adding objects for big crab?

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:50 pm

so i recently came into some money so now i have a few questions since i actually have money to do something about it after i get my answers. so i dont want to make alot of threads for every question i have so im going to try to catagorize them and put a few together in one thread so im not cluttering with alot of posts. so here it goesfirst off, my hermit-crab two-bane has recently changed shells and he is now golf ball size maybe every so slightly bigger or smalled. and my concern is he was more active before he changed shells now he kinda sits all day in this spot like this ---> http://imgur.com/SzZ5rPR (he is the pink shell. ) so my question is what can i add for the bigger crab so he can have variety or be more active. here is a picture of my curent tank ---> http://imgur.com/4kgXFNj as you can see there is obviously things for the smaller crabs.. the climbing net they climb on the coral. there is canvas on the wood hidy so they can climb on it but he just sits there and eats. he doesnt climb on anything and i think he wants to climb the net but maybe he doesnt feel securre enough. i also dont have much space as you can see. and im on a slight budget so im not going super fancy expensive but not durt cheap either i can afford a couple good things for them. i am also adding new pools for them which will take up just a little more space than the ones that are in right now but only a little more kinda like a inch or 2so ya

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:19 am

paperheartzPlease, it would be much easier to answer one question at a time. Don't worry about multiple threads so much as long as they are good.I don't see a digital hygrometer in the pictures. That is most important. Need to know temperature and humidity accurately.A few pieces of wood would be nice to climb on, or several. Use pet safe wood. Inquire here about that; Some wood, like pine and eucalyptus is especially bad for arthropods and crustaceans, like pine. Cholla is good.The pet store sells mostly safe woods.Could you show a photo from the side? I'd like to see how deep the substrate is.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:50 am

Here is a question back to you - Is it secure enough for your bigger crabs weight?As far as redoing your tank look at the crabitat info in the archived library section there are tons of great ideas and some have pics of their tanks. I would consider doing some stuff to make a second level.You should have a way to determine if the temp and humidity are in the right range if not that may be part or all of your problem. Most of us use a temp and humidity gauge to check acurately.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:15 pm

@Kegok i will divide the thread into another. since you have already tackled things for the big crab here i will leave that here and start another thread on the log hidy. you dont see a digital thermometor because mine broke and i could not afford another one. im in a very rough financial situation right now I will look into wood. i have not bought any because i did not want them to mold because i had a problem with that before however i got advice to simply just not let the wood touch the ground with rocks or something and that would help so now i feel better about putting wood in there. is there a thread or link i can please have of safe wood lists? im better with lists. why do you want to see how deep it is? i just mainly wanted to know what i can add to the top to add viriety for the larger crab @jenokcrabbing addictomg yes that is what im worried about! that it is not secure enough for his weight and he knows it will come down! i want to make it more secure but am unsure how. i have 2 sucktion cups holding it up right now that i bought from the craft store. i think it said it could hold 5 pounds or something. i had bought a bigger suction cup that said it could hold more as a back up but i didnt need it because these worked fine. is it time to bust out the bigger suction cup and add it to the other two to make it 3? or how else can i secure it?and i have read EVERY post in the libary so far under behavior, crabitat, and food and water. i wouldnt be posting if i didnt still have questions. and i went on some of the thread and tried too look at the pictures but the link did not work. and i honestly learn better from visual. so it was a bummer they didnt work. and ive been wanting to do a second level heres the problem im stuggling i dont THINK i have enough room for the nessesary depth of substrate + enough room on the floor above that but under the 2nd level for them to stand and walk around + enough room on the 2nd level for them to stand and not hit the screen on the top when standing. at least not for the big one. but i really wanted to add a shell shop moss pit second level idea but like i said i dont think i have the height for it. is there any way you could think i could do it? or maybe im over worrying and it really is possble?another idea i saw was this http://landhermitcrabs.com/eve...4102988/m/1951008523 a basement. however, i saw no one post about if it worked if it was dangerouse or what. my concern is it could breed mold because lack of proper air ventilation. also that they might molt under it and it would leave thme open to an attack because there is only one way out. unless i poped thee back off too and left 2 doors. idk i thought it was cute but had a bad feeling about it. ya i really need a new one. since we are one the subject any suggestions for acurate temp and humidity gauges? i read there was some debate on the acuracy on diffrent brands.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:57 am

Usually digital gauges work better/more accurate. However there is a thread somewhere on how to check your humidity gauge if you want to use the other kind which are cheaper. Remember you get what you pay for.Some people use velcro to secure things others suction cups I usually try to put some pressure/weight on different areas to test the strength of the item. It won't hurt anything to have the extra suction cup on there. Also you may try moving stuff around sometimes that makes them want to explore more. For hidey things try a clay pot on its side or something with a slightly bigger opening than your hidey log. If your low on room why don't you try starting with smaller pools made with Gladware/Ziplock type plastic containers (that's what I use). I think that's what crabber85 uses to. How big is your tank? He just redid his tank setup using a 40 gal and if you pm him i'm sure he could give you some really good suggestions. I haven't switched mine over to the bigger 20gal tank I just got yet so a lot of the stuff your needing info on I can just give generic answers cuz I will be testing new things out pretty soon myself.

