow to me; the minimum recommended depth is 6".

[IBlab crab]

That was from the Dollar Store IBlab, the rectangular one was too. I cut a section from the bottom so it would lie nicely without having to be buried, I have a couple of molters I don't want to disturb.

That is probably a better idea because they like to dig down under the hide.My little ones will go into cocohut and then dig down inside.Plus keep it from rolling if they are climbing over it.

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

That looks great! I get a lot of inspiration on here for decorating my tanks and I love all the greenery you added. My only suggestion is move your thermometer/hygrometer down closer to the substrate; you'll get more accurate readings for the areas the crabs are in the most that way. Also, how deep is your substrate? It looks a little shallow to me; the minimum recommended depth is 6".

Thanks for the suggestion on gauge placement megmaholm.

The substrate is just barely 6" deep, it looks shallow to me too, but I measured it. My crabs aren't very big though, so they have enough depth to totally bury themselves and tunnel around.

I will be adding more substrate eventually, but we've only had the crabs since August, and they've only been in this tank since early September, so they're in the PPS stage and I don't want to disturb them too much right now. 3 of them are still down below, I think they might be molting. Piper was the first to go down to molt and he took 2 months, so I want to wait for the others to molt and come back up before adding more sub.

Thanks again for the tips!

[Mr. Crabby Pants]

A couple more of Piper exploring. .

Torpedo is starting to feel brave enough to explore a bit, here he is just barely peeking out from under the new hide.

Still waiting for Rainbow and Charlie Junior to come back up.