Do I need to have heat at all?

[jonnybcrabby]

Hello!

This is my first posting on this site, and have a quick question for all those experts out there! I've been reading a lot on this site the past couple weeks and decided this is definitely the place for info on my hermit crabs.

I'm in the process of moving my 3 PP crabs to a 55 gal tank, 48Lx13Wx18H and I was wondering if I really need to buy a heat pad for the back of the tank. I live in South Florida on the East coast merely 5-10 minutes from the ocean. It is relatively humid here except for Dec-April, so keeping the humidity just right in my tank is not a problem.

However, when it comes to temperature, my home's interior never gets below 74-75 degrees, even in the winter (yes, it's that warm here in the winter ) and in the summer, it's between 76-78.

Do you think I really need a heater? I'm not looking to cook my crabs, and I've had them for approx. 2 years in a 20 gallon tank w/out heat and they seem perfectly fine and healthy. They climb all day, interact with each other and overall are very active.

Let me know your thoughts, I appreciate any feedback and apologize if a similar question has been asked in the past but thought I would start a new topic considering the sub-tropical conditions where I live.

Thank you!

[LadyJinglyJones]

While I don't live in Florida...I can tell you that your ideal heat is around 80-85 degrees, owing to most crabs coming from south of Florida. (Even crabs sold in Florida are often not from Floridian populations - which may be better adapted to cooler temps - because pet stores/beach shops get them from suppliers, which may obtain crabs from any number of regions).

So having a heater on hand, especially for cooler months is a good idea. Also noteworthy, crabs in captivity have often survived through conditions during transport and holding that may affect their health & resilience in the long term... so it is a very good idea to maintain conditions at ideal levels, and not simply 'what they can handle' if you want long-term success for your crabbies.

[jonnybcrabby]

While I don't live in Florida...I can tell you that your ideal heat is around 80-85 degrees, owing to most crabs coming from south of Florida. (Even crabs sold in Florida are often not from Floridian populations - which may be better adapted to cooler temps - because pet stores/beach shops get them from suppliers, which may obtain crabs from any number of regions).

So having a heater on hand, especially for cooler months is a good idea. Also noteworthy, crabs in captivity have often survived through conditions during transport and holding that may affect their health & resilience in the long term... so it is a very good idea to maintain conditions at ideal levels, and not simply 'what they can handle' if you want long-term success for your crabbies.

Thank you! I'm setting up their new tank over the next few weeks, and was thinking of the Ultratherm 11"x23" for my 48" long tank. My thinking was it would give them areas of varied temperature.

[Hermias_mom]

If you use a thermostat (Zilla or similar - there's a lot of good brands even at the hardware store), you can set it at 80F and it can give you peace of mind that the crabs are warm enough, but you won't cook them. The thermostat will cycle the Ultratherm on and off as needed to maintain 80F in the tank when your house is cooler than 80F. If your house gets warmer than 80F, then the thermostat will just keep the Ultratherm off until the tank air temperature drops below 80F.

Do you have a humidity gage? You might want to check that they're getting the recommended humidity as well, even though you live in south Florida. If you use air conditioning at all, that can really reduce the humidity in your house where the tank is. Even if you live with the windows open all the time, unless they're truly Florida crabs (and there's really no way to tell where the supplier picked them up), they could still need it a bit warmer and a bit more humid to fully thrive. I use this combination gage, it's cheap and works well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/AcuRite-Digi ... r/16888914

EDIT: Since I was just there, here's the link to the Zilla thermostat I use. Only one I have experience with, but works great for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile-Te ... B002CZ0J3E

[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

I live in Florida, and I use UTHs on all three of my crabitats. The only time I don't need them is summer. It's rainy right now, so the weather is a little cooler than usual, but it was 93. I recommend it. The crabs will do a lot better with 80-85 as their constant temperature. I recommend the Acurite temperature gauge that Hermias_mom recommended, along with the Zilla thermostat.

[jonnybcrabby]

If you use a thermostat (Zilla or similar - there's a lot of good brands even at the hardware store), you can set it at 80F and it can give you peace of mind that the crabs are warm enough, but you won't cook them. The thermostat will cycle the Ultratherm on and off as needed to maintain 80F in the tank when your house is cooler than 80F. If your house gets warmer than 80F, then the thermostat will just keep the Ultratherm off until the tank air temperature drops below 80F.