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:14 am

quote:why do you want to see how deep it is? i just mainly wanted to know what i can add to the top to add viriety for the larger crab Substrate should be deep enough so that the crab can molt properly.http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com...-Substrate-a/133.htmPROPER SUBSTRATE TYPE, DEPTH AND MOISTURE CONTENTThe MAIN key to keeping land hermit crabs alive in captivity is to fill your crabitat uniformly with sand deep enough (3-4X their shell size) and moist enough (packs well) that your largest crab is able to bury into complete darkness to molt successfully.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:13 am

quote:Originally posted by Keg:quote:why do you want to see how deep it is? i just mainly wanted to know what i can add to the top to add viriety for the larger crab Substrate should be deep enough so that the crab can molt properly.http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com...-Substrate-a/133.htmPROPER SUBSTRATE TYPE, DEPTH AND MOISTURE CONTENTThe MAIN key to keeping land hermit crabs alive in captivity is to fill your crabitat uniformly with sand deep enough (3-4X their shell size) and moist enough (packs well) that your largest crab is able to bury into complete darkness to molt successfully. I already know that and that is not what my question was about it was about what i could add on the top surface to give more things for my bigger crabs to climb on because i have plenty things for the small crabs to climb on and they are active but my larger crab doesnt seem intrested in crawling on the things my smaller sracbs do. @Jenok no, im getting a digital. if im going to spend the money on a new one its going to be better so it doesnt break like before. i did have the cheapy kind before so i know how flimsy they are. what i meant to ask was are there any brand of electic ones you recomend? ok i will add more/stronger suction cups and i also will try moving things around. what i tried doing is propping one side of the log up to give it the appearance of a larger opening maybe they will like that better. and what would you think of adding a tubawear that sits ontop of the log hidy? that way im not worried about giving them space to stand on the bottom and top. and crabber85 had already told me this "I have been using an old plastic half gallon ice cream tub which is about three inches deep" so i was not worried about the things i got because the red one is just barely shorter than 3 inches deep and the green one is just barely taller. the red one is 2.5 deep and it has a slope because its bowl like and with plastic canvas i have no worry about the drowning. the green one is 3.1 deep so again im not worried as long as i add things to create an escape. and my tank is 13 inches tall and 18 in wide on all sides. its a square tank. which worked out nicely for main reasons. i had a peice of coral i used as a center peice also we had 4 crabs and they were all smaller and we live in a small room so the tank fit perfectly. but now we have a little rooom to make it a few inches longer and taller and no money for that so ya...thank you for the info you could give me though. i pretty much know all the basics. im autistic and hermit crabs are one of my special intrests so i read in the archives alot of what you already told me but there was some stuff you told me that i didnt read that helped. good luck on redoing your tank!

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 4:53 am

On the bowls I didn't mean not so deep I meant not so big/wide. I have several crabs and have never seen them try to get in the water at the same time. So instead of wasting space with wide bowls I use smaller deep bowls that don't take up as much room. On the gauges it would probably be best to ask crabber85 cuz he's went through quite a few. I think the digital I got was a zoo med but not sure of that.Here's an idea. I don't know if you live by a Dollar Tree (everything in store is $1) but I do and i'm going to get some little plastic desk storage baskets that are about 3" deep set one upside down and another similar in size right side up on top of it. Cut a hole or two in the sides of the bottom one so they can crawl in (like a cave) and the top one can have shells and/or moss for them to have like a second level without making it too high. I will probably tie some vines around the outside to make it funner to climb and provide a little more privacy under for the hidey part. Probably need to Velcro or glue the two baskets together so the top one doesn't fall off.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 6:16 am

Omg that is a perfect idea. And I do live by a dollar tree thank you.And I have messaged Crabber85 but he has not responded and I dont want to bother him

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 6:42 am

Yeah, its unusual for him not to post by now. Something must be going on where he isn't getting on here. Don't know if he's sick, having computer trouble, or what. He'll get on and post when he can i'm sure.