HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey y'all, it's been a good while since I posted here as I just didn't have anything to post.
In the meantime I moved, decided to build a bigger crabitat and did just that! Given that I already posted it on the subreddit I thought y'all might enjoy it as well!
First off:
External dimensions are 200x170x80cm, with internals ebing 200x130(including substrate)/100(without substrate)x80cm, we have a 40cm headroom for lamps and technical stuff.
Over all it took me about 3 months to build, and another couple to finish given that I started studying and was lacking some time. The crabs are having an absolutely crazy blast in there, changing shells whenever they feel like it and being as active as they could possibly be. It's still not quite finished, but it's getting close. "Once the pandemic is over" (a man can dream) and I have easy access to all stores again it'll surely move faster.

As always, feel free to spam me with questions and I'll gladly reply!
Also don't mind my formatting, I don't think the forum appreciates 100+ pictures in one imgur gallery being in one link so I'll just provide the link. If it should work with (url)... then please tell me as the preview does not seem to work.
Edit: just so you have at least SOMETHING to look at in this post

https://imgur.com/a/d5BWyYa

This is something I'd love to do when I have my own place. My only concern is you didn't seal the wood, are you worried about moisture seeping under the liner like through the screws and staples leading to rot?

Beautiful set-up tho, I love the plant choices.

It's treated, water resistant particle board covered in a thick layer of paint to protect further from moisture, covered in a 1mm thick pondliner, I am honestly not too worried about it.
The staples were a concern for me as well, but I've not used them in/near the soil area so there is only little moisture coming through, nothing that the temperatures present in the terrarium probably won't deal with lol. Thought about sealing them with silicone, but the cocofiber does a great job at keeping the water away, nearly like it's hydrophobic.
I guess only time will tell, given that it's a wooden "rainforest"/high humidity terrarium I didn't expect a huge lifespan anyway and I think I'll rebuild it within the next 5 years.

And thank you very much! I absolutely love it as well, just a piece of jungle in my livingroom. Still not quite done as I want to add more stuff, but well, that'll have to wait.

It's treated, water resistant particle board covered in a thick layer of paint to protect further from moisture, covered in a 1mm thick pondliner, I am honestly not too worried about it.
The staples were a concern for me as well, but I've not used them in/near the soil area so there is only little moisture coming through, nothing that the temperatures present in the terrarium probably won't deal with lol. Thought about sealing them with silicone, but the cocofiber does a great job at keeping the water away, nearly like it's hydrophobic.
I guess only time will tell, given that it's a wooden "rainforest"/high humidity terrarium I didn't expect a huge lifespan anyway and I think I'll rebuild it within the next 5 years.

And thank you very much! I absolutely love it as well, just a piece of jungle in my livingroom. Still not quite done as I want to add more stuff, but well, that'll have to wait.

that’s so cool!
where did you buy the bulk amount of coco fiber mats?

I ordered them in a plant nursery, they're basically intended to wrap around the pot of plants during winter to keep frost off them, and I just thought: why not use them as background? Not too expensive and in the perfect size, why not. I ordered 45cm x 10m and 25cmx5m for overall about 50€, I still have "loads" (about 45cm x~3.5m) left over if I ever want to build a smaller terrarium again.

This is amazing! I could string up a hammock and chill in there with those beautiful hermies! Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I catch myself just standing in front of the terrarium for 10-15 minutes at times, just looking at everything lol. Definitely a great addition to the livingroom!

Will the crabs drown?

hermitcrablover66 wrote:Will the crabs drown?

As long as there's a way out, crabs love to swim in large pools! Since they need water deep enough to fully submerge in anyway, I don't see why you shouldn't go the extra step and make a all out aquarium.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

Really love the tank! I wish I had the space to do something like that, but for now I'm stuck with just large store bought aquariums. Speaking of, how many gallons is that? Also, just a warning, might want to keep a close eye on those cocofiber walls. I used to use them too but they would always mold and the larger crabs would tear at the edges and get stuck behind.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

That is freaking amazing! Your terrarium looks bigger than my tiny home! My poor little crabbies in their 5.5 gallon tank would love that! It gives me lots of ideas for custom building something that would give them more space in our tiny abode.