Do you have a humidity gage? You might want to check that they're getting the recommended humidity as well, even though you live in south Florida. If you use air conditioning at all, that can really reduce the humidity in your house where the tank is. Even if you live with the windows open all the time, unless they're truly Florida crabs (and there's really no way to tell where the supplier picked them up), they could still need it a bit warmer and a bit more humid to fully thrive. I use this combination gage, it's cheap and works well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/AcuRite-Digi ... r/16888914

EDIT: Since I was just there, here's the link to the Zilla thermostat I use. Only one I have experience with, but works great for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile-Te ... B002CZ0J3E

Thank you for the help!
I do have a humidity gauge, and I have a glass top on my tank so keeping it between 75-80% humidity is not much work where I live. It's drier here in winter, but still not too much to keep the humidity up. I also use beach sand from near where I live, and I think it keeps the humidity pretty well locked and holds that sandcastle like consistency easily. The Acurite digital gauge looks like the route I'm going to go. I guess I'll find out how it mounts once I purchase it, ideally I would like to be able to suction cup it or somehow attach it to the glass on the rear wall of the tank out of reach of my most adventurous crab "Houdini" (he's earned his name in the past!). He will climb on anything and is an incredible escape artist.

As far as the thermostat I think I will be purchasing that Zilla thermostat from Amazon. Thanks for all the guidance!
JB

[jonnybcrabby]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

I live in Florida, and I use UTHs on all three of my crabitats. The only time I don't need them is summer. It's rainy right now, so the weather is a little cooler than usual, but it was 93. I recommend it. The crabs will do a lot better with 80-85 as their constant temperature. I recommend the Acurite temperature gauge that Hermias_mom recommended, along with the Zilla thermostat.

The Acurite and Zilla thermostat combination I think will work for me too. Thank you! It's been raining non-stop here in FL! I don't think the ground can hold much more water, soon I will be paddling to get to work. On the UTH, I have a 55gal tank that's 18" tall, I plan on setting it up with about 8" of beach sand which leaves about 10" of glass above it. If I get the 11" x 48" that should cover the whole rear wall and be good?

[daws409]

On the UTH, I have a 55gal tank that's 18" tall, I plan on setting it up with about 8" of beach sand which leaves about 10" of glass above it. If I get the 11" x 48" that should cover the whole rear wall and be good?

I would go with a 6x47 UTH just because you can add deeper substrate later on if needed. IT IS okay if the substrate overlaps the heater an inch or two but please note doing so will dry out the top couple inches of substrate quicker than without the overlap.

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[GotButterflies]

I agree with Daws. I would go with the 6" UTH as well. That is what I use. I personally don't think you need the 11" one. Between substrate settling naturally, and you possibly wanting to add more later on down the way, better safe than sorry

[Hermias_mom]

If you lived somewhere like Alaska, then I'd definitely say you should consider the 11" high UTH. But if GotButterflies is using a 6" high UTH on her 100 gal glass lid tank (she lives in Florida), then you should be fine with that, I should think. You can insulate to increase heat input into the tank as needed.

I live in Alabama (similar humidity and temperatures to florida about half the time), but my house gets very cold in the winter, so if I were setting up a 55 gallon, I might go with the 11" high UTH if I were purchasing it for my own use on a 55 gallon. I have three small/medium crabs, no large or jumbos yet so it will be a while before I need deeper substrate than ~6". Or I might get two UTHs, one 6" high one for the back, and then if that wasn't enough I could always buy a shorter in length UTH later that was 6" high for one end of the tank. But that's just me.

When you get your humidity/temperature gage, don't forget to check the calibration of the gage. There's a post on how to do that in the care sheets. Inaccurate gages are not healthy for the crabs. I was pleased with how accurate my Acurite gage was when I checked it.

I just rest my Acurite gage in the reptihammock on my second level, and occasionally I check the substrate level with it. If you want to mount it to the wall, you might try using Command strips (from the hardware store, they have a fancy type of Velcro and are removable/don't gunk up the inside of your tank upon removal). Those apply easily, are strong, and if the crabs mess with them, it's not easy for them to get hurt. Or you could use Command hooks if you fashion a loop for the Acurite gage. The Acurite gages come with a large magnet on the back (for mounting on the fridge or something), so I guess you could put a large magnet on the outside of the tank if you have one strong enough to connect with the gage inside through the thickness of the glass. I tried standard fridge magnets outside the tank, and that didn't work. Industrial strength magnets would do the trick no problem, but I decided not to subject my crabs to such a large magnetic field on a continual basis, since I wasn't sure what effect it would have on them, or on my UTH (my tank space is really limited right now), so I chose not to use a magnet outside the tank to mount my Acurite gage